Government at a GlanceLatin America and the Caribbean 2014

Country Fact Sheet

Public Finance & Economics Public ProcurementBudget Practices & ProceduresPublic Employment & Pay

Average of OECD countries in green

Government revenues(2011)

% of GDP

Government expenditures(2011)% of GDP

10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

27.8%

41.5%Barbados

-10% -5% 0% 5% 10%

Barbados

-4.5%

-2.1%

Fiscal balance(2011)

% of GDP

0% 50% 100% 150% 200%

40.9%

77.9%Barbados

100%

100%

Government debt(2011)% of GDP

% of GDP

1% 2% 3% 4% 5%

2.6%n.a.Barbados

Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Source: IMF World Economic Outlook

Source: IMF Government Finance Statistics

Did you know?

Average of LAC country values in purple

Country value in blue (not represented if not available)

Range of LAC country values in grey

Towards Innovative Public Financial Management

How to read the figures:

Values have been rounded

Public Finance & Economics

10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

25.6%

36.9%Barbados

Government investment spending (2011)

Barbados

Of all LAC countries, Barbados’ government spends the most relative to the GDP: close to

42%.

Despite collecting revenues of over 9,000 USD per capita, a record in the region, Barbados’ government has the highest debt per

capita in the region: over 19,000 USD.

Barbados is the only country in the region where the internal audit policy requirements

are not approved by the legislature.

Barbados

Budget Practices and ProceduresFiscal rules: Types and legal foundation (2013) Use of performance budgeting practices

at the central level of government (2011)

Index

Source: OECD 2013 Survey on Budget Practices and Procedures Source: OECD 2013 Survey on Budget Practices and Procedures

In how many countriesdo these types of support exist?

Independent in-house budget o�ce

Fiscal council

In-house specialised research unit

Specialised sta� of Budget Committee 6

03

Specialised sta� in political parties

Individual member’s sta�

Other

5

131

n.a.

n.a.n.a.n.a.

n.a.n.a.n.a.

Barbados

Source: OECD 2013 Survey on Budget Practices and Procedures

Types of support available to parliamentfor specialized advice on budget (2013)

Source: OECD 2013 Survey on Budget Practices and Procedures

How many countries have such % of their budgets pre-assigned?

Percentage of budgetpre-assigned

81-100%

61-80%

41-60%

21-40%

2

1

3

1

40-20%

n.a.

Barbados

Earmarked funds (2013)% of total government expenditures pre-assigned

Public Employment and PayWomen in general government (2010)

49.6%

50%

0%

100%

n.a.Barbados

% of general government employment

Source: International Labour Organization (ILO)

Women ministers (2012)% of central government

19.8%

50%

0%

100%

11.8%Barbados

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union

Women parliamentarians (2012)% in lower or single house of parliament

19.8%

50%

0%

100%

16.7%Barbados

Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union

Compensation in central government (2011)Ratio of average annual compensation of senior manager (D1) and

secretarial positions in central government

0

4

8

12

6.7

8

0

4

12

n.a.0

4

8

12

Barbados

Source: OECD Survey on Compensation of Employees, Central/Federal Government

In how many countriesdo these types of rules exist?

If yes, what is thelegal foundation?

Do these types of rules exist?

Expenditurerule(s)

Revenuerule(s)

Budget balancerule(s)

Debtrule(s)

Legal foundations:

ConstitutionInternationalTreaty

Primary and/orSecondary Legislation

InternalRules/Policy

C IT L R

6

0

8

4NO

Barbados

NO

NO

NO

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

0.37

0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7

0.33

Barbados

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

Earmarked funds (2013)% of total government expenditures pre-assigned

Public Procurement

In how many countries is this informationalways available?

Laws and policies

General information for potential bidders

Speci�c guidance on application procedures

Procurement plan of anticipated tenders 8

10

11

Tender documents

Selection and evaluation criteria

Contract award

10

11

10

10

Justi�cation for awarding contract to selected contractor

Contract modi�cations

Tracking procurement spending

8

9

8

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

n.a.

Availability:

Always

Upon request

Sometimes

Not available

Barbados

Public availability of procurement informationat the central level of government (2013)

General government procurement (2011)% of total government expenditures

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

26.1%40.8%31.6%40.8%36.6%34.4%51.2%35.7%44.4%33.3%32.2%45.0%38.4%57.3%42.0%45.6%22.7%41.5%33.1%46.2%40.2%41.7%34.9%53.8%42.4%44.6%50.6%54.1%n.a.55.7%40.0%40.8%38.5%49.5%48.3%n.a.Barbados

Source: IMF Government Finance Statistics

Source: OECD 2013 Survey on Public Procurement

Government at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean 2014Towards Innovative Public Financial Management

This first edition of Government at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean 2014, Towards Innovative Public Financial Management is a joint

publication by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which

offers a dashboard of around 30 indicators to help decision makers and citizens analyse and benchmark government performance both within

the LAC region and compared to the average for OECD countries. The model is the OECD Government at a Glance, which is a fundamental

reference, backed by a well-established methodology for OECD member countries. The publication focuses on four broad areas: public finance and

economics; public employment and pay; budgeting practices and procedures and public procurement.

For more information and to consult all other Country Fact Sheets:www.oecd.org/gov/government-at-a-glance-lac.htm