Barbados vs Malta
Barbados is 39% larger than Malta.
BarbadosMaltaBarbados moved onto Malta · Equal-area projection
1.39×
Barbados is 1.39× the area of Malta.
 Barbados |  Malta | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaBarbados: 1.39× the area | 439 km²#183 of 194 | 316 km²#186 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationMalta: 2.05× the population | 282,623#174 of 194 · 2025 | 579,704#166 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityMalta: 2.85× the density | 644 / km²#8 of 194 | 1,835 / km²#4 of 194 |
| Urban populationMalta: 1.6× the urban share | 60%#106 of 192 · 2025 | 96%#9 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateBarbados: 1.69× the births per woman | 1.71 per woman#117 of 192 · 2024 | 1.01 per woman#188 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthMalta: 1.83 points higher | +0.06%#154 of 192 · 2025 | +1.89%#51 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateBarbados: 1.44× the birth rate | 11.1 per 1,000#122 of 192 · 2024 | 7.7 per 1,000#174 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateBarbados: 1.4× the death rate | 10.2 per 1,000#32 of 192 · 2024 | 7.3 per 1,000#93 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Barbados: 4.2 points higher | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 | 12.9%#182 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Malta: 3.4 points higher | 17.1%#45 of 192 · 2025 | 20.5%#28 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationMalta: 9.2 per 1,000 higher | −0.3 per 1,000#89 of 192 · 2025 | +8.9 per 1,000#9 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadBarbados: 102× the refugees for its size | 2.04 per 1,000#41 of 190 · 2025 | 0.02 per 1,000#145 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyMalta: 6.7 years longer | 76.3 years#75 of 192 · 2024 | 83.0 years#18 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityBarbados: 1.94× the infant mortality | 9.1 per 1,000 births#115 of 191 · 2024 | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsMalta: 1.52× the doctors per person | 2.96 per 1,000#61 of 178 · 2022 | 4.51 per 1,000#16 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentMalta: 1.58× the university enrolment | 50.8%#75 of 145 · 2025 | 80.5%#23 of 145 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexMalta: 0.113 higher | 0.811#68 of 190 · 2023 | 0.924#23 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaMalta: 1.53× the income per person | $27,080#42 of 185 · 2025 | $41,440#26 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPMalta: 3.46× the economy | $8.02B2025 | $27.77B2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Malta: 2.79× the output per person | $25,894#77 of 184 · 2025 | $72,210#21 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthMalta: 1.3 points higher | +2.7%#111 of 187 · 2025 | +4.0%#69 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationMalta: 1.6 points higher | +0.8%#147 of 176 · 2025 | +2.4%#103 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentBarbados: 2.24× the unemployment | 6.5%#65 of 178 · 2025 | 2.9%#144 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme povertyBarbados: 4.25× the share in extreme poverty | 1.7%#76 of 149 · 2016 | 0.4%#107 of 149 · 2023 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Barbados: 2.3 higher | 34.1#78 of 149 · 2016 | 31.8#104 of 149 · 2023 |
| Jobs in agricultureBarbados: 0.3 points higher | 1.2% of jobs#166 of 178 · 2025 | 0.9% of jobs#172 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryMalta: 1.5 points higher | 16.2% of jobs#127 of 178 · 2025 | 17.7% of jobs#110 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesBarbados: 1.2 points higher | 82.6% of jobs#8 of 178 · 2025 | 81.4% of jobs#10 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentMalta: 166.7 points higher | 3.4% of GDP#58 of 184 · 2025 | 170.1% of GDP#1 of 184 · 2024 |
| Exports | — | 119.1% of GDP#5 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spending | — | 0.5% of GDP#146 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersMalta: 1.33× the share online | 70%#118 of 184 · 2024 | 94%#33 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsMalta: 1.23× the mobile subscriptions | 115 per 100#96 of 191 · 2022 | 142 per 100#32 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaBarbados: 9.73× the forest share | 15% of land#133 of 192 · 2024 | 2% of land#174 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personMalta: 1.26× the CO₂ per person | 2.52 t a year#93 of 185 · 2024 | 3.18 t a year#81 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyMalta: 3.1 points higher | 5.5%#157 of 190 · 2022 | 8.6%#150 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)About the same air pollution | 10.9 µg/m³#147 of 191 · 2023 | 10.8 µg/m³#149 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landMalta: 27.9 points higher | 1.1% of land#183 of 191 · 2025 | 29.0% of land#37 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landMalta: 6.0 points higher | 16.2% of land#66 of 190 · 2024 | 22.2% of land#46 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressBarbados: 1.21× the water stress | 87.5%#20 of 176 · 2022 | 72.6%#24 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationBarbados: 2.54× the rain and snow | 1,422 mm#63 of 180 · 2022 | 560 mm#137 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityBarbados: 0.24 higher | +1.28#14 of 193 · 2025 | +1.04#31 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionBarbados: 1.05 higher | +1.23#24 of 193 · 2025 | +0.18#72 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateBarbados: 12.3× the homicide rate | 7.4 per 100,000#36 of 146 · 2023 | 0.6 per 100,000#132 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republicparliamentary republic; a Commonwealth realm | Parliamentary republic |
| Member of | — | EU, Euro area, Schengen Area |
| Capital | Bridgetown | Valletta |
| Currency | Barbadian dollar (BBD) | Euro (EUR) |
| Official languages | English, Bajan Creole | English, Maltese |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC−4 | UTC+1, summer time UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +1 246 | +356 |
| Region | Caribbean, North America | Southern Europe, Europe |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Barbados sits at about 13° N and is stretched to 1.05× its true area; Malta at 36° N is stretched to 1.52×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Barbados bigger than Malta?
- Yes. Barbados is 39% larger than Malta. Barbados covers 439 km² and Malta covers 316 km².
- How many times does Malta fit into Barbados?
- About 1.4 times: Barbados has 1.39× the area of Malta.
- Why do Barbados and Malta look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Barbados is drawn about 1.05× its true area there and Malta about 1.52×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Barbados or Malta?
- Malta: 579,704 people against 282,623. Density: Barbados 644 per km², Malta 1,835 per km².
- Which is richer, Barbados or Malta?
- By gross national income per person, Malta: $41,440 against $27,080 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.53× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Barbados or Malta?
- In Malta: life expectancy at birth is 83.0 years, against 76.3 — 6.7 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Barbados and Malta have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: parliamentary republic (CIA World Factbook).