Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Barbados instead of Maldives, you would:

Health

live 1.6 years longer

In Maldives, the average life expectancy is 77 years (75 years for men, 79 years for women) as of 2022. In Barbados, that number is 79 years (76 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2022.

be 2.7 times more likely to be obese

In Maldives, 8.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Barbados, that number is 23.1% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 22.3% less money

Maldives has a GDP per capita of $22,400 as of 2023, while in Barbados, the GDP per capita is $17,400 as of 2023.

be 92.5% more likely to be unemployed

In Maldives, 4.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Barbados, that number is 8.0% as of 2023.

Life

be 31.6% less likely to die during childbirth

In Maldives, approximately 57.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Barbados, 39.0 women do as of 2020.

be 62.6% less likely to die during infancy

In Maldives, approximately 25.7 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In Barbados, on the other hand, 9.6 children do as of 2020.

have 29.1% fewer children

In Maldives, there are approximately 15.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Barbados, there are 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Expenditures

spend 36.8% less on healthcare

Maldives spends 11.4% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Barbados, that number is 7.2% of GDP as of 2020.

spend 12.1% more on education

Maldives spends 5.8% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Barbados spends 6.5% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

Geography

see 84.9% less coastline

Maldives has a total of 644 km of coastline. In Barbados, that number is 97 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Barbados: At a glance

Barbados is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 430 sq km. The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. African slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance.
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How big is Barbados compared to Maldives? See an in-depth size comparison.

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