Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Barbados instead of United Kingdom, you would:

Health

be 16.9% less likely to be obese

In United Kingdom, 27.8% of adults are obese as of 2016. In Barbados, that number is 23.1% of people as of 2016.

live 3.4 years less

In United Kingdom, the average life expectancy is 82 years (80 years for men, 84 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

pay a 25.6% lower top tax rate

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

make 67.8% less money

United Kingdom has a GDP per capita of $54,100 as of 2023, while in Barbados, the GDP per capita is $17,400 as of 2023.

be 95.8% more likely to be unemployed

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

Life

be 3.9 times more likely to die during childbirth

In United Kingdom, approximately 10.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Barbados, 39.0 women do as of 2020.

be 2.5 times more likely to die during infancy

In United Kingdom, approximately 3.8 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 11.3% less likely to have internet access

In United Kingdom, approximately 97.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Barbados, about 86.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 40.0% less on healthcare

United Kingdom spends 12.0% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2020. In Barbados, that number is 7.2% of GDP as of 2020.

spend 18.2% more on education

United Kingdom spends 5.5% of its total GDP on education as of 2020. Barbados spends 6.5% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

Geography

see 99.2% less coastline

United Kingdom has a total of 12,429 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, HM Revenue & Customs.

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 United Kingdom? See an in-depth size comparison.

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