Military spending as a share of GDP in Barbados
Barbados: Military spending as a share of GDP was 0.8% in 2019. ◆ Volatile
Military spending as a share of GDP in Barbados, 1966–2019
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Barbados recorded 0.8% for military spending as a share of gdp in 2019. That is the highest value across all 54 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.9% on the previous year and up 42.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Barbados peaked at 0.8% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1972.
That places Barbados 132nd out of 172 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Barbados, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1966 | 0.2% | — |
| 1967 | 0.1% | -12.6% |
| 1968 | 0.1% | -12.8% |
| 1969 | 0.1% | -18.7% |
| 1970 | 0.1% | -15.4% |
| 1971 | 0.1% | -14.3% |
| 1972 | 0.0% | -35.3% |
| 1973 | 0.1% | +158.4% |
| 1974 | 0.1% | +5.6% |
| 1975 | 0.1% | -10.0% |
| 1976 | 0.1% | -3.9% |
| 1977 | 0.1% | -2.1% |
| 1978 | 0.1% | +13.7% |
| 1979 | 0.2% | +91.9% |
| 1980 | 0.5% | +146.1% |
| 1981 | 0.6% | +8.2% |
| 1982 | 0.5% | -6.5% |
| 1983 | 0.5% | -2.3% |
| 1984 | 0.5% | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 0.5% | -5.4% |
| 1986 | 0.4% | -16.2% |
| 1987 | 0.4% | -8.5% |
| 1988 | 0.4% | +4.3% |
| 1989 | 0.4% | -4.7% |
| 1990 | 0.4% | +8.4% |
| 1991 | 0.4% | -3.5% |
| 1992 | 0.4% | -3.3% |
| 1993 | 0.4% | +5.4% |
| 1994 | 0.4% | -2.4% |
| 1995 | 0.4% | -2.3% |
| 1996 | 0.4% | -10.1% |
| 1997 | 0.3% | -2.4% |
| 1998 | 0.3% | -3.8% |
| 1999 | 0.3% | -6.5% |
| 2000 | 0.3% | -0.3% |
| 2001 | 0.3% | +6.0% |
| 2002 | 0.3% | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 0.4% | +18.1% |
| 2004 | 0.4% | +13.4% |
| 2005 | 0.5% | +12.5% |
| 2006 | 0.5% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 0.5% | +4.9% |
| 2008 | 0.5% | -0.8% |
| 2009 | 0.6% | +7.3% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | +1.6% |
| 2011 | 0.6% | +10.9% |
| 2012 | 0.7% | +7.5% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | -2.4% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | +5.1% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | +2.4% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | +1.9% |
| 2017 | 0.8% | +4.7% |
| 2018 | 0.8% | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 0.8% | +2.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.2% | 4 |
| 1970s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 0.8% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Barbados
More economy & growth data for Barbados
- 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)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 5.1 % change on previous year (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 0.1009 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant 2015 US$) 2,713 constant 2015 US$ per person (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant LCU), annual 5.1 % change on previous year (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant LCU), per 0.2456 constant LCU per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Industry (including construction), value added (constant LCU), per 6,605 constant LCU per person (2024)
- Services, value added (current US$), annual growth rate 5.66 % change on previous year (2024)
- Services, value added (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.7584 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Barbados?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Barbados was 0.8% in 2019, according to Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Barbados?
- The highest recorded value was 0.8% in 2019.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Barbados?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1972.
- How does Barbados rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Barbados ranks 132nd out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Barbados?
- Over the last ten years it is up 42.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Barbados data come from?
- The figures come from Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Military spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).