Barbados: Current account balance (current US$, BoP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, Barbados' current account balance (current US$, BoP) rose US$155.99 million on 2016 (from −US$452.39 million to −US$296.4 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2016), the average change was −US$16.43 million and a typical year strayed about US$178.76 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 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 US$546.83 million in 2015 and the biggest yearly fall was US$393.08 million in 2014. 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 less than 1% 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.

What this measures

Balance of current transactions (transactions in goods and services, earned income and transfer income) between residents and non-residents. The term current account balance is used in the external accounts and is expressed from the perspective of resident units. The term current external balance is used in the national accounts and is expressed from the perspective of the non-resident units, and therefore with the opposite sign. 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: Discrepancies may arise in the balance of payments because there is no single source for balance of payments data and therefore no way to ensure that the data are fully consistent. Sources include customs data, monetary accounts of the banking system, external debt records, information provided by enterprises, surveys to estimate service transactions, and foreign exchange records. Differences in collection methods - such as in timing, definitions of residence and ownership, and the exchange rate used to value transactions - contribute to net errors and omissions. In addition, smuggling and other illegal or quasi-legal transactions may be unrecorded or misrecorded.

All 51 values

Current account balance (current US$, BoP) in nearby economies

• Antigua and Barbuda — −US$281.35 million (2025)
• Argentina — −US$7.79 billion (2025)
• Aruba — US$194.5 million (2023)
• Bahamas, The — −US$1.05 billion (2024)
• Belize — −US$92.27 million (2025)
• Bolivia — −US$458.62 million (2025)
• Brazil — −US$66.72 billion (2025)
• Chile — −US$4.35 billion (2025)
• Colombia — −US$11.02 billion (2025)
• Costa Rica — −US$541 million (2025)

More economic policy & debt data for Barbados

• GDP (current US$) — US$8.02 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 16.03 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$6.5 billion (2025)
• GDP (constant LCU) — 15.34 billion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$28,365 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 56,730 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$23,014 (2025)
• GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 54,263 (2025)
• GNI (current US$) — US$7.69 billion (2025)
• GNI (current LCU) — 15.38 billion (2025)
• GNI per capita (current LCU) — 54,417 (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Barbados's current account balance (current US$, BoP)?

−US$296.4 million in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1967?

It is down 1,523% from −US$18.26 million in 1967. The highest value was US$146.17 million in 1992 and the lowest −US$645.56 million in 2014.

Is the latest change in current account balance (current US$, BoP) unusual for Barbados?

In 2017, Barbados' current account balance (current US$, BoP) rose US$155.99 million on 2016 (from −US$452.39 million to −US$296.4 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2016), the average change was −US$16.43 million and a typical year strayed about US$178.76 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 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?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator BN.CAB.XOKA.CD, 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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