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Sub-region of Americas · Country Index 2026

Caribbean

How are the countries of Caribbean doing?

Half of Caribbean’s 11 placed countries sit at or above 81st of 183 in the Country Index 2026, which places the region 9th of 22 sub-regions. Barbados is placed highest, 67th; Haiti lowest, 173rd. None reaches the world’s top fifth. 13 more of its 24 countries and territories are not placed.

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CaribbeanUN M49 029

Caribbean, shown in red on a map of the world

81st

median position of 183 · 9th of 22 sub-regions

Americas →median 81st

01Who is in it

The countries of Caribbean

Alphabetical, with each country’s own banner photograph. The position is its place in the whole world ranking, never within the region.

02The region

About Caribbean

The island states and territories of the Caribbean Sea.

The Caribbean is made up of the islands of the Caribbean Sea and the nearby Atlantic, from the Bahamas and Cuba in the north to Trinidad and Tobago off the coast of South America. The Greater Antilles hold the largest islands, and the smaller islands of the Lesser Antilles curve south and east in an arc, many of them volcanic.

Its first peoples, among them the Taíno and the Kalinago, were largely destroyed after European arrival in 1492. Spain, Britain, France and the Netherlands fought over the islands for centuries, and plantation economies were built on the labour of enslaved Africans. Haiti became independent in 1804; some islands are now independent states and others remain territories linked to the United States, Britain, France or the Netherlands.

03Where

Caribbean on the map

Each member shaded by its position in the Country Index 2026, darkest for the best placed; the countries across its land borders in grey. Hover a country for its position, or select it to open its profile.

Country Index position: 1st183rdMember, not placedAcross the border, another regionNot a country this site tracks

04Country Index 2026

Where Caribbean’s countries place

Best placed first. Every position is a place in the whole world ranking of 183, never a second list within the region; “=” marks a position shared with another country. Hover the ⓘ for where a country would sit if any one key statistic were dropped.

The full Country Index 2026
Caribbean’s 11 placed countries by their Country Index 2026 position, best placed first.
In regionCountryIn the world1st183rd
1Barbados67 / 183between 59th and 75th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
2Saint Lucia68 / 183between 57th and 75th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
3Dominican Republic71 / 183between 66th and 74th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
3Saint Vincent and the Grenadines71 / 183between 62nd and 79th if any one key were dropped · standings on 14 of 16 topics
5Jamaica76 / 183between 73rd and 79th if any one key were dropped · standings on 16 of 16 topics
6Antigua and Barbuda81 / 183between 77th and 92nd if any one key were dropped · standings on 13 of 16 topics
7Grenada85 / 183between 75th and 95th if any one key were dropped · standings on 14 of 16 topics
8Trinidad and Tobago90 / 183between 79th and 92nd if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics
9Bahamas104 / 183between 85th and 109th if any one key were dropped · standings on 12 of 16 topics
10Cuba119 / 183between 113th and 123rd if any one key were dropped · standings on 13 of 16 topics
11Haiti173 / 183between 171st and 175th if any one key were dropped · standings on 15 of 16 topics

A further 13 of its countries and territories are not placed: the Country Index 2026 places a country only once it holds a standing on 12 of its 16 voting topics. Anguilla, Aruba, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands and United States Virgin Islands.

Caribbean among the 22 sub-regions with a median

9th of 22. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

  1. Western Europe8thPlaced countries run from Switzerland 1st to France 19th.
  2. Northern Europe11thPlaced countries run from Denmark 2nd to Latvia 26th.
  3. Australia and New Zealand17thPlaced countries run from Australia 17th to New Zealand 19th.
  4. Northern America24thPlaced countries run from Canada 24th to United States 37th.
  5. Southern Europe31stPlaced countries run from Slovenia 14th to Bosnia and Herzegovina 62nd.
  6. Eastern Asia42ndPlaced countries run from South Korea 13th to Mongolia 75th.
  7. Eastern Europe43rdPlaced countries run from Czechia 10th to Russia 73rd.
  8. Central America80thPlaced countries run from Costa Rica 40th to Nicaragua 134th.
  9. Caribbean81stPlaced countries run from Barbados 67th to Haiti 173rd.
  10. South America83rdPlaced countries run from Uruguay 35th to Venezuela 133rd.
  11. South-eastern Asia86thPlaced countries run from Singapore 25th to Myanmar 159th.
  12. Polynesia89thPlaced countries run from Samoa 89th to Tonga 97th.
  13. Western Asia95thPlaced countries run from Cyprus 33rd to Yemen 181st.
  14. Central Asia102ndPlaced countries run from Kazakhstan 61st to Turkmenistan 158th.
  15. Southern Asia106thPlaced countries run from Bhutan 52nd to Afghanistan 175th.
  16. Melanesia107thPlaced countries run from Fiji 64th to Papua New Guinea 144th.
  17. Micronesia109thPlaced countries run from Kiribati 109th to Kiribati 109th.
  18. Northern Africa116thPlaced countries run from Tunisia 104th to Sudan 179th.
  19. Southern Africa121stPlaced countries run from South Africa 93rd to Eswatini 147th.
  20. Western Africa148thPlaced countries run from Cabo Verde 94th to Guinea-Bissau 171st.
  21. Eastern Africa153rdPlaced countries run from Mauritius 45th to South Sudan 183rd.
  22. Middle Africa166thPlaced countries run from São Tomé and Príncipe 115th to Chad 180th.
  23. Americas, the whole continent81st
  24. The world’s midpoint91st
1st183rdmedian

The square is each region’s median position; the grey bar runs from its best-placed to its lowest-placed country. Hover a row for their names.

05By subject

Topic by topic

Every country’s position on each topic, its shade darker the higher it sits in that topic’s field; select a cell for the country’s page on the topic. Strongest for Caribbean: Peace & Security, 4th of 20 sub-regions. Weakest: Energy, 21st of 21.

All topics
Caribbean: each country’s position on each topic, with the region’s median and its place among sub-regions.
Peace & SecurityDemocracy & Civil LibertiesFood & AgricultureDevelopment & Human CapitalGovernance & InstitutionsRisk & ResilienceEconomy & InnovationWork & LabourGender & EqualityEducation & KnowledgeHealth & WellbeingMobility & TradePoverty & InequalityEnvironment & SustainabilityDigital & TechnologyEnergyMoney & Public FinancePeople & Population
Barbados7 of 17738 of 19858 of 18479 of 19645 of 19430 of 19396 of 17654 of 18282 of 183107 of 19878 of 200128 of 17776 of 159174 of 186157 of 198130 of 165No standingNo standing
Saint LuciaNo standing47 of 19823 of 184110 of 19666 of 19423 of 19334 of 17691 of 18245 of 18397 of 198121 of 200126 of 17760 of 159121 of 186170 of 198152 of 165No standingNo standing
Dominican Republic24 of 17769 of 19848 of 184106 of 19679 of 194139 of 19367 of 17683 of 18253 of 18398 of 198114 of 20087 of 17774 of 15989 of 18692 of 198115 of 165No standingNo standing
Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesNo standing42 of 19818 of 18495 of 19682 of 19459 of 19385 of 176131 of 182116 of 18311 of 198109 of 200103 of 177No standing78 of 186174 of 198124 of 165No standingNo standing
Jamaica36 of 17751 of 198112 of 184132 of 19656 of 194103 of 19393 of 17625 of 18234 of 18343 of 198120 of 200110 of 17786 of 159143 of 186125 of 198123 of 165No standingNo standing
Antigua and BarbudaNo standing91 of 198104 of 18466 of 19684 of 19478 of 19372 of 176No standing73 of 18386 of 19866 of 20065 of 177No standing149 of 186168 of 198135 of 165No standingNo standing
GrenadaNo standing38 of 19893 of 18492 of 196106 of 19446 of 19377 of 176No standing54 of 183110 of 198103 of 20072 of 17788 of 15991 of 186187 of 198160 of 165No standingNo standing
Trinidad and Tobago16 of 17754 of 19877 of 18485 of 19677 of 19463 of 19380 of 17668 of 18275 of 18393 of 198127 of 200141 of 177No standing175 of 186139 of 198150 of 165No standingNo standing
BahamasNo standing59 of 19813 of 18499 of 19669 of 19474 of 193No standing108 of 182No standing176 of 19896 of 20097 of 177No standing162 of 186150 of 198156 of 165No standingNo standing
Cuba95 of 177179 of 198120 of 18483 of 196145 of 194107 of 193No standing78 of 182No standing69 of 19856 of 200171 of 177No standing123 of 186106 of 198148 of 165No standingNo standing
Haiti109 of 177161 of 198162 of 184177 of 196184 of 194184 of 193151 of 176155 of 182160 of 183181 of 198176 of 200175 of 177No standing44 of 186178 of 198108 of 165No standingNo standing
AnguillaNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing48 of 200No standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
ArubaNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing41 of 198No standing134 of 177No standingNo standingNo standing113 of 165No standingNo standing
British Virgin IslandsNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing161 of 19877 of 20090 of 177No standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
Cayman IslandsNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing130 of 198No standing95 of 177No standingNo standingNo standing142 of 165No standingNo standing
CuraçaoNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing128 of 198No standing166 of 177No standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
DominicaNo standing62 of 19864 of 18496 of 196100 of 19464 of 193No standingNo standingNo standing50 of 198144 of 20058 of 177No standing50 of 186145 of 198No standingNo standingNo standing
MontserratNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing96 of 19867 of 200No standingNo standingNo standingNo standing163 of 165No standingNo standing
Puerto RicoNo standingNo standingNo standing63 of 196No standingNo standingNo standing72 of 182No standing118 of 198No standing106 of 177No standingNo standingNo standing144 of 165No standingNo standing
Saint Kitts and NevisNo standing34 of 19856 of 18467 of 196127 of 19447 of 193No standingNo standingNo standingNo standing117 of 20082 of 177No standing165 of 186180 of 198131 of 165No standingNo standing
Saint MartinNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
Sint MaartenNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing123 of 198No standing54 of 177No standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
Turks and Caicos IslandsNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing48 of 19839 of 200No standingNo standingNo standingNo standing146 of 165No standingNo standing
United States Virgin IslandsNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing89 of 182No standingNo standingNo standing142 of 177No standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standingNo standing
Region median24th of 17754th of 19864th of 18492nd of 19682nd of 19464th of 19380th of 17683rd of 18273rd of 18397th of 198103rd of 200103rd of 17776th of 159123rd of 186157th of 198142nd of 165——
Among sub-regions4th of 207th of 228th of 229th of 229th of 229th of 2210th of 2110th of 2111th of 2113th of 2214th of 2214th of 2214th of 2116th of 2119th of 2221st of 21——

Columns run from the topic where Caribbean places best among sub-regions to the one where it places lowest. A region’s median on a topic needs at least two members with a standing; a hatched cell has no standing.

06In numbers

Caribbean in 6 numbers

Each line is every country in the world at its published value; Caribbean’s countries are the red ticks, and the dashed line is the world median. There is no regional average: a region has countries, not a life expectancy of its own.

All statistics

  • Population

    people · log scale

    UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · 222 countries · no better end

    MontserratHaiti496world median 6,541,4131,438,069,596

  • Land area

    km²

    FAO · 2024 · 221 countries · no better end

    Sint MaartenCuba0.4world median 87,58916,376,870

  • GDP per person

    international $, PPP · log scale

    World Bank Group · 2025 · 185 countries · higher is better

    No reading: Anguilla, Aruba, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Montserrat, Saint Martin, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States Virgin Islands

    HaitiSint Maarten1,067world median 17,265139,593

  • Life expectancy

    years at birth

    UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · 222 countries · higher is better

    HaitiPuerto Rico54.46world median 74.6386.37

  • Human development

    HDI, 0–1

    UNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · 193 countries · higher is better

    No reading: Anguilla, Aruba, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands, United States Virgin Islands

    HaitiATG0.388world median 0.7620.972

  • Unemployment

    % of the labour force

    ILO · 2025 · 182 countries · lower is better

    No reading: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos Islands

    CubaVCT0.13world median 5.08434.2
Every value for Caribbean’s countries
CountryPopulation 2023Land area 2024GDP per person 2025Life expectancy 2023Human development 2023Unemployment 2025
Anguilla14,410rank 21690.65rank 211—79.31rank 56——
Antigua and Barbuda93,316rank 194440.3rank 19330,620rank 6277.6rank 760.851rank 53—
Aruba107,939rank 191180rank 207—76.35rank 92——
Bahamas399,440rank 17610,010rank 163—74.55rank 1130.82rank 669.207rank 39
Barbados282,336rank 180431rank 19422,127rank 7876.18rank 960.811rank 696.524rank 64
British Virgin Islands38,985rank 209151rank 209—77.28rank 81——
Cayman Islands73,038rank 198240rank 202—80.36rank 49——
Cuba11,019,931rank 86103,800rank 103—78.09rank 660.762rank 971.746rank 168
Curaçao185,427rank 184444rank 192—76.8rank 86——
Dominica66,510rank 199751rank 18119,409rank 8571.13rank 1500.761rank 98—
Dominican Republic11,331,265rank 8548,198rank 12724,543rank 7273.72rank 1190.776rank 895.092rank 91
Grenada117,081rank 189344rank 19718,241rank 9075.21rank 1070.791rank 80—
Haiti11,637,398rank 8227,560rank 1422,678rank 17264.94rank 1950.554rank 16614.94rank 16
Jamaica2,839,786rank 14210,830rank 16011,358rank 11771.48rank 1450.72rank 1173.286rank 133
Montserrat4,420rank 220102rank 210—76.19rank 95——
Puerto Rico3,242,023rank 1358,870rank 16544,603rank 4181.69rank 37—5.991rank 72
Saint Kitts and Nevis46,758rank 204261rank 20031,428rank 5972.14rank 1360.84rank 58—
Saint Lucia179,285rank 185610rank 18524,503rank 7372.7rank 1310.748rank 1039.452rank 37
Saint Martin27,515rank 21453rank 214—80.22rank 50——
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines101,323rank 193389rank 19519,483rank 8471.23rank 1470.798rank 7618rank 10
Sint Maarten42,749rank 20734rank 21548,273rank 3676.37rank 91——
Trinidad and Tobago1,502,932rank 1555,128rank 16831,722rank 5873.49rank 1230.807rank 723.329rank 129
Turks and Caicos Islands46,198rank 205948.23rank 178—78.01rank 68——
United States Virgin Islands85,701rank 195348rank 196—75.47rank 103—11.44rank 28

07In records

Caribbean in records

The member at the extreme of each statistic, read from its newest edition. Where two members share the top, no record is named.

08Latest editions

Who rose and fell in the published ranks

The moves of Caribbean’s countries between each report’s two newest editions, in the publisher’s own ranks. A report whose field changed by more than 5% is left out.

Ranks as published by UNDP Human Development Report Office in the Human Development Index: reference years 2022 (192 countries ranked) → 2023 (193 ranked), both from its 2025 report.

Improved most

rank before → after
  1. Saint Kitts and Nevis60 → 58+2

Declined most

rank before → after
  1. Cuba91 → 97−6
  2. Antigua and Barbuda51 → 53−2
  3. Dominican Republic87 → 89−2
Every country in the Human Development Index

09Keep reading

Explore further

All regions

The rest of Americas

10Method

Questions, method and sources

Which countries are in Caribbean?

24 countries and territories: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curaçao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands and United States Virgin Islands. Membership follows the United Nations’ M49 classification.

Which country in Caribbean is placed highest?

Barbados, placed 67th of 183 in the Country Index 2026. Haiti is placed lowest, 173rd. 11 of the region’s 24 countries and territories are placed; the rest hold standings on too few topics.

How does Caribbean compare with other regions?

Half of its 11 placed countries sit at or above 81st of 183, which places it 9th of 22 sub-regions. The median across Americas is 81st. The middle of the whole field is 91st. Nothing is weighted by population or size.

How many people live in Caribbean?

43,485,766 in 2023, the sum of the UN DESA Population Division’s figures for its 24 countries and territories.

What is the largest country in Caribbean?

By land area, Cuba: 103,800 square kilometres (2024). By population, Haiti: 11,637,398 people (2023).

How a region’s figure is made
  1. Membership. Countries belong to regions by the United Nations’ M49 classification; each country declares its sub-region, and a continent is the sum of its sub-regions.
  2. Positions. Each country’s position is its Country Index 2026 result, unchanged. This page slices the world ranking by place; it does not re-rank anyone.
  3. The median. A region’s figure is the median of its placed countries’ positions: half sit at or above it, half below. With an even number of placed countries it takes the better of the two middle positions, since there is no country at a half place. Countries the index does not place are named, never counted in.
  4. A place among peers. Continents are compared with continents and sub-regions with sub-regions, never a part with the whole that contains it; regions sharing a median share a place. Nothing is weighted by population or size, and population and land area are the only figures ever added up.

Where the regions come from

United Nations Statistics Division, Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49). M49’s middle level (Sub-Saharan Africa; Latin America and the Caribbean) is left out, so every sub-region sits directly under its continent. Kosovo, Northern Cyprus and Somaliland are not in M49 and are placed by geography.

Where the positions come from

Every position is a country’s result in the Country Index 2026 or one of its topics, unchanged. The population and land-area figures are the UN DESA Population Division’s and the FAO’s, added up and shown with their year; every other statistic names its publisher beside its numbers.

Photographs

Each country’s own banner from its profile: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.

Cite this page

Nations Inquiry (2026). Caribbean: countries, population and rankings, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/regions/caribbean

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