Barbados vs Seychelles
Seychelles is 5% larger than Barbados.
BarbadosSeychellesBarbados moved onto Seychelles · Equal-area projection
0.96×
Barbados is 0.96× the area of Seychelles. Put the other way, Seychelles is 1.05× the size of Barbados.
 Barbados |  Seychelles | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSeychelles: 1.05× the area | 439 km²#183 of 194 | 459 km²#181 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationBarbados: 2.3× the population | 282,623#174 of 194 · 2025 | 122,730#179 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityBarbados: 2.41× the density | 644 / km²#8 of 194 | 267 / km²#33 of 194 |
| Urban populationBarbados: 1.31× the urban share | 60%#106 of 192 · 2025 | 46%#137 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateSeychelles: 1.08× the births per woman | 1.71 per woman#117 of 192 · 2024 | 1.85 per woman#104 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSeychelles: 1.07 points higher | +0.06%#154 of 192 · 2025 | +1.13%#90 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateAbout the same birth rate | 11.1 per 1,000#122 of 192 · 2024 | 11.0 per 1,000#125 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateBarbados: 1.46× the death rate | 10.2 per 1,000#32 of 192 · 2024 | 7.0 per 1,000#102 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Seychelles: 2.7 points higher | 17.1%#140 of 192 · 2025 | 19.8%#116 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Barbados: 8.4 points higher | 17.1%#45 of 192 · 2025 | 8.7%#86 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSeychelles: 13.3 per 1,000 higher | −0.3 per 1,000#89 of 192 · 2025 | +13.0 per 1,000#5 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadBarbados: 25.5× the refugees for its size | 2.04 per 1,000#41 of 190 · 2025 | 0.08 per 1,000#122 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyThe same life expectancy | 76.3 years#75 of 192 · 2024 | 76.3 years#75 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalitySeychelles: 1.42× the infant mortality | 9.1 per 1,000 births#115 of 191 · 2024 | 12.9 per 1,000 births#93 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSeychelles: 2.23× the doctors per person | 2.96 per 1,000#61 of 178 · 2022 | 6.60 per 1,000#3 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolmentBarbados: 3.5× the university enrolment | 50.8%#75 of 145 · 2025 | 14.5%#124 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexSeychelles: 0.037 higher | 0.811#68 of 190 · 2023 | 0.848#53 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaBarbados: 1.41× the income per person | $27,080#42 of 185 · 2025 | $19,200#56 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPBarbados: 3.36× the economy | $8.02B2025 | $2.39B2025 |
| Income group | High income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Seychelles: 1.38× the output per person | $25,894#77 of 184 · 2025 | $35,854#60 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthSeychelles: 3.1 points higher | +2.7%#111 of 187 · 2025 | +5.8%#35 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationBarbados: 0.5 points higher | +0.8%#147 of 176 · 2025 | +0.3%#156 of 176 · 2025 |
| Unemployment | 6.5%#65 of 178 · 2025 | — |
| Extreme povertyBarbados: 2.43× the share in extreme poverty | 1.7%#76 of 149 · 2016 | 0.7%#98 of 149 · 2018 |
| Income inequality (Gini)Barbados: 2.0 higher | 34.1#78 of 149 · 2016 | 32.1#102 of 149 · 2018 |
| 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 investmentSeychelles: 6.6 points higher | 3.4% of GDP#58 of 184 · 2025 | 10.0% of GDP#17 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 79.6% of GDP#13 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spending | — | 1.2% of GDP#102 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSeychelles: 1.25× the share online | 70%#118 of 184 · 2024 | 88%#68 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSeychelles: 1.1× the mobile subscriptions | 115 per 100#96 of 191 · 2022 | 126 per 100#64 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaSeychelles: 4.01× the forest share | 15% of land#133 of 192 · 2024 | 59% of land#29 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSeychelles: 2.87× the CO₂ per person | 2.52 t a year#93 of 185 · 2024 | 7.24 t a year#29 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyBarbados: 3.6 points higher | 5.5%#157 of 190 · 2022 | 1.9%#168 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Barbados: 1.17× the air pollution | 10.9 µg/m³#147 of 191 · 2023 | 9.3 µg/m³#159 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSeychelles: 67.0 points higher | 1.1% of land#183 of 191 · 2025 | 68.1% of land#1 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landBarbados: 15.9 points higher | 16.2% of land#66 of 190 · 2024 | 0.3% of land#186 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stress | 87.5%#20 of 176 · 2022 | — |
| PrecipitationSeychelles: 1.64× the rain and snow | 1,422 mm#63 of 180 · 2022 | 2,330 mm#20 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityBarbados: 0.11 higher | +1.28#14 of 193 · 2025 | +1.17#25 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionThe same | +1.23#24 of 193 · 2025 | +1.23#24 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateSeychelles: 1.08× the homicide rate | 7.4 per 100,000#36 of 146 · 2023 | 8.0 per 100,000#34 of 146 · 2022 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republicparliamentary republic; a Commonwealth realm | Presidential republic |
| Capital | Bridgetown | Victoria |
| Currency | Barbadian dollar (BBD) | Seychellois rupee (SCR) |
| Official languages | English, Bajan Creole | English, French, Seychellois Creole |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC−4 | UTC+4 |
| Calling code | +1 246 | +248 |
| Region | Caribbean, North America | Eastern 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; Seychelles at 5° S is stretched to 1.01×. 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 Seychelles?
- No. Barbados is 4% smaller than Seychelles. Barbados covers 439 km² and Seychelles covers 459 km².
- How many times does Barbados fit into Seychelles?
- About 1.0 times: Seychelles has 1.05× the area of Barbados.
- Why do Barbados and Seychelles 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 Seychelles about 1.01×. 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 Seychelles?
- Barbados: 282,623 people against 122,730. Density: Barbados 644 per km², Seychelles 267 per km².
- Which is richer, Barbados or Seychelles?
- By gross national income per person, Barbados: $27,080 against $19,200 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 1.41× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Barbados or Seychelles?
- Life expectancy at birth is the same in both: 76.3 years.
- What kind of government do Barbados and Seychelles have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Barbados: parliamentary republic; Seychelles: presidential republic.