How many people live in Barbados right now?
Right now, according to UN estimates
282,744
| Today | In 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Births | · | · |
| Deaths | · | · |
| Growth | · | · |
2026 figures
- Rank by population
- 187 of 237
- Share of world population
- 0.0034%
- Median age
- 39.7 years
- Children per woman
- 1.70
- Life expectancy
- 76.6 years
- People per km²
- 658
According to UN estimates, about 282,744 people live in Barbados right now. It ranks 187th out of 237 countries and territories by population, between French Polynesia and São Tomé and Príncipe, and it is home to one in every 29,400 people on the planet.
Every day, about 9 people are born there and about 8 die. Overall, it gains about 70 people a year.
In 1950, about 209,917 people lived there. Since then, the population has grown by 35%. The UN expects it to peak around 2028, at about 282,793, and then begin to fall. By 2050 it is projected to have about 264,216 people (7% fewer than today), and by 2100 about 194,698.
Half of its people are younger than 40 (worldwide, 31). Women have an average of 1.70 children each, below the 2.1 needed for each generation to replace the one before, and life expectancy at birth is 77 years (worldwide, 74). There are 658 people per square kilometer.
UN estimates up to today and projections (medium variant) from today onward.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the population of Barbados in 2026?
- Barbados has about 282,744 people right now, according to the UN's World Population Prospects 2024. On July 1, 2026, there were 282,724.
- How many people are born each day in Barbados?
- About 9 a day (3,100 a year). About 8 people die each day (2,900 a year).
- Is the population of Barbados growing?
- Barely: the population stays almost the same from one year to the next.
- What will the population of Barbados be in 2050?
- According to the UN projection (medium variant), about 264,216, with a peak around 2028 at about 282,793.
- Why doesn't this figure match the country's official statistics?
- The UN estimates the population of every country with the same method, based on censuses, surveys and registers, and projects it year by year. Each national statistics office uses its own censuses and registers, which may be more up to date or count foreign residents differently. That is why the figures can differ slightly.
Countries with a similar population
- French Guiana 320,556
- New Caledonia 298,674
- French Polynesia 283,264
- São Tomé and Príncipe 246,502
- Samoa 220,922
- Curaçao 185,416
More countries in the Americas
- United States 349,570,534
- Brazil 213,783,506
- Mexico 133,319,743
- Colombia 54,089,625
- Argentina 46,051,044
- Canada 40,567,031
- Peru 35,027,396
- Venezuela 28,673,179
- Chile 19,971,238
- Guatemala 19,055,559
- Ecuador 18,493,692
- Bolivia 12,801,705
All countries and territories →
Where these figures come from
The figures are estimates from the United Nations Population Division, published in World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant): the reference used by international organizations and by most population counters. The UN estimates how many people there are on July 1 of each year and how many are born, die and migrate; between one date and the next, this counter spreads the change continuously, second by second.
It is not a real-time headcount: nobody can count every person in a country at once. It is the best available estimate, and it may differ slightly from the figures of each country's statistics office, which use their own censuses and population registers.