Barbados
Last updated July 15, 2026
Composite GEFRI Score
Governance is a strength, but Innovation lags
Barbados demonstrates early-stage readiness to meet the challenges and opportunities of education in a rapidly changing world (51st percentile worldwide). Investments are generating initial gains, yet substantial gaps persist in several dimensions.
- Global percentile
- 51st
- Global rank
- Not ranked (microstate)
- Regional rank
- Not ranked (microstate)
- Viewing data for
Country profile
Barbados remains in the emerging-readiness range, with progress visible but major gaps still limiting future readiness. Its weakest results are in Innovation (30, 10th percentile). These gaps continue to weigh on overall readiness.
Uneven scores across dimensions show where readiness conditions are less aligned.
Sparse R&D investment and a small research workforce slow experimentation and delay new ideas from reaching learners. Gender parity across secondary pathways reflects sustained commitment to equitable participation.
School Access and Gender Parity presents a near-term leapfrog opportunity: performance is just below the global average, backed by enough observed data to support forward planning. Regionally, Barbados leads most clearly in Governance, sitting well above the peer average.
Some indicators are imputed, so the profile should be read with moderate caution.
Key insights
Scores range from Governance (68.6) to Innovation (29.6), reflecting variation across dimensions.
Leads regional peers most clearly in Governance.
Regional peers: Latin America & Caribbean
Composite GEFRI Score