Barbados: Commercial service exports (current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, Barbados' commercial service exports (current US$) rose 6.5% on 2016 (from US$1.41 billion to US$1.5 billion).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2016), the average change was +4.2% and a typical year strayed about 8.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 49.2% in 1979 and the biggest yearly fall was 7.8% in 1990. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 6% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Commercial service exports are total service exports minus exports of government services not included elsewhere. Exports of services are services provided by residents to non-residents. This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.

Limitations: Balance of payments statistics, the main source of information on international trade in services, have many weaknesses. Disaggregation of important components may be limited and varies considerably across countries. There are inconsistencies in the methods used to report items. And the recording of major flows as net items is common (for example, insurance transactions are often recorded as premiums less claims). These factors contribute to a downward bias in the value of the service trade reported in the balance of payments. Efforts are being made to improve the coverage, quality, and consistency of these data.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a gap-filled total.

All 51 values

Commercial service exports (current US$) in nearby economies

• Antigua and Barbuda — US$1.21 billion (2025)
• Argentina — US$18.1 billion (2025)
• Aruba — US$2.96 billion (2023)
• Bahamas, The — US$5.84 billion (2024)
• Belize — US$1.16 billion (2025)
• Bolivia — US$1.27 billion (2025)
• Brazil — US$53.54 billion (2025)
• Chile — US$12.55 billion (2025)
• Colombia — US$19.74 billion (2025)
• Costa Rica — US$18.05 billion (2025)

More private sector & trade data for Barbados

• Merchandise trade (% of GDP) — 33.14% (2025)
• Merchandise imports (current US$) — US$2.23 billion (2025)
• Merchandise exports (current US$) — US$428 million (2025)
• Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports) — 87.11% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies outside region (% of total merchandise imports) — 5.7% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in Latin America & the Caribbean (% of total merchandise imports) — 7.19% (2023)
• Merchandise imports from low- and middle-income economies in South Asia (% of total merchandise imports) — 0.52% (2023)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Barbados's commercial service exports (current US$)?

US$1.5 billion in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1967?

It is up 5,092% from US$28.83 million in 1967 (8.22% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$1.5 billion in 2017 and the lowest US$28.83 million in 1967.

Is the latest change in commercial service exports (current US$) unusual for Barbados?

In 2017, Barbados' commercial service exports (current US$) rose 6.5% on 2016 (from US$1.41 billion to US$1.5 billion). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2016), the average change was +4.2% and a typical year strayed about 8.6% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.3 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator TX.VAL.SERV.CD.WT, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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