Economy of Barbados

Economy of Barbados
	Central Bank of Barbados
Currency	Barbadian dollar (BBD)
Fiscal year	1 April – 31 March
Trade organisations	WTO
Country group	Developing/Emerging; High-income economy;
Statistics
Population	286,641 (2018)
GDP	$7.55 Billion (nominal; 2025); $6.78 billion (PPP; 2025);
GDP rank	153th (nominal; 2025); 170th (PPP; 2025);
GDP growth	4.1% (2023); 4.0% (2024); 3.0% (2025); 2.3% (2026f);
GDP per capita	$25,900 (nominal; 2025); $23,270 (PPP; 2025);
GDP per capita rank	45th (nominal; 2025); 81th (PPP; 2025);
GDP by sector	agriculture: 1.5%; industry: 9.8%; services: 88.7%; (2017 est.);
Inflation (CPI)	3.688% (2018)
Population below poverty line	N/A
Human Development Index	0.790 high (2021) (70th); 0.657 medium IHDI (2021);
Labour force	155,283 (2018); 59.9% employment rate (2016);
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 10%; industry: 15%; services: 75%; (1996 est.);
Unemployment	10.1% (2017 est.)
Main industries	tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export
External
Exports	$485.4 million (2017 est.)
Export goods	manufactures, sugar, molasses, rum, other foodstuffs and beverages, chemicals, electrical components
Main export partners	United States 38%; Trinidad and Tobago 10.2%; Guyana 5.5%; Jamaica 5%; China 4.8%; St. Lucia 4.6%; the Bahamas 3.8%; (2017);
Imports	$1.52 billion (2017 est.)
Import goods	consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components
Main import partners	United States 38.5%; Trinidad and Tobago 14.6%; United Kingdom 7.3%; China 6.7%; Canada 4.6%; (2017);
Current account	−$189 million (2017 est.)
Gross external debt	$4.49 billion (2010 est.)
Public finances
Government debt	157.3% of GDP (2017 est.)
Foreign reserves	$264.5 million (31 December 2017 est.)
Budget balance	−4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Revenues	1.466 billion (2013 est.) (2017 est.)
Expenses	1.664 billion (2017 est.)
Economic aid	$9.8 million (recipient; 1995)
Credit rating	Standard & Poor's:; CC (Domestic); SD (Foreign);
	All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

Since the island country's independence in 1966, the economy of Barbados has been transformed from a low-income economy dependent upon sugar production into a high-income economy based on tourism and the offshore sector. Barbados went into a deep recession in the 1990s after 3 years of steady decline brought on by fundamental macroeconomic imbalances. After a painful re-adjustment process, the economy began to grow again in 1993. Growth rates have averaged between 3%–5% since then. The country's three main economic drivers are: tourism, the international business sector, and foreign direct-investment. These are supported in part by Barbados operating as a service-driven economy and an international business centre.

In June 2018 Barbados announced the default on its bonds, after revealing that its debt amounted to $7.5 billion (the fourth highest debt in debt-to-GDP ratio in the world).