Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Barbados instead of Puerto Rico, you would:

Health

live 3.1 years less

In Puerto Rico, the average life expectancy is 82 years (78 years for men, 85 years for women) as of 2022. In Barbados, that number is 79 years (76 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 59.5% less money

Puerto Rico has a GDP per capita of $43,000 as of 2023, while in Barbados, the GDP per capita is $17,400 as of 2023.

be 33.4% more likely to be unemployed

In Puerto Rico, 6.0% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Barbados, that number is 8.0% as of 2023.

Life

have 37.2% more children

In Puerto Rico, there are approximately 7.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Barbados, there are 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 58.9% more likely to die during infancy

In Puerto Rico, approximately 6.0 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.

Basic Needs

be 10.7% more likely to have internet access

In Puerto Rico, approximately 77.7% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Barbados, about 86.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 80.6% more on education

Puerto Rico spends 3.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Barbados spends 6.5% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

Geography

see 80.6% less coastline

Puerto Rico has a total of 501 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 Puerto Rico? See an in-depth size comparison.

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