Report by the WTO Secretariat

Barbados is a relatively small and open economy with a GDP per capita of some USD 14,619 in 2020. Barbados is highly dependent on imports of goods and on exports of services, particularly tourism, and was thus strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, real GDP declined by 14%, and grew by 0.7% in 2021. This came after a period of already weak economic performance: real GDP declined in four of the years of the review period. Limited economic diversification, strong reliance on imported consumer and investment goods, and persistent fiscal deficits left Barbados vulnerable to exogenous shocks, even before the outbreak of COVID-19.