Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Barbados
Barbados: Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education was 82.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Barbados, 1820–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Barbados is 82.6%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.8% on the previous year and down 12.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Barbados peaked at 100.0% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 2.0%, in 1820.
Barbados ranks 158th of 190 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 61 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 2.2% | 2.0% | 2.5% | 2 |
| 1830s | 3.5% | 3.1% | 3.9% | 2 |
| 1840s | 5.5% | 4.9% | 6.1% | 2 |
| 1850s | 8.5% | 7.6% | 9.4% | 2 |
| 1860s | 13.0% | 11.6% | 14.3% | 2 |
| 1870s | 19.2% | 17.4% | 21.0% | 2 |
| 1880s | 27.5% | 25.1% | 29.8% | 2 |
| 1890s | 42.2% | 38.1% | 46.4% | 2 |
| 1900s | 58.8% | 54.6% | 62.9% | 2 |
| 1910s | 71.0% | 70.9% | 71.2% | 2 |
| 1920s | 70.4% | 70.3% | 70.6% | 2 |
| 1930s | 69.8% | 69.7% | 70.0% | 2 |
| 1940s | 69.2% | 69.1% | 69.4% | 2 |
| 1950s | 69.9% | 68.8% | 71.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 80.1% | 78.8% | 81.4% | 2 |
| 1970s | 91.5% | 85.7% | 100.0% | 9 |
| 1980s | 97.3% | 97.0% | 97.6% | 2 |
| 1990s | 91.5% | 89.0% | 94.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 97.6% | 97.0% | 98.3% | 5 |
| 2010s | 95.1% | 92.9% | 98.3% | 8 |
| 2020s | 87.4% | 82.6% | 91.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Barbados
More education data for Barbados
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 65.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 17.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 5 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 83.9% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 1,592 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.71 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 83.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Barbados?
- Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education in Barbados was 82.6% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education recorded in Barbados?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1975.
- What is the lowest gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education recorded in Barbados?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.0% in 1820.
- How does Barbados rank for gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education?
- Barbados ranks 158th out of 190 countries with data for 2024.
- Is gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education rising or falling in Barbados?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Barbados data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 61 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The share of girls of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.