Barbados vs Saint Helena
Barbados is 11% larger than Saint Helena.
BarbadosSaint HelenaBarbados moved onto Saint Helena · Equal-area projection
Remote islands and overseas parts not drawn; the figures include them
1.11×
Barbados is 1.11× the area of Saint Helena.
 Barbados |  Saint Helena | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaBarbados: 1.11× the area | 439 km²#183 of 194 | 394 km² |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationBarbados: 50.2× the population | 282,623#174 of 194 · 2025 | 5,6332016 |
| DensityBarbados: 45× the density | 644 / km²#8 of 194 | 14 / km² |
| Urban population | 60%#106 of 192 · 2025 | — |
| Fertility rate | 1.71 per woman#117 of 192 · 2024 | — |
| Population growth | +0.06%#154 of 192 · 2025 | — |
| Birth rate | 11.1 per 1,000#122 of 192 · 2024 | — |
| Death rate | 10.2 per 1,000#32 of 192 · 2024 | — |
| Children under 15 | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 | — |
| People over 65 | 17.1%#45 of 192 · 2025 | — |
| Net migration | −0.3 per 1,000#89 of 192 · 2025 | — |
| Refugees abroad | 2.04 per 1,000#41 of 190 · 2025 | — |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancy | 76.3 years#75 of 192 · 2024 | — |
| Infant mortality | 9.1 per 1,000 births#115 of 191 · 2024 | — |
| Doctors | 2.96 per 1,000#61 of 178 · 2022 | — |
| University enrolment | 50.8%#75 of 145 · 2025 | — |
| Human Development Index | 0.811#68 of 190 · 2023 | — |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | $27,080#42 of 185 · 2025 | — |
| GDP | $8.02B2025 | — |
| Income group | High income | — |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $25,894#77 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| GDP growth | +2.7%#111 of 187 · 2025 | — |
| Inflation | +0.8%#147 of 176 · 2025 | — |
| Unemployment | 6.5%#65 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Extreme poverty | 1.7%#76 of 149 · 2016 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 34.1#78 of 149 · 2016 | — |
| Jobs in agriculture | 1.2% of jobs#166 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Jobs in industry | 16.2% of jobs#127 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Jobs in services | 82.6% of jobs#8 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Foreign investment | 3.4% of GDP#58 of 184 · 2025 | — |
| Internet users | 70%#118 of 184 · 2024 | — |
| Mobile subscriptions | 115 per 100#96 of 191 · 2022 | — |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest area | 15% of land#133 of 192 · 2024 | — |
| CO₂ per person | 2.52 t a year#93 of 185 · 2024 | — |
| Renewable energy | 5.5%#157 of 190 · 2022 | — |
| Access to electricity | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | — |
| Air pollution (PM2.5) | 10.9 µg/m³#147 of 191 · 2023 | — |
| Protected land | 1.1% of land#183 of 191 · 2025 | — |
| Arable land | 16.2% of land#66 of 190 · 2024 | — |
| Water stress | 87.5%#20 of 176 · 2022 | — |
| Precipitation | 1,422 mm#63 of 180 · 2022 | — |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stability | +1.28#14 of 193 · 2025 | — |
| Control of corruption | +1.23#24 of 193 · 2025 | — |
| Homicide rate | 7.4 per 100,000#36 of 146 · 2023 | — |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Territory of United Kingdom |
| Government | Parliamentary republicparliamentary republic; a Commonwealth realm | Dependent territoryparliamentary democracy |
| Capital | Bridgetown | Jamestown |
| Currency | Barbadian dollar (BBD) | Pound sterling (GBP), Saint Helena pound (SHP) |
| Official languages | English, Bajan Creole | English |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC−4 | UTC |
| Calling code | +1 246 | +290, +247 |
| Region | Caribbean, North America | Western Africa, Africa |
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; Saint Helena at 12° S is stretched to 1.05×. 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 Saint Helena?
- Yes. Barbados is 11% larger than Saint Helena. Barbados covers 439 km² and Saint Helena covers 394 km².
- How many times does Saint Helena fit into Barbados?
- About 1.1 times: Barbados has 1.11× the area of Saint Helena.
- Why do Barbados and Saint Helena 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 Saint Helena about 1.05×. 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 Saint Helena?
- Barbados: 282,623 people against 5,633. Density: Barbados 644 per km², Saint Helena 14 per km².
- What kind of government do Barbados and Saint Helena have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Barbados: parliamentary republic; Saint Helena: dependent territory.