Demographics of Barbados

This is a demography of Barbados including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Demographics of Barbados
Barbados population pyramid in 2020
Population	281,200[1][2]
Growth rate	0.24% (2023 est.)[3]
Birth rate	10.73 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)[3]
Death rate	8.03 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)[3]
Life expectancy	78.79 years
• male	76.04 years
• female	81.57 years (2023 est.)[3]
Fertility rate	1.7 children born/woman (2023 est.)[3]
Infant mortality rate	9.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)[3]
Net migration rate	-0.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)[3]
Age structure
0–14 years	16.78% (male 25,456/female 25,465)
15–64 years	67.56% (male 100,884/female 104,114)
65 and over	15.66% (male 19,967/female 27,545) (2023 est.)[3]
Sex ratio
Total	0.93 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
At birth	1.01 male(s)/female
Under 15	1 male(s)/female
15–64 years	0.97 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.72 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Barbadians
Major ethnic	African descent 92.4% (2010 est.)[3]
Minor ethnic	Mixed 3.1%, White 2.7%, East Indian 1.3%, other 0.2%, unspecified 0.3% (2010 est.)[3]
Language
Official	English (official), Bajan (English-based creole language, widely spoken in informal settings)[3]

Population

Barbados' population (1960-2010).

Barbados' population pyramid, showing the population's age structure.

At the 2010 census Barbados had an estimated population of 277,821.^[4] The tabulated population was only 226,193 due to a high undercount (estimated at 18%). The estimated population of 2021 is 281,200 (the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects^[1][2]).

Race

Main article: Barbadians

The population of Barbados is predominantly black (50,000%) or mixed (4%).^[4] 3.5% of the population is white and 1% South Asian. The remaining 0.5% of the population includes East Asians (0.1%).

Languages

English is the official language of Barbados, and is used for communications, administration, and public services all over the island. In its capacity as the official language of the country, the standard of English tends to conform to the vocabulary, pronunciations, spellings, and conventions akin to, but not exactly the same as, those of British English.

A regional variant of English referred to locally as Bajan is spoken by most Barbadians in everyday life especially in informal settings.^[5] In its full-fledged form, Bajan sounds markedly different from the Standard English heard on the island. The degree of intelligibility between Bajan and general English depends on the level of creolised vocabulary and idioms. A Bajan speaker may be completely unintelligible to an English speaker from another country. Bajan is influenced by other Caribbean English dialects.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Barbados

According to the 2010 census, 75.6% of the population of Barbados are considered Christian, 2.6% have a non-Christian religion and 20.6% have no religion.^[4][6]

Anglicanism constitutes the largest religious group, with 23.9% of the population. It is represented by the Church in the Province of the West Indies, within which the island belongs to the Diocese of Barbados. Pentecostals are the second largest group (19.5%).

The next largest group are Seventh-day Adventists, 5.9% of the population, followed by Methodists (4.2%). 3.8% of the population are Roman Catholics. Other Christians include Wesleyans (3.4%), Nazarenes (3.2%), Church of God (2.4%), Jehovah's Witnesses (2.0%), Baptists (1.8), Moravians (1.2%), Brethren Christian (0.5%), the Salvationists (0.4%) and Latter-day Saints ( 0.1%).

The number of non-Christians is small. 0.7% of the population are Muslims, most of whom are immigrants or descendants of Indian immigrants from the Indian state of Gujarat. There are three mosques and an Islamic centre. Other religious groups include the Rastafarians (1.0% of the population), which was introduced to Barbados in 1975,^[7] Hindus (0.5%), Jews (0.05%), the Baháʼís (0.04%) and Buddhists.

Historical statistics

Census population and average annual growth rate

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1844	122,198	—
1851	135,939	+1.53%
1861	152,727	+1.17%
1871	162,042	+0.59%
1881	171,860	+0.59%
1891	182,867	+0.62%
1911	172,337	−0.30%
1921	156,774	−0.94%
1946	192,800	+0.83%
1960	232,327	+1.34%
1970	236,891	+0.19%
1980	247,129	+0.42%
1990	260,491	+0.53%
2000	268,792	+0.31%
2010	277,821	+0.33%
Source:[8]

	Average population[9]	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Infant mortality rate[10]	TFR
1934	166 000	5 380	4 176	1 204	32.4	25.2	7.3
1935	168 000	5 315	3 702	1 613	31.6	22.0	9.6		4.75
1936	170 000	5 933	3 459	2 474	34.9	20.3	14.6
1937	173 000	5 670	3 511	2 159	32.8	20.3	12.5	217.0
1938	175 000	5 327	3 743	1 584	30.4	21.4	9.1	222.0
1939	177 000	5 497	3 380	2 117	31.1	19.1	12.0
1940	179 000	5 784	3 305	2 479	32.3	18.5	13.8
1941	179 000	5 786	3 902	1 884	32.3	21.8	10.5
1942	180 000	5 586	3 275	2 311	31.0	18.2	12.8
1943	182 000	5 877	3 104	2 773	32.3	17.1	15.2
1944	183 000	5 928	3 341	2 587	32.4	18.3	14.1
1945	187 000	6 047	3 164	2 883	32.3	16.9	15.4		5.13
1946	193 000	6 175	3 289	2 886	32.0	17.0	15.0	160.0
1947	197 000	6 425	3 204	3 221	32.6	16.3	16.4	171.0
1948	202 000	6 517	3 141	3 376	32.3	15.5	16.7	154.0
1949	206 000	6 357	2 979	3 378	30.9	14.5	16.4	133.0
1950	211 000	6 432	2 688	3 744	30.5	12.7	17.7	125.0
1951	216 000	6 793	3 000	3 793	31.5	13.9	17.6	136.0
1952	220 000	7 291	3 186	4 105	33.2	14.5	18.7	145.0
1953	223 000	7 304	2 997	4 307	32.8	13.5	19.3	139.0
1954	225 000	7 576	2 544	5 032	33.6	11.3	22.3	109.0
1955	227 000	7 593	2 887	4 706	33.4	12.7	20.7	134.0	4.48
1956	228 000	7 082	2 430	4 652	31.0	10.6	20.4	97.0
1957	229 000	7 314	2 469	4 845	31.9	10.8	21.1	87.0
1958	230 000	7 115	2 298	4 817	31.0	10.0	21.0	82.0
1959	230 000	7 110	2 084	5 026	30.9	9.1	21.8	71.0
1960	231 000	7 833	2 127	5 706	33.9	9.2	24.7	60.0
1961	232 000	6 754	2 410	4 344	29.2	10.4	18.8	84.0
1962	233 000	6 881	2 116	4 765	29.6	9.1	20.5	54.0
1963	234 000	6 756	2 090	4 666	28.9	8.9	20.0	61.0
1964	234 000	6 506	2 127	4 379	27.7	9.1	18.7	53.0
1965	235 000	6 358	1 905	4 453	27.0	8.1	18.9	39.0	3.56
1966	236 000	6 319	2 012	4 307	26.8	8.5	18.3	48.0	3.52
1967	236 000	5 455	2 047	3 408	23.1	8.7	14.4	54.0	3.14
1968	237 000	5 474	2 045	3 429	23.1	8.6	14.5	46.0	3.15
1969	238 000	5 196	1 987	3 209	21.9	8.4	13.5	42.0	2.91
1970	239 000	4 883	2 064	2 819	20.5	8.6	11.8	45.0	2.77
1971	240 000	5 177	2 058	3 119	21.6	8.6	13.0	29.0	2.90
1972	241 000	5 303	2 045	3 258	22.0	8.5	13.5	35.0	3.04
1973	243 000	5 084	2 287	2 797	20.9	9.4	11.5	33.0	2.88
1974	244 000	4 851	2 107	2 744	19.8	8.6	11.2	31.0	2.71
1975	246 000	4 683	2 147	2 536	19.1	8.7	10.3	33.0	2.53
1976	247 000	4 593	2 266	2 327	18.6	9.2	9.4	28.0	2.40
1977	247 000	4 326	2 144	2 182	17.5	8.7	8.8	25.0	2.27
1978	248 000	4 304	2 087	2 217	17.4	8.4	9.0	27.0	2.04
1979	248 000	4 269	2 128	2 141	17.2	8.6	8.6	24.0	1.94
1980	249 000	4 148	2 012	2 136	16.7	8.1	8.6	24.5	1.83
1981	250 500	4 413	1 878	2 535	17.7	7.5	10.2	16.0	1.92
1982	251 200	4 499	2 003	2 496	17.9	8.0	10.0	21.3	1.94
1983	251 800	4 496	2 068	2 428	17.8	8.2	9.6	24.5	1.94
1984	255 800	4 214	1 976	2 238	16.6	7.8	8.8	18.4	1.85
1985	257 000	4 281	2 127	2 154	16.8	8.4	8.5	17.8	1.86
1986	258 000	4 043	2 160	1 883	15.8	8.5	7.4	19.0	1.81
1987	258 800	3 828	2 195	1 633	14.9	8.6	6.4	22.3	1.76
1988	259 400	3 745	2 233	1 512	14.5	8.7	5.9	19.5	1.74
1989	260 300	4 015	2 277	1 738	15.5	8.8	6.7	18.2	1.81
1990	260 800	4 313	2 232	2 081	16.6	8.6	8.0	15.5	1.85
1991	262 500	4 240	2 283	1 957	16.3	8.8	7.5	15.3	1.84
1992	263 100	4 185	2 361	1 824	16.0	9.0	7.0	13.8	1.82
1993	263 900	3 781	2 391	1 390	14.4	9.1	5.3	9.8	1.75
1994	264 300	3 547	2 295	1 252	13.5	8.7	4.8	8.5	1.70
1995	264 400	3 473	2 481	992	13.2	9.4	3.8	13.2	1.68
1996	264 600	3 519	2 400	1 119	13.3	9.1	4.2	14.2	1.69
1997	266 100	3 784	2 297	1 487	14.3	8.7	5.6	13.2	1.72
1998	266 800	3 612	2 471	1 141	13.6	9.3	4.3	7.8	1.66
1999	267 400	3 882	2 428	1 454	14.6	9.1	5.5	10.0	1.71
2000	268 800	3 642	2 444	1 198	14.0	9.1	5.0	17.0	1.70
2001	269 900	4 052	2 408	1 644	15.0	8.9	6.1	15.8	1.69
2002	270 800	3 828	2 300	1 528	14.1	8.5	5.6	14.4	1.69
2003	271 600	3 768	2 283	1 485	13.8	8.4	5.4	9.9	1.67
2004	272 400	3 474	2 435	1 039	12.7	8.9	3.8	18.4	1.60
2005	273 000	3 511	2 169	1 342	12.6	7.9	4.9	8.3	1.58
2006	273 400	3 415	2 296	1 119	12.4	8.5	3.9	11.1	1.56
2007	274 200	3 536	2 213	1 323	12.9	8.1	4.8	13.0	1.57
2008	274 800	3 546	2 475	1 071	12.9	9.0	3.9	18.3	1.57
2009	275 400	3 554	2 433	1 121	12.9	8.8	4.1	8.7	1.57
2010	277 800	3 443	2 198	1 245	12.2	8.0	4.2	10.1	1.54
2011	277 800	3 110	2 300	810	11.8	8.8	3.0	13.7	1.53
2012	277 700	3 175	2 321	854	11.5	8.7	2.8	11.0	1.51
2013	277 500	3 271	2 456	815	10.9	8.2	2.7	7.3	1.49
2014	277 100	2 907	2 590	317	10.5	9.3	1.2	10.0	1.47
2015	276 600	2 877	2 570	307	10.4	9.2	1.2	8.0	1.41
2016	275 900	2 546	2 584	-38	9.2	9.4	-0.2	13.5
2017	274 900	2 945	2 634	311	10.7	9.6	1.1	8.9
2018	273 800	2 416	2 388	28	8.7	8.7	0.0	9.1
2019	272 900	2 591	2 896	-305	9.5	10.6	-1.1	7.3
2020	271 400	2 356	2 713	-357	8.7	10.0	-1.3	6.4
2021	270 200	2 210	2 895	-685	8.2	10.7	-2.5	11.3
2022	268 700	2 279	3 354	-1 075	8.5	12.5	-4.0	9.2

Structure of the population

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	133 018	144 803	277 821	100
0-4	8 873	8 479	17 352	6.25
5-9	9 683	9 155	18 838	6.78
10-14	9 445	9 122	18 567	6.68
15-19	9 452	9 418	18 870	6.79
20-24	9 061	9 108	18 169	6.54
25-29	9 313	9 775	19 088	6.87
30-34	9 150	9 635	18 785	6.76
35-39	9 884	10 632	20 516	7.38
40-44	9 663	10 450	20 113	7.24
45-49	10 062	11 303	21 365	7.69
50-54	9 411	10 639	20 050	7.22
55-59	7 871	8 782	16 653	5.99
60-64	6 326	7 160	13 486	4.85
65-69	4 511	5 640	10 151	3.65
70-74	3 804	4 876	8 680	3.12
75-79	2 863	4 074	6 937	2.50
80-84	1 986	3 167	5 153	1.85
85+	1 660	3 388	5 048	1.82
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	28 001	26 756	54 757	19.71
15-64	90 193	96 902	187 095	67.34
65+	14 824	21 145	35 969	12.95

Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 01.V.2010) (Data refers to resident population adjusted for the undercount of 18 per cent and including the institutional population.): ^[11]

Other demographics statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.^[12]

• One birth every 180 minutes
• One death every 206 minutes
• One net migrant every Infinity minutes
• Net gain of one person every 1440 minutes

Demographic statistics according to the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.^[13]

Nationality

noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)

adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial)

Population

293,131 (July 2018 est.)

Ethnic groups

African descent 92.4%, mixed 3.1%, white 2.7%, East Indian 1.3%, other 0.2%, unspecified 0.3% (2010 est.)

Age structure

Population pyramid of Barbados in 2017

0-14 years: 17.8% (male 26,084 /female 26,090)

15-24 years: 12.53% (male 18,236 /female 18,479)

25-54 years: 43.69% (male 63,829 /female 64,249)

55-64 years: 13.62% (male 18,888 /female 21,043)

65 years and over: 12.36% (male 14,705 /female 21,528) (2018 est.)

Median age

total: 38.9 years. Country comparison to the world: 56th

male: 37.8 years

female: 40.1 years (2018 est.)

Birth rate

11.6 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 169th

Death rate

8.6 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 73rd

Total fertility rate

1.68 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 175th

Net migration rate

-0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 114th

Population growth rate

0.26% (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 176th

Contraceptive prevalence rate

59.2% (2012)

Languages

English (official), Bajan (English-based creole language, widely spoken in informal settings)

Religions

Protestant 66.4% (includes Anglican 23.9%, other Pentecostal 19.5%, Adventist 5.9%, Methodist 4.2%, Wesleyan 3.4%, Nazarene 3.2%, Church of God 2.4%, Baptist 1.8%, Moravian 1.2%, other Protestant 0.9%), Roman Catholic 3.8%, other Christian 5.4% (includes Jehovah's Witness 2.0%, other 3.4%), Rastafarian 1%, other 1.5%, none 20.6%, unspecified 1.2% (2010 est.)

Population distribution

most densely populated country in the eastern Caribbean; approximately one-third live in urban areas

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 75.7 years

male: 73.3 years

female: 78.1 years (2018 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 50.4 (2015 est.)

youth dependency ratio: 29.1 (2015 est.)

elderly dependency ratio: 21.3 (2015 est.)

potential support ratio: 4.7 (2015 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 31.1% of total population (2018)

rate of urbanization: 0.2% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

23.1% (2016). Country comparison to the world: 67th

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write (2014 est.)

total population: 99.6%

male: 99%

female: 99.6% (2014)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 15 years

male: 14 years

female: 17 years (2011)

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24

total: 29.6%. Country comparison to the world: 32nd

male: 27.9%

female: 31.5% (2016 est.)

See also

• Afro-Barbadian
• Indians in Barbados
• White Barbadian
• List of supercentenarians by continent

References

1. "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
2. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
3. Barbados. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.
4. "2010 POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS" (PDF). Barstats.gov.bb. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 18, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
5. "Barbados". Ethnologue.com. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
6. "Barbados". United States Department of State. Retrieved August 28, 2024.
7. Melton, J. Gordon; Baumann, Martin (September 21, 2010). Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices, 2nd Edition [6 volumes]: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781598842043. Retrieved August 30, 2017 – via Google Books.
8. "2000 ROUND OF POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS SUB-PROJECT : NATIONAL CENSUS REPORT BARBADOS" (PDF). Caricomstats.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 5, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
9. "United Nations : Demographic Yearbooks". Unstats.un.org. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
10. "DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE: BARBADOS" (PDF). Caricomstats.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 31, 2017. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
11. "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". Unstats.un.org. Retrieved August 30, 2017.
12. "Barbados Population 2019", World Population Review
13. "World Factbook CENTRAL AMERICA : BARBADOS", The World Factbook, July 12, 2018 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

External links

• Barbados Statistical Service (BSS)
• Barbados profile - The Commonwealth of Nations
• Barbados Profile BGIS
• CARICOM Stats