KEY FACTS Joined Commonwealth: 1966 Population: 285,000 (2013) GDP p.c. growth: 0.9% p.a. 1990–2013 GNI p.c.: US$15,172 (2013) UN HDI 2014: World ranking 59 Life expectancy: 75 (2013) Under-five mortality rate (per 1,000 live births): 14 (2013) Largest contribution to mortality: Cancer Government health expenditure: 4.1% of GDP (2012) General information Barbados, the most easterly of the Caribbean islands, lies south of Saint Lucia, east of St Vincent and the Grenadines, and north of Trinidad and Tobago. Climate: Mild subtropical. In the December–June dry season, cooling north-east trade winds blow steadily; the wet season is humid and hotter, but the climate is generally pleasant even then, thanks to sea breezes. The island is on the southern edge of the West Indian hurricane zone. Environment: The most significant environmental issues are pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; and the threatened contamination of the underground water supply by illegal disposal of solid waste. Population: 285,000 (2013); 32 per cent of people live in urban areas. The population growth rate stood at 0.4 per cent p.a. between the years of 1990 and 2013. In 2012 the birth rate was 13 per 1,000 people (22 in 1970) and life expectancy was 75 years (69 in 1970). The population is 93 per cent of African descent, three per cent of European descent and the rest of Asian or mixed descent (2000 census). Economy: Barbados is classified a high-income economy by the World Bank. Health Child and maternal health: The rate of infant mortality in Barbados was 13 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013, with an under-five mortality rate of 14 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013. The under-five mortality rate has decreased overall between 1990 and 2013. The under-five mortality rate is not yet in line with the target of six deaths per 1,000 live births, as defined by Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4). In 2012 the three most prominent known causes of death for children below the age of five years were congenital anomalies (26 per cent), prematurity (14 per cent) and intrapartum-related complications (14 per cent). Other contributory causes were acute respiratory infections (ten per cent) and neonatal sepsis (two per cent). In 2013 Barbados had an adjusted maternal mortality ratio of 52 deaths per 100,000 live births (estimate by UN agencies/World Bank). Burden of disease: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) accounted for an estimated 84 per cent of all mortality in Barbados in 2012. The most prevalent NCD in Barbados is cancer, which accounted for 29 per cent of total deaths across all age groups in 2012. Cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and non-communicable variants of respiratory diseases contributed 28 per cent, nine per cent and two per cent to total mortality, respectively (2012). Injuries accounted for five per cent of deaths in 2012. Communicable diseases along with maternal, perinatal and nutritional conditions accounted for an estimated 11 per cent of all mortality in Barbados in 2012. The prevalence of HIV, as a percentage of the population aged 15–49 years, has grown by almost one per cent since 1990 and currently stands at 0.9 per cent (2012). Barbados is a non-endemic country for malaria. Since 1990 there have been significant fluctuations in the incidence of tuberculosis (TB), which equated 2.2 per 100,000 people in 1990 and 1.4 per 100,000 people in 2013, as well as slight fluctuations but no significant change in estimated mortality (when mortality data excludes cases comorbid with HIV), which equalled 0.7 per 100,000 people in both 1991 and 2012. Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015 145 Barbados
Commonwealth Health Partnerships 2015
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