Barbados — Urban population
Urban Population (% of Total) for Barbados, 1960–2025.
Urban population for Barbados was 59.70% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 66 years, from 1960 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 63.56% in 1990. The lowest was 40.43% in 1960 (about 1.5× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.60% per year.
Barbados ranks 126 of 217 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 58%. The median for Latin America & Caribbean is 72.52%, so Barbados sits below it. It peaked in 1990 and has fallen 6% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved up 1%. Within Latin America & Caribbean it ranks 28 of 42 economies; Nicaragua (59.44%) is just below it.
Data highlights
Doubling roughly every 116 years at that pace.
World ranking. Slipped: 85th of 217 in 1960 → 93rd of 217 in 1970 → 65th of 217 in 1980 → 84th of 217 in 1990 → 87th of 217 in 2000 → 113th of 217 in 2010 → 122nd of 217 in 2020 → 126th of 217 in 2025.
Key figures
Full history — 1960 to 2025
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 59.7% | +0.2 pp |
| 2024 | 59.54% | +0.1 pp |
| 2023 | 59.42% | +0.1 pp |
| 2022 | 59.35% | +0.0 pp |
| 2021 | 59.32% | +0.0 pp |
| 2020 | 59.3% | +0.0 pp |
| 2019 | 59.28% | +0.0 pp |
| 2018 | 59.27% | +0.0 pp |
| 2017 | 59.26% | +0.0 pp |
| 2016 | 59.25% | +0.0 pp |
| 2015 | 59.25% | +0.0 pp |
| 2014 | 59.24% | +0.0 pp |
| 2013 | 59.24% | +0.0 pp |
| 2012 | 59.24% | +0.0 pp |
| 2011 | 59.24% | +0.0 pp |
| 2010 | 59.24% | -0.1 pp |
| 2009 | 59.29% | -0.2 pp |
| 2008 | 59.49% | -0.3 pp |
| 2007 | 59.8% | -0.4 pp |
| 2006 | 60.2% | -0.4 pp |
| 2005 | 60.64% | -0.5 pp |
| 2004 | 61.1% | -0.5 pp |
| 2003 | 61.55% | -0.4 pp |
| 2002 | 61.97% | -0.3 pp |
| 2001 | 62.3% | -0.2 pp |
| 2000 | 62.54% | -0.2 pp |
| 1999 | 62.7% | -0.1 pp |
| 1998 | 62.84% | -0.1 pp |
| 1997 | 62.98% | -0.1 pp |
| 1996 | 63.12% | -0.1 pp |
| 1995 | 63.24% | -0.1 pp |
| 1994 | 63.34% | -0.1 pp |
| 1993 | 63.43% | -0.1 pp |
| 1992 | 63.5% | -0.0 pp |
| 1991 | 63.54% | -0.0 pp |
| 1990 | 63.56% | +0.0 pp |
| 1989 | 63.56% | +0.0 pp |
| 1988 | 63.56% | +0.0 pp |
| 1987 | 63.55% | +0.0 pp |
| 1986 | 63.54% | +0.0 pp |
| 1985 | 63.54% | +0.0 pp |
| 1984 | 63.52% | +0.0 pp |
| 1983 | 63.51% | +0.0 pp |
| 1982 | 63.5% | +0.0 pp |
| 1981 | 63.48% | +0.0 pp |
| 1980 | 63.46% | +0.3 pp |
| 1979 | 63.11% | +1.1 pp |
| 1978 | 62% | +1.7 pp |
| 1977 | 60.27% | +2.2 pp |
| 1976 | 58.1% | +2.4 pp |
| 1975 | 55.66% | +2.5 pp |
| 1974 | 53.12% | +2.5 pp |
| 1973 | 50.64% | +2.2 pp |
| 1972 | 48.4% | +1.8 pp |
| 1971 | 46.56% | +1.2 pp |
| 1970 | 45.32% | +0.8 pp |
| 1969 | 44.54% | +0.7 pp |
| 1968 | 43.84% | +0.6 pp |
| 1967 | 43.2% | +0.6 pp |
| 1966 | 42.6% | +0.5 pp |
| 1965 | 42.07% | +0.5 pp |
| 1964 | 41.59% | +0.4 pp |
| 1963 | 41.19% | +0.3 pp |
| 1962 | 40.85% | +0.3 pp |
| 1961 | 40.6% | +0.2 pp |
| 1960 | 40.43% | — |
Frequently asked questions
What was Barbados’s Urban population in 1961?
40.6% (1961). 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 total population, so year-over-year movements in the Change column are percentage points (pp), not percent.
Is Barbados’s Urban population growing or shrinking?
Between 1960 and 2025 the series was growing overall: +47.7% in total — about 0.6% a year compounded.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank Open Data (CC BY-4.0), indicator SP.URB.TOTL.IN.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: 2025: 59.7%; 2024: 59.54%; 2023: 59.42%; 2022: 59.35%; 2021: 59.32%. Earlier years are in the full-history table below.
Related data
SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS — Urban Population (% of Total). 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.