Barbados's people using at least basic drinking water services (% of population) was 99.16% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 0.43 percentage points from 98.73% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 99.16% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 98.97% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 98.73% | 2014 |
| Highest | 99.16% | 2023 |
| Lowest | 98.07% | 2000 |
| Average since 2015 | 98.99% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 98.07% | 2000 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Barbados' people using at least basic drinking water services (% of population) did not change 0 percentage points on 2023 (from 99.16% to 99.16%).
Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2023), the average change was +0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 974667776915.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.05 percentage points in 2004. 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 upward, about 0.04 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 99% 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.
A straight-line projection, tested first
Extending that straight line gives about 99.33% for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.02%, against 0.08% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.
See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.
How it compares
In 2024, Barbados had the 78th highest value of the 201 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.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Barbados | 99.16% | 2024 |
| World | 91.45% | 2024 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 97.55% | 2024 |
| High income | 99.16% | 2024 |
Closest to Barbados in the 2024 ranking
- Trinidad and Tobago — 75th of 201: 99.25%
- Bulgaria — 76th of 201: 99.19%
- Japan — 77th of 201: 99.18%
- Chile — 79th of 201: 99.08%
- Saudi Arabia — 80th of 201: 99.04%
- Antigua and Barbuda — 81st of 201: 98.92%
What this measures
The percentage of people using at least basic water services. This indicator encompasses both people using basic water services as well as those using safely managed water services. Basic drinking water services is defined as drinking water from an improved source, provided collection time is not more than 30 minutes for a round trip. Improved water sources include piped water, boreholes or tubewells, protected dug wells, protected springs, and packaged or delivered water.
Limitations: National, regional and income group estimates are made when data are available for at least 50 percent of the population.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 25 values
| Year | People using at least basic drinking water services (% of population) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 99.16 |
| 2023 | 99.16 |
| 2022 | 99.12 |
| 2021 | 99.07 |
| 2020 | 99.02 |
| 2019 | 98.97 |
| 2018 | 98.92 |
| 2017 | 98.88 |
| 2016 | 98.83 |
| 2015 | 98.78 |
| 2014 |
People using at least basic drinking water services (% of population) in nearby economies
- Antigua and Barbuda — 98.92% (2024)
- Argentina — 99.04% (2016)
- Aruba — 96.74% (2016)
- Bahamas, The — 98.95% (2019)
- Belize — 94.85% (2024)
- Bolivia — 93.39% (2024)
- Brazil — 100% (2024)
- British Virgin Islands — 99.86% (2024)
- Cayman Islands
More health data for Barbados
- Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 5.23% (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 5.86% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female — 23,719 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 16.12% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male — 24,507 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 18.08% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total — 48,226 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 17.06% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 5.35% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Barbados's people using at least basic drinking water services (% of population)?
- 99.16% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SH.H2O.BASW.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, World Health Organization (WHO), uri: washdata.org, publisher: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (washdata.org), date accessed: 2025-09-30, date published: 2025-08… 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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