Barbados: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 75.1% (2021), 82nd of 176 in the world and 19th of 33 in Latin America & Caribbean. Primary enrolment is 83.9% (2024), 176th of 191 in the world and 36th of 39 in Latin America & Caribbean. Primary completion is 85.3% (2024), 123rd of 168 in the world and 26th of 33 in Latin America & Caribbean.
Education: Barbados in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Latin America & Caribbean; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolmentPre-primary enrolment, % gross | 75.1%2021 | 82/176 | 19/33 | 69.2% | 78.4% | 84.2% | −1.1 ppsince 2011 | 75.6% | 83.8% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 83.9%2024 | 176/191 | 36/39 | 102.6% | 100.0% | 94.5% | −12.5 ppsince 2014 | 104.6% | 99.8% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 85.3%2024 | 123/168 | 26/33 | 98.7% | 94.9% | 90.6% | −10.9 ppsince 2011 | 96.5% | 97.8% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 104.4%2024 | 43/176 | 11/37 | 107.6% | 107.7% | 104.3% | −3.8 ppsince 2014 | 98.0% | 103.2% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 97.3%2024 | 46/168 | 7/32 | 106.0% | 110.0%2009 | 92.8% | −12.7 ppsince 2009 | 81.5% | 95.6% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 50.8%2025 | 82/172 | 14/31 | 41.9% | 69.6% | 53.0% | −6.5 ppsince 2015 | 58.9% | 82.0% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 17.6%2024 | 26/178 | 5/35 | 0.4% | 1.8% | 7.7% | +12.3 ppsince 2014 | — | 2.5% | — | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 100.0%2012 | 1/148 | 1/31 | · | 100.0%2012 | · | — | 98.7% | 99.3% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 14.02018 | 121/173 | 21/30 | 17.6 | 13.0 | 14.02018 | +4.0%since 2008 | 21.3 | 14.0 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 3.6%2024 | 117/184 | 24/38 | 4.7% | 6.1% | 3.9% | −1.8 ppsince 2014 | 3.8% | 4.7% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 14.2%2025 | 67/179 | 18/37 | 22.2% | 18.1% | 16.1% | −3.6 ppsince 2015 | 16.6% | 12.0% | 14.0% |
Better than ten years ago
No rated indicator improved over the decade.
Worse than ten years ago
- Pre-primary enrolment−1.1 pp75.1% in 2021
- Primary completion−10.9 pp85.3% in 2024
- Secondary enrolment−3.8 pp104.4% in 2024
- Lower secondary completion−12.7 pp97.3% in 2024
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
Barbados and its nearest countries
Barbados has no land border; compared with the closest countries by distance between capitals. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Barbados | Saint Lucia | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Grenada | Dominica |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 75.1%2021 | 78.0%2020 | 113.8%2020 | 130.8%2020 | 66.0%2021 |
| Primary enrolment | 83.9%2024 | 96.8%2024 | 111.4%2024 | 110.6%2024 | 97.7%2025 |
| Primary completion | 85.3%2024 | 97.4%2024 | 109.0%2024 | 97.5%2024 | 91.1%2025 |
| Secondary enrolment | 104.4%2024 | 87.9%2024 | 124.9%2024 | 100.7%2024 | 102.6%2023 |
| Lower secondary completion | 97.3%2024 | 83.0%2024 | 109.9%2024 | 89.5%2024 | 90.4%2023 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 50.8%2025 | 15.0%2023 | 41.5%2022 | 100.0%2018 | — |
| Out-of-school children | 17.6%2024 | 7.0%2024 | 0.6%2017 | 4.9%2024 | 4.0%2023 |
| Youth literacy | 100.0%2012 | 100.0%2012 | — | — | — |
| Pupils per teacher | 14.02018 | 14.72018 | 14.42018 | 16.42018 | 13.12016 |