If you lived in Barbados instead of Sierra Leone, you would:

Health

be 26.7% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Sierra Leone, 1.5% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Barbados, that number is 1.1% of people as of 2019.

live 19.8 years longer

In Sierra Leone, the average life expectancy is 59 years (57 years for men, 60 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 Sierra Leone, 8.7% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Barbados, that number is 23.1% of people as of 2016.

Economy

make 9.6 times more money

Sierra Leone has a GDP per capita of $1,600 as of 2022, while in Barbados, the GDP per capita is $15,400 as of 2022.

be 2.6 times more likely to be unemployed

In Sierra Leone, 3.3% of adults are unemployed as of 2022. In Barbados, that number is 8.5% as of 2022.

pay a 11.7% higher top tax rate

Sierra Leone has a top tax rate of 30.0% as of 2014. In Barbados, the top tax rate is 33.5% as of 2016.

Life

be 91.2% less likely to die during childbirth

In Sierra Leone, approximately 443.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Barbados, 39.0 women do as of 2020.

be 2.0 times more likely to be literate

In Sierra Leone, the literacy rate is 48.6% as of 2022. In Barbados, it is 99.6% as of 2014.

be 86.9% less likely to die during infancy

In Sierra Leone, approximately 73.4 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 65.3% fewer children

In Sierra Leone, there are approximately 30.8 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Barbados, there are 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Basic Needs

be 3.6 times more likely to have access to electricity

In Sierra Leone, approximately 27% of the population has electricity access as of 2021. In Barbados, 100% of the population do as of 2021.

be 6.8 times more likely to have internet access

In Sierra Leone, approximately 12.7% of the population has internet access as of 2022. In Barbados, about 86.0% do as of 2021.

be 35.7% more likely to have access to improved drinking water

In Sierra Leone, approximately 73% of people have improved drinking water access as of 2020. In Barbados, 99% of people do as of 2020.

Expenditures

spend 28.6% less on education

Sierra Leone spends 9.1% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Barbados spends 6.5% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

spend 18.2% less on healthcare

Sierra Leone spends 8.8% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Barbados, that number is 7.2% of GDP as of 2020.

Geography

see 75.9% less coastline

Sierra Leone has a total of 402 km of coastline. In Barbados, that number is 97 km.


The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook, Ministry of Finance, Barbados, National Revenue Authority.

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 Sierra Leone? See an in-depth size comparison.

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