Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 2.8 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Spain, 0.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Barbados, that number is 1.1% of people as of 2019.

live 4.0 years less

In Spain, the average life expectancy is 83 years (80 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

be 34.5% less likely to be unemployed

In Spain, 12.1% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Barbados, that number is 8.0% as of 2023.

pay a 25.6% lower top tax rate

Spain has a top tax rate of 45.0% as of 2016. In Barbados, the top tax rate is 33.5% as of 2016.

make 62.5% less money

Spain has a GDP per capita of $46,400 as of 2023, while in Barbados, the GDP per capita is $17,400 as of 2023.

Life

have 50.7% more children

In Spain, there are approximately 7.1 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Barbados, there are 10.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 13.0 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Spain, approximately 3.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Barbados, 39.0 women do as of 2020.

be 3.9 times more likely to die during infancy

In Spain, approximately 2.5 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.

Expenditures

spend 32.7% less on healthcare

Spain spends 10.7% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Barbados, that number is 7.2% of GDP as of 2020.

spend 41.3% more on education

Spain spends 4.6% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Barbados spends 6.5% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

Geography

see 98.0% less coastline

Spain has a total of 4,964 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, Agencia Tributaria, Spain.

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.
Read more

How big is Barbados compared to Spain? See an in-depth size comparison.

Share this

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Barbados.or Spain It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.