
Small Is Beautiful
Encouraged by government stimulus programs, banks are finding new ways to finance SMEs. Once the economy recovers, will the surge of interest recede?
Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Barbados economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Barbados best banks and safest banks are also available.
While Latin American banks continued to expand their client base and footprints, the sector still faced important challenges.
USD 0.6 billion (2015)
International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved January 2017
USD 4.6 billion (2017, estimate)
Intl$ 5.0 billion (2017, estimate)
2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
5.7% | 1.8% | 0.4% | -4% | 0.3% | 0.8% | 0.3% |
2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016* | 2017* | ||
-0.1% | 0.2% | 0.9% | 1.7% | 1.7% |
*Estimate
USD 16,514.4 (2017, estimate)
1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2017* |
0.01% | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.01% | 0.004% |
*Estimate
(2016 estimate)
2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016* | 2017* |
1.8% | 1.9% | -1.1% | 0.3% | 2.0% |
*Estimate
2013 | 2014 | 2015* | 2016* | 2017* |
11.6% | 12.3% | 11.3% | 9.7% | 9.6% |
*Estimate
2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* |
94.3% | 97.9% | 105% | 104.8% | 104.2% |
*Estimate
2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017* |
-11.7% | -7.7% | -6.9% | -5.7% | -4.6% |
*Estimate
Standard & Poor's: B-
Moody's: Caa1
Standard & Poor's / Moody's (Updated January 2017)
2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
N/A | N/A | N/A |
-6.0% (2017 estimate)
37.3% (2015)
0.003% (2015)
0.03% (2015)
Manufactures, sugar, molasses, rum, other foodstuffs and beverages, chemicals, electrical components
Consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components
Trinidad and Tobago 22.5%, US 11.8%, St. Lucia 9.2%, St. Vincent and the Grenadines 5.7%, Antigua and Barbuda 4.7%, St. Kitts and Nevis 4.4%, Guyana 4.2% (2015)
Trinidad and Tobago 39%, US 31.1% (2015)
2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
USD -35 million | USD 486 million | USD 254 million |
2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
USD 108 million | USD -22 million | USD 86 million |
2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 |
N/A | N/A | USD -10.9 million | N/A |
N/A
(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )
N/A
(for a monthly update on M&A; click here )
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.
Overall ranking: 117 out of 190 countries (2016)
Subcategories:
Starting a business: 101 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 167 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 130 out of 190 countries
Getting credit: 133 out of 190 countries
Protecting investors: 165 out of 190 countries
Trading across border: 125 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 85 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 161 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 93 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 36 out of 190 countries
72 out of 138 countries
(2016-2017)
Ranking: 45 / Score: 68.29 (Moderately free) (2017)
(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)
Parliamentary democracy (Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
English (official), Bajan (English-based creole language, widely spoken in informal settings)
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.)
1990 | 2000 | 2010 | 2016* | 2021* |
0.25 million | 0.269 million | 0.277 million | 0.28 million | 0.283 million |
*Estimate
1960 | 1980 | 2000 | 2015 |
37% | 40% | 34% | 32% |
Political Rights: 1
Civil Liberties: 1 (2017)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Fixed 54.56% Mobile 116.46% (2015)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)