Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%) in Barbados
Barbados: Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%) was 4.0% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP in Barbados, 2000–2024
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database. Measured in %.
Analysis
Barbados recorded 4.0% for foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 29.8% on the previous year and down 69.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp in Barbados peaked at 13.4% in 2014 and was at its lowest, 1.6%, in 2017.
That places Barbados 59th out of 214 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%) in Barbados, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2.4% | — |
| 2001 | 3.0% | +24.4% |
| 2002 | 7.4% | +145.4% |
| 2003 | 5.8% | -21.7% |
| 2004 | 6.6% | +15.2% |
| 2005 | 10.2% | +54.1% |
| 2006 | 8.1% | -20.5% |
| 2007 | 10.2% | +25.5% |
| 2008 | 12.8% | +26.0% |
| 2009 | 8.0% | -37.9% |
| 2010 | 7.5% | -5.9% |
| 2011 | 8.1% | +8.2% |
| 2012 | 9.2% | +12.9% |
| 2013 | 1.8% | -80.0% |
| 2014 | 13.4% | +630.1% |
| 2015 | 12.1% | -9.9% |
| 2016 | 9.8% | -18.7% |
| 2017 | 1.6% | -83.6% |
| 2018 | 4.0% | +150.1% |
| 2019 | 3.5% | -13.2% |
| 2020 | 4.8% | +38.7% |
| 2021 | 4.0% | -17.2% |
| 2022 | 2.9% | -27.6% |
| 2023 | 3.1% | +7.2% |
| 2024 | 4.0% | +29.8% |
Barbados compared with similar countries
- Barbados's 4.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.6%, 1.6× the median. (69 countries reporting)
- Barbados's 4.0% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 3.4%, 1.2× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%) in Barbados changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | +630.1% | 1.8% | 13.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 7.4% | 2.4% | 12.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.1% | 1.6% | 13.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.8% | 2.9% | 4.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Barbados
- 56 Viet Nam 4.2% compare
- 56 Vietnam 4.2% compare
- 58 Democratic Republic of the Congo 4.1% compare
- 60 Kyrgyzstan 4.0% compare
- 61 Cabo Verde 4.0% compare
- 62 Rwanda 4.0% compare
More economy & growth data for Barbados
- Real gdp growth, annual growth rate 85.61 % change on previous year (2024)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.99 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 2 Percent per annum (2029)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, annual growth rate -64.37 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per unit of GDP 0.002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, US dollar, per capita 55.55 units per person (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, annual growth rate -66.07 % change on previous year (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per unit of GDP 0.0014 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- SDRs holdings, SDR, per capita 40.56 units per person (2025)
- IMF holdings of currency, US dollar, annual growth rate -18.55 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp in Barbados?
- Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp in Barbados was 4.0% in 2024, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp recorded in Barbados?
- The highest recorded value was 13.4% in 2014.
- What is the lowest foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp recorded in Barbados?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.6% in 2017.
- How does Barbados rank for foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp?
- Barbados ranks 59th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
- Is foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of gdp rising or falling in Barbados?
- Over the last ten years it is down 69.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Barbados data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Foreign direct investment, net inflows, as a proportion of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).