Barbados vs Saint Kitts and Nevis
Barbados is 63% larger than Saint Kitts and Nevis. Saint Kitts and Nevis would fit into Barbados about 1.6 times.
BarbadosSaint Kitts and NevisBarbados moved onto Saint Kitts and Nevis · Equal-area projection
1.63×
Barbados is 1.63× the area of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
 Barbados |  Saint Kitts and Nevis | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaBarbados: 1.63× the area | 439 km²#183 of 194 | 269 km²#188 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationBarbados: 6.02× the population | 282,623#174 of 194 · 2025 | 46,922#187 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityBarbados: 3.69× the density | 644 / km²#8 of 194 | 174 / km²#54 of 194 |
| Urban populationBarbados: 1.87× the urban share | 60%#106 of 192 · 2025 | 32%#167 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateBarbados: 1.12× the births per woman | 1.71 per woman#117 of 192 · 2024 | 1.53 per woman#133 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSaint Kitts and Nevis: 0.11 points higher | +0.06%#154 of 192 · 2025 | +0.17%#150 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateSaint Kitts and Nevis: 1.05× the birth rate | 11.1 per 1,000#122 of 192 · 2024 | 11.7 per 1,000#114 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateAbout the same death rate | 10.2 per 1,000#32 of 192 · 2024 | 10.0 per 1,000#35 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Saint Kitts and Nevis: 1.2 points higher | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 | 18.3%#124 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Barbados: 5.4 points higher | 17.1%#45 of 192 · 2025 | 11.7%#73 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSaint Kitts and Nevis: 0.7 per 1,000 higher | −0.3 per 1,000#89 of 192 · 2025 | +0.4 per 1,000#60 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadBarbados: 2.65× the refugees for its size | 2.04 per 1,000#41 of 190 · 2025 | 0.77 per 1,000#66 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyBarbados: 4.0 years longer | 76.3 years#75 of 192 · 2024 | 72.3 years#113 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySaint Kitts and Nevis: 1.53× the infant mortality | 9.1 per 1,000 births#115 of 191 · 2024 | 13.9 per 1,000 births#89 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSaint Kitts and Nevis: 1.04× the doctors per person | 2.96 per 1,000#61 of 178 · 2022 | 3.09 per 1,000#58 of 178 · 2018 |
| University enrolment | 50.8%#75 of 145 · 2025 | — |
| Human Development IndexSaint Kitts and Nevis: 0.029 higher | 0.811#68 of 190 · 2023 | 0.840#57 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaBarbados: 1.1× the income per person | $27,080#42 of 185 · 2025 | $24,530#48 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPBarbados: 6.77× the economy | $8.02B2025 | $1.18B2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Saint Kitts and Nevis: 1.42× the output per person | $25,894#77 of 184 · 2025 | $36,777#59 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthThe same | +2.7%#111 of 187 · 2025 | +2.7%#111 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationSaint Kitts and Nevis: 2.8 points higher | +0.8%#147 of 176 · 2025 | +3.6%#71 of 176 · 2023 |
| 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 investmentBarbados: 1.0 points higher | 3.4% of GDP#58 of 184 · 2025 | 2.4% of GDP#78 of 184 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSaint Kitts and Nevis: 1.09× the share online | 70%#118 of 184 · 2024 | 77%#105 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSaint Kitts and Nevis: 1.03× the mobile subscriptions | 115 per 100#96 of 191 · 2022 | 119 per 100#85 of 191 · 2023 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaSaint Kitts and Nevis: 2.88× the forest share | 15% of land#133 of 192 · 2024 | 42% of land#61 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSaint Kitts and Nevis: 1.14× the CO₂ per person | 2.52 t a year#93 of 185 · 2024 | 2.88 t a year#84 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyBarbados: 4.0 points higher | 5.5%#157 of 190 · 2022 | 1.5%#170 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Barbados: 1.22× the air pollution | 10.9 µg/m³#147 of 191 · 2023 | 8.9 µg/m³#160 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSaint Kitts and Nevis: 15.8 points higher | 1.1% of land#183 of 191 · 2025 | 16.9% of land#101 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landSaint Kitts and Nevis: 3.0 points higher | 16.2% of land#66 of 190 · 2024 | 19.2% of land#55 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressBarbados: 1.72× the water stress | 87.5%#20 of 176 · 2022 | 50.8%#36 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationAbout the same rain and snow | 1,422 mm#63 of 180 · 2022 | 1,427 mm#62 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityBarbados: 0.15 higher | +1.28#14 of 193 · 2025 | +1.13#26 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionBarbados: 0.91 higher | +1.23#24 of 193 · 2025 | +0.32#66 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateSaint Kitts and Nevis: 8.68× the homicide rate | 7.4 per 100,000#36 of 146 · 2023 | 64.2 per 100,000#1 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republicparliamentary republic; a Commonwealth realm | Constitutional monarchyfederal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm |
| Capital | Bridgetown | Basseterre |
| Currency | Barbadian dollar (BBD) | Eastern Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
| Official languages | English, Bajan Creole | English |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC−4 | UTC−4 |
| Calling code | +1 246 | +1 869 |
| Region | Caribbean, North America | Caribbean, North America |
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 Kitts and Nevis at 17° N is stretched to 1.1×. 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 Kitts and Nevis?
- Yes. Barbados is 63% larger than Saint Kitts and Nevis. Barbados covers 439 km² and Saint Kitts and Nevis covers 269 km².
- How many times does Saint Kitts and Nevis fit into Barbados?
- About 1.6 times: Barbados has 1.63× the area of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
- Why do Barbados and Saint Kitts and Nevis 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 Kitts and Nevis about 1.1×. 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 Kitts and Nevis?
- Barbados: 282,623 people against 46,922. Density: Barbados 644 per km², Saint Kitts and Nevis 174 per km².
- Which is richer, Barbados or Saint Kitts and Nevis?
- By gross national income per person, Barbados: $27,080 against $24,530 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.1× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Barbados or Saint Kitts and Nevis?
- In Barbados: life expectancy at birth is 76.3 years, against 72.3 — 4.0 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Barbados and Saint Kitts and Nevis have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Barbados: parliamentary republic; Saint Kitts and Nevis: constitutional monarchy.