Barbados — Health spending
Health Spending (% of GDP) for Barbados, 2000–2023.
Health spending for Barbados was 5.40% in 2023, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 24 years, from 2000 to 2023. The highest recorded value was 7.44% in 2021. The lowest was 4.93% in 2000 (about 1.1× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.40% per year.
Barbados ranks 119 of 189 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 63%. The median for Latin America & Caribbean is 6.87%, so Barbados sits below it. It peaked in 2021 and has fallen 27% since. Over the last decade (2013–2023) the figure moved down 17%. Within Latin America & Caribbean it ranks 23 of 32 economies; Dominica (5.01%) is just below it. Its sharpest one-year move was down 21% in 2022. That is 12% below this series' own ten-year average.
Data highlights
Doubling roughly every 172 years at that pace.
World ranking. Slipped: 89th of 184 in 2000 → 85th of 188 in 2010 → 95th of 189 in 2020 → 118th of 188 in 2023.
Key figures
Full history — 2000 to 2023
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 5.4% | -0.5 pp |
| 2022 | 5.87% | -1.6 pp |
| 2021 | 7.44% | +0.7 pp |
| 2020 | 6.73% | +1.1 pp |
| 2019 | 5.67% | -0.2 pp |
| 2018 | 5.83% | -0.2 pp |
| 2017 | 6% | -0.2 pp |
| 2016 | 6.19% | +0.1 pp |
| 2015 | 6.09% | -0.0 pp |
| 2014 | 6.1% | -0.4 pp |
| 2013 | 6.48% | -0.4 pp |
| 2012 | 6.85% | +0.8 pp |
| 2011 | 6.06% | +0.1 pp |
| 2010 | 5.97% | -0.3 pp |
| 2009 | 6.3% | +0.6 pp |
| 2008 | 5.74% | +0.4 pp |
| 2007 | 5.37% | -0.5 pp |
| 2006 | 5.9% | -0.2 pp |
| 2005 | 6.14% | -0.6 pp |
| 2004 | 6.71% | +0.5 pp |
| 2003 | 6.17% | +0.8 pp |
| 2002 | 5.41% | +0.3 pp |
| 2001 | 5.1% | +0.2 pp |
| 2000 | 4.93% | — |
Frequently asked questions
What was Barbados’s Health spending in 2001?
5.1% (2001). The full year-by-year table above lists every published year, most recent first.
Are changes in this series measured in percentage points?
Yes. The series is a share expressed in % of GDP, so year-over-year movements in the Change column are percentage points (pp), not percent.
Is Barbados’s Health spending growing or shrinking?
Between 2000 and 2023 the series was growing overall: +9.7% in total — about 0.4% a year compounded.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank Open Data (CC BY-4.0), indicator SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS. Values are reproduced as published; this page only computes summary statistics such as change, CAGR and extremes.
What are the most recent published figures?
The last five published years: 2023: 5.4%; 2022: 5.87%; 2021: 7.44%; 2020: 6.73%; 2019: 5.67%. Earlier years are in the full-history table below.
Related data
SH.XPD.CHEX.GD.ZS — Health Spending (% of GDP). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.