Barbados: Total reserves in months of imports

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, Barbados' total reserves in months of imports fell 25.4% on 2016 (from 1.68 to 1.26).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2016), the average change was +2.1% and a typical year strayed about 28.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 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 98.7% in 1992 and the biggest yearly fall was 35.6% in 1976. 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 the straight-line trend is downward, about 0.28 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

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to Barbados in the 2017 ranking

• Sudan — 2nd of 2: 0.19

What this measures

Reserve assets are external assets, including monetary gold, that are readily available to and controlled by monetary authorities for meeting balance of payments financing needs, for intervention in exchange markets to affect the currency exchange rate, and for other related purposes (such as maintaining confidence in the currency and the economy, and serving as a basis for foreign borrowing). Reserve assets must be denominated and settled in foreign currency. This item is expressed in terms of the number of months of imports of goods and services they could pay for [X/(Imports/12)].

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

All 51 values

Total reserves in months of imports in nearby economies

• Antigua and Barbuda — 3 (2025)
• Argentina — 4.03 (2025)
• Aruba — 5.82 (2023)
• Bahamas, The — 3.95 (2024)
• Belize — 3.49 (2025)
• Bolivia — 0.51 (2025)
• Brazil — 8.42 (2025)
• Chile — 4.22 (2025)
• Colombia — 7.27 (2025)
• Costa Rica — 4.66 (2025)
• Dominica

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)

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Questions people ask

What is Barbados's total reserves in months of imports?

1.26 in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1967?

It is up 5.39% from 1.19 in 1967 (0.1% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 5.29 in 2001 and the lowest 1.15 in 1991.

Is the latest change in total reserves in months of imports unusual for Barbados?

In 2017, Barbados' total reserves in months of imports fell 25.4% on 2016 (from 1.68 to 1.26). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1987 to 2016), the average change was +2.1% and a typical year strayed about 28.8% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.0 standard deviations below 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: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FI.RES.TOTL.MO, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, 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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