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Barbados — Labor participation
Labor Force Participation Rate for Barbados, 1990–2025.
Latest value · 2025
64.69%
Labor Force Participation Rate · % of population ages 15+ · -5.6% since 1990
Labor participation for Barbados was 64.69% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 36 years, from 1990 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 70.15% in 2004. The lowest was 62.39% in 2021 (about 1.0× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.16% per year.
Barbados ranks 66 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 35%. The median for Latin America & Caribbean is 63.14%, so Barbados sits above it. It peaked in 2004 and has fallen 8% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 1%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
64.69%
First (1990)
68.51%
Change
-5.6%
Highest
70.15%
in 2004
Lowest
62.39%
in 2021
Average
67.69%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.16%
Years of data
36
Recent years
| Year | % of population ages 15+ |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 64.69% |
| 2024 | 64.97% |
| 2023 | 65.02% |
| 2022 | 65.35% |
| 2021 | 62.39% |
| 2020 | 63.1% |
| 2019 | 64.93% |
| 2018 | 65.71% |
| 2017 | 66.17% |
| 2016 | 66.06% |
| 2015 | 65.43% |
| 2014 | 66.34% |
Reading this correctly. Proportion of the population aged 15 and above that is economically active: supplying labor for the production of goods and services. Figures are in % of population ages 15+. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.TLF.CACT.ZS — Labor Force Participation Rate. 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.