BB
Health · Latin America & Caribbean · High income
Barbados: health in numbers
Life expectancy is 76.3 yrs (2024), 96th of 217 in the world and 20th of 42 in Latin America & Caribbean. Life expectancy, women is 78.8 yrs (2024), 104th of 217 in the world and 21st of 42 in Latin America & Caribbean. Life expectancy, men is 73.8 yrs (2024), 89th of 217 in the world and 19th of 42 in Latin America & Caribbean.
Life expectancy
BarbadosLatin America & CaribbeanHigh incomeWorld
Life expectancy, women
BarbadosLatin America & CaribbeanHigh incomeWorld
17 indicators
Health: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancyLife expectancy at birth, years | 76.3 yrs2024 | 96/217 | 20/42 | 74.6 yrs | 75.5 yrs | 76.6 yrs | +0.5%since 2014 | 75.8 yrs | 80.4 yrs | 73.5 yrs | |
| Life expectancy, womenLife expectancy at birth, women, years | 78.8 yrs2024 | 104/217 | 21/42 | 77.0 yrs | 77.6 yrs | 78.6 yrs | +0.9%since 2014 | 78.7 yrs | 83.2 yrs | 76.0 yrs | |
| Life expectancy, menLife expectancy at birth, men, years | 73.8 yrs2024 | 89/217 | 19/42 | 72.0 yrs | 73.2 yrs | 74.5 yrs | +0.2%since 2014 | 72.9 yrs | 77.8 yrs | 71.1 yrs | |
| Infant mortalityInfant mortality, per 1,000 live births | 9.12024 | 118/196 | 27/35 | 13.0 | 12.7 | 10.2 | −24%since 2014 | 13.3 | 4.2 | 27.7 | |
| Under-5 mortalityUnder-5 mortality, per 1,000 live births | 9.82024 | 122/196 | 29/35 | 14.4 | 13.9 | 11.1 | −25%since 2014 | 15.4 | 5.1 | 37.4 | |
| Neonatal mortalityNeonatal mortality, per 1,000 live births | 6.62024 | 113/196 | 23/35 | 9.0 | 9.6 | 7.5 | −27%since 2014 | 8.3 | 2.8 | 17.2 | |
| Maternal mortalityMaternal mortality, per 100,000 live births | 352023 | 111/194 | 28/34 | 46 | 42 | 39 | −12%since 2013 | 77 | 10 | 197 | |
| Measles vaccinationMeasles immunisation, % of children 12–23 months | 88%2024 | 112/193 | 19/33 | 94% | 85% | 89% | −7.0 ppsince 2014 | 86% | 94% | 84% | |
| HIV prevalenceHIV prevalence, % of people 15–49 | 1.0%2024 | 37/153 | 9/29 | 1.0% | 1.2% | 1.1% | −0.2 ppsince 2014 | 0.6% | — | 0.7% | |
| TuberculosisTuberculosis incidence, per 100,000 people | 12024 | 201/208 | 37/40 | 1 | 2 | 2 | −44%since 2014 | 51 | 12 | 131 | |
| Health spendingCurrent health expenditure, % of GDP | 5.4%2023 | 121/193 | 23/33 | 4.9% | 6.0% | 6.7% | −1.1 ppsince 2013 | 7.9% | 12.5% | 10.1% | |
| Out-of-pocket spendingOut-of-pocket health spending, % of health expenditure | 49.5%2023 | 33/193 | 4/33 | 39.4% | 38.1% | 42.9% | +9.1 ppsince 2013 | 29.7% | 13.4% | 17.3% | |
| PhysiciansPhysicians per 1,000 people | 2.962022 | 61/180 | 9/29 | 1.39 | · | 2.62 | +63%since 2005 | 2.57 | 3.78 | 1.86 | |
| Hospital bedsHospital beds per 1,000 people | 6.42023 | 15/182 | 1/33 | · | 6.9 | 5.6 | −0.8%since 2013 | 2.0 | 5.2 | 3.3 | |
| Basic waterBasic drinking water, % of population | 99.2%2024 | 78/206 | 12/35 | 98.1% | 98.5% | 99.0% | +0.4 ppsince 2014 | 97.6% | 99.2% | 91.5% | |
| Basic sanitationBasic sanitation, % of population | 98.1%2024 | 69/203 | 10/34 | 89.6% | 93.5% | 97.3% | +3.0 ppsince 2014 | 90.3% | 98.3% | 82.2% | |
| Road deathsRoad traffic deaths, per 100,000 people | 8.22019 | 135/186 | 28/32 | 14.6 | 8.9 | 8.22019 | −11%since 2009 | 17.3 | 8.7 | 16.7 |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Life expectancy+0.5%76.3 yrs in 2024
- Life expectancy, women+0.9%78.8 yrs in 2024
- Life expectancy, men+0.2%73.8 yrs in 2024
- Infant mortality−24%9.1 in 2024
Worse than ten years ago
- Measles vaccination−7.0 pp88% in 2024
- Out-of-pocket spending+9.1 pp49.5% in 2023
- Hospital beds−0.8%6.4 in 2023
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
nearest countries
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 76.3 yrs2024 | 72.8 yrs2024 | 71.4 yrs2024 | 75.4 yrs2024 | 71.3 yrs2024 |
| Life expectancy, women | 78.8 yrs2024 | 76.5 yrs2024 | 74.5 yrs2024 | 78.5 yrs2024 | 74.7 yrs2024 |
| Life expectancy, men | 73.8 yrs2024 | 69.5 yrs2024 | 68.8 yrs2024 | 72.5 yrs2024 | 68.4 yrs2024 |
| Infant mortality | 9.12024 | 15.82024 | 10.22024 | 16.42024 | 33.32024 |
| Under-5 mortality | 9.82024 | 17.22024 | 11.32024 | 18.02024 | 35.72024 |
| Neonatal mortality | 6.62024 | 11.32024 | 9.02024 | 12.32024 | 31.12024 |
| Maternal mortality | 352023 | 442023 | 562023 | 482023 | 362023 |
| Measles vaccination | 88%2024 | 83%2024 | 99%2024 | 83%2024 | 80%2024 |
| HIV prevalence | 1.0%2024 | 0.4%2024 | 0.8%2024 | — | 0.5%2024 |