Barbados: Industry, including construction, value added (% of GDP)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Barbados' industry, including construction, value added (% of GDP) fell 0.08 percentage points on 2023 (from 12.29% to 12.21%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.08 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.66 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below 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 5.34 percentage points in 1990 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.32 percentage points in 1985. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.13 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 75% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

How it compares

In 2024, Barbados had the 20th highest value of the 31 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Barbados in the 2024 ranking

• Marshall Islands — 17th of 31: 13.41%
• Palau — 18th of 31: 13.02%
• Monaco — 19th of 31: 12.8%
• Curaçao — 21st of 31: 12.19%
• Timor-Leste — 22nd of 31: 11.82%
• Kiribati — 23rd of 31: 11.78%

What this measures

Industry (including construction) corresponds to ISIC (Rev.4) divisions 05-43. It is comprised of mining, manufacturing, construction, electricity, water, and gas industries. Value added is the contribution to the economy by a producer or an industry or an institutional sector, which is estimated by the total value of output produced and deducting the total value of intermediate consumption of goods and services used to produce that output. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.

Limitations: Ideally, industrial output should be measured through regular censuses and surveys of firms. But in most developing countries such surveys are infrequent, so earlier survey results must be extrapolated using an appropriate indicator. The choice of sampling unit, which may be the enterprise (where responses may be based on financial records) or the establishment (where production units may be recorded separately), also affects the quality of the data. Moreover, much industrial production is organized in unincorporated or owner-operated ventures that are not captured by surveys aimed at the formal sector.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 50 values

Industry, including construction, value added (% of GDP) in nearby economies

• Antigua and Barbuda — 18.17% (2025)
• Argentina — 22.87% (2025)
• Aruba — 10.84% (2023)
• Bahamas, The — 9.63% (2024)
• Belize — 14.57% (2024)
• Bolivia — 31.26% (2024)
• Brazil — 20.15% (2025)
• Cayman Islands — 7.64% (2024)
• Chile — 31.42% (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

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Barbados's industry, including construction, value added (% of GDP)?

12.21% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1975?

It is down 3.81 percentage points from 16.01% in 1975. The highest value was 18.89% in 1978 and the lowest 12.21% in 2024.

How does Barbados rank?

20th highest of 31 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in industry, including construction, value added (% of GDP) unusual for Barbados?

In 2024, Barbados' industry, including construction, value added (% of GDP) fell 0.08 percentage points on 2023 (from 12.29% to 12.21%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.08 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.66 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator NV.IND.TOTL.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Country official statistics, National Statistical Offices (NSOs); National Accounts data files, Central Banks; Staff estimates, World Bank (WB) 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.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.