Economy of Barbados

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Economy of Barbados

Central Bank of Barbados
Currency	Barbadian dollar (BBD)
Fiscal year	1 April – 31 March
Trade organisations	WTO
Country group	Developing/Emerging[1] High-income economy[2]
Statistics
Population	286,641 (2018)[3]
GDP	$5.087 billion (nominal, 2018)[4] $5.344 billion (PPP, 2018)[4]
GDP growth	2.5% (2016) 0.5% (2017) −0.6% (2018) −0.1% (2019) -7.6% (2020)[4]
GDP per capita	$17,758 (nominal, 2018)[4] $18,655 (PPP, 2018)[4]
GDP by sector	agriculture: 1.5% industry: 9.8% services: 88.7% (2017 est.)[5]
Inflation (CPI)	3.688% (2018)[4]
Population below poverty line	N/A
Human Development Index	0.790 high (2021)[6] (70th) 0.657 medium IHDI (2021)[7]
Labour force	155,283 (2018)[8] 59.9% employment rate (2016)[9]
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 10% industry: 15% services: 75% (1996 est.)[5]
Unemployment	10.1% (2017 est.)[5]
Main industries	tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export
External
Exports	$485.4 million (2017 est.)[5]
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)[5]
Imports	$1.52 billion (2017 est.)[5]
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)[5]
Current account	−$189 million (2017 est.)[5]
Gross external debt	$4.49 billion (2010 est.)[5]
Public finances
Government debt	157.3% of GDP (2017 est.)[5]
Budget balance	−4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[5]
Revenues	1.466 billion (2013 est.) (2017 est.)[5]
Expenses	1.664 billion (2017 est.)[5]
Economic aid	$9.8 million (recipient; 1995)
Credit rating	Standard & Poor's:[citation needed] CC (Domestic) SD (Foreign)
Foreign reserves	$264.5 million (31 December 2017 est.)[5]
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.^{[citation needed]} 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).^[10]