Barbados

Barbados is built on coral—85% of the island's surface is coral limestone, making it geologically distinct from the volcanic islands that dominate the Caribbean. This easternmost island of the region sits 160 km from the nearest neighbor, isolated in a position that historically made it the first landfall for ships crossing the Atlantic. At 434 km², it ranks among the smallest countries in the Americas.

The economy has transitioned twice. Sugar plantations worked by enslaved Africans dominated from colonization until abolition in 1834, with sugar, rum, and molasses remaining central through most of the 20th century. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed agriculture. Today tourism contributes 17-31% of GDP (depending on measurement) and supports 33% of jobs. Visitor numbers exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2024, growing 10.7%.

November 30, 2021 marked a symbolic transition: Barbados became a republic, removing the British monarch as head of state while remaining in the Commonwealth. Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who inherited $7.5 billion in uncovered debt in 2018, has implemented the Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan (BERT) through 2027—targeting diversification, energy transition, and debt reduction toward a 60% debt-to-GDP ratio by 2035.

Real GDP grew 2.7% in 2025, the fourth consecutive year of expansion. Unemployment fell to historic lows. The island even has modest oil production—50-55 operational onshore wells, with gas covering 30% of domestic needs. Yet Barbados remains fundamentally a coral island economy: its prosperity rises and falls with the reefs that tourists come to see and the coral limestone that distinguishes it from its volcanic neighbors.