Quality of life comparison

compared to

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

Health

be 5.5 times more likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Sweden, 0.2% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2016. In Barbados, that number is 1.1% of people as of 2019.

live 4.2 years less

In Sweden, the average life expectancy is 83 years (81 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.

be 12.1% more likely to be obese

In Sweden, 20.6% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Barbados, that number is 23.1% of people as of 2016.

Economy

pay a 41.3% lower top tax rate

Sweden has a top tax rate of 57.1% as of 2016. In Barbados, the top tax rate is 33.5% as of 2016.

make 72.9% less money

Sweden has a GDP per capita of $64,200 as of 2023, while in Barbados, the GDP per capita is $17,400 as of 2023.

Life

be 7.8 times more likely to die during childbirth

In Sweden, approximately 5.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Barbados, 39.0 women do as of 2020.

be 4.2 times more likely to die during infancy

In Sweden, approximately 2.3 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 36.8% less on healthcare

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

Geography

see 97.0% less coastline

Sweden has a total of 3,218 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, Skatteverket.

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 Sweden? See an in-depth size comparison.

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