>Barbados
ECONOMICS
Barbados is the wealthiest and one of the most developed countries in the Eastern Caribbean and enjoys one of the highest per capita incomes in the region. Historically, the Barbadian economy was dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities. However, in recent years the economy has diversified into light industry and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners, boosted by being in the same time zone as eastern US financial centers and by a relatively highly educated workforce. Following the 2008-09 recession, external vulnerabilities such as fluctuations in international oil prices have hurt economic growth, raised Barbados’ already high public debt to GDP ratio - which stood at 105% of GDP in 2016 - and cut into its international reserves.
| 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2016 | |
| GNI, Atlas method (current US$) (billions) | 1.99 | 2.97 | 4.4 | 4.33 |
| GNI per capita, Atlas method (current US$) | 7,660 | 11,010 | 15,740 | 15,210 |
| GNI, PPP (current international $) (billions) | 2.37 | 3.23 | 4.4 | 4.89 |
| GNI per capita, PPP (current international $) | 9,120 | 11,980 | 15,730 | 17,170 |
| GDP (current US$) (billions) | 2.02 | 3.12 | 4.46 | 4.53 |
| GDP growth (annual %) | -3.3 | 2.3 | 0.3 | 2 |
| Inflation, GDP deflator (annual %) | 3.8 | 0.7 | 0.3 | -3.1 |
| Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Industry (including construction), value added (% of GDP) | 19 | 15 | 14 | 13 |
| Exports of goods and services (% of GDP) | 43 | 42 | 40 | 36 |
| Imports of goods and services (% of GDP) | 43 | 46 | 49 | 46 |
| Gross capital formation (% of GDP) | 15 | 18 | 16 | 17 |
| Revenue, excluding grants (% of GDP) | .. | 27.8 | 27 | 27.5 |
| Net lending (+) / net borrowing (-) (% of GDP) | .. | -2.4 | -7.9 | -9 |
| States and markets | ||||
| Time required to start a business (days) | .. | .. | 18 | 15 |
| Domestic credit provided by financial sector (% of GDP) | 51.1 | 58.2 | 110.6 | .. |
| Tax revenue (% of GDP) | .. | 24.7 | 25.1 | 26.1 |
| Military expenditure (% of GDP) | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people) | 0 | 10.5 | 125.2 | 116.6 |
| Individuals using the Internet (% of population) | 0 | 4 | 65.1 | 79.5 |
| High-technology exports (% of manufactured exports) | 20 | 23 | 12 | 24 |
| Statistical Capacity score (Overall average) | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Global links | ||||
| Merchandise trade (% of GDP) | 45 | 46 | 45 | 47 |
| Net barter terms of trade index (2000 = 100) | .. | 100 | 118 | 123 |
| External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$) (millions) | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) | .. | .. | .. | .. |
| Net migration (thousands) | -3 | 0 | 2 | .. |
| Personal remittances, received (current US$) (millions) | 38 | 113 | 82 | 108 |
| Foreign direct investment, net inflows (BoP, current US$) (millions) | 11 | 19 | 669 | 228 |
| Net official development assistance received (current US$) (millions) | 2.6 | 0.2 | 16.2 | .. |