Merchandise trade in Barbados
Barbados: Merchandise trade was 33.1% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Merchandise trade in Barbados, 1960–2025
Source: World Trade Organization (WTO). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2025, merchandise trade in Barbados stood at 33.1%.
The figure is down 3.7% on the previous year and down 10.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise trade in Barbados peaked at 103.4% in 1966 and was at its lowest, 32.8%, in 2019.
Barbados ranks 169th of 204 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Merchandise trade in Barbados, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 91.2% | — |
| 1961 | 84.3% | -7.5% |
| 1962 | 91.2% | +8.2% |
| 1963 | 99.1% | +8.6% |
| 1964 | 99.7% | +0.6% |
| 1965 | 100.0% | +0.2% |
| 1966 | 103.4% | +3.4% |
| 1967 | 94.0% | -9.1% |
| 1968 | 98.6% | +4.9% |
| 1969 | 94.8% | -3.9% |
| 1970 | 95.1% | +0.3% |
| 1971 | 88.3% | -7.1% |
| 1972 | 86.6% | -2.0% |
| 1973 | 85.1% | -1.6% |
| 1974 | 93.0% | +9.2% |
| 1975 | 80.6% | -13.4% |
| 1976 | 74.1% | -8.0% |
| 1977 | 74.7% | +0.9% |
| 1978 | 80.5% | +7.7% |
| 1979 | 86.1% | +6.9% |
| 1980 | 74.1% | -13.9% |
| 1981 | 68.7% | -7.2% |
| 1982 | 69.4% | +1.0% |
| 1983 | 75.8% | +9.2% |
| 1984 | 77.7% | +2.5% |
| 1985 | 68.0% | -12.5% |
| 1986 | 55.7% | -18.1% |
| 1987 | 39.3% | -29.5% |
| 1988 | 41.6% | +6.1% |
| 1989 | 42.8% | +2.8% |
| 1990 | 45.7% | +6.8% |
| 1991 | 44.8% | -1.9% |
| 1992 | 36.5% | -18.5% |
| 1993 | 37.0% | +1.3% |
| 1994 | 37.0% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 45.6% | +23.0% |
| 1996 | 47.1% | +3.5% |
| 1997 | 51.2% | +8.6% |
| 1998 | 44.8% | -12.5% |
| 1999 | 46.5% | +3.8% |
| 2000 | 46.7% | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 44.1% | -5.6% |
| 2002 | 41.2% | -6.4% |
| 2003 | 45.0% | +9.2% |
| 2004 | 49.1% | +9.0% |
| 2005 | 51.4% | +4.7% |
| 2006 | 52.3% | +1.8% |
| 2007 | 48.5% | -7.2% |
| 2008 | 50.3% | +3.5% |
| 2009 | 40.9% | -18.6% |
| 2010 | 36.8% | -10.1% |
| 2011 | 41.0% | +11.4% |
| 2012 | 42.7% | +4.3% |
| 2013 | 39.2% | -8.4% |
| 2014 | 38.9% | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 36.9% | -5.3% |
| 2016 | 37.7% | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 35.7% | -5.3% |
| 2018 | 33.8% | -5.3% |
| 2019 | 32.8% | -2.7% |
| 2020 | 34.1% | +3.8% |
| 2021 | 34.0% | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 38.5% | +13.1% |
| 2023 | 35.8% | -7.0% |
| 2024 | 34.4% | -3.8% |
| 2025 | 33.1% | -3.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 95.6% | 84.3% | 103.4% | 10 |
| 1970s | 84.4% | 74.1% | 95.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 61.3% | 39.3% | 77.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 43.6% | 36.5% | 51.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 47.0% | 40.9% | 52.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 37.5% | 32.8% | 42.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 35.0% | 33.1% | 38.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Barbados
More private sector data for Barbados
- Food imports 22.7% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 52.6% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 2.23 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 43.5% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 39.9% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 428.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 1,514 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0534 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -7.16 % change on previous year (2025)
- Merchandise imports (current US$), per capita 7,887 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise trade in Barbados?
- Merchandise trade in Barbados was 33.1% in 2025, according to World Trade Organization (WTO).
- What is the highest merchandise trade recorded in Barbados?
- The highest recorded value was 103.4% in 1966.
- What is the lowest merchandise trade recorded in Barbados?
- The lowest recorded value was 32.8% in 2019.
- How does Barbados rank for merchandise trade?
- Barbados ranks 169th out of 204 countries with data for 2025.
- Is merchandise trade rising or falling in Barbados?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Barbados data come from?
- The figures come from World Trade Organization (WTO), published as part of Merchandise trade (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
General merchandise trade includes goods whose economic ownership is changed between a resident and a non-resident and that are not included in the following specific categories: goods under merchanting, non-monetary gold, and parts of travel, construction, and government goods and services n.i.e. It is the total of merchandise exports plus merchandise imports. 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.