According to the 2025 Human Development Index (HDI) Report, Antigua and Barbuda is ranked as the most developed Caribbean island. Other Caribbean countries that ranked highly for development in the report include St Kitts and Nevis, the Bahamas, and Barbados.
Global Citizen Solutions created this guide to take a closer look at the most developed Caribbean countries, as determined by the HDI, why the HDI was used for comparing development, and how “developed” can have different meanings. It also uncovers factors that propel their development and what sets them apart from other countries in the region.
Most Developed Caribbean Countries: Key Details
Which Caribbean country is the most developed?
The Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) ranks Antigua and Barbuda as the most developed nation in the Caribbean. The report considers numerous factors, including life expectancy at birth, years of schooling, and gross national income per capita.
Antigua and Barbuda ranked 1st among Caribbean countries in the world in the Human Development Report 2025, followed by St Kitts and Nevis, the Bahamas, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago. All five countries earned a HDI Value over 0.800, making them the only Caribbean nations to fall under the “Very High Human Development” tier.
How is the “most developed” country defined?
| Metric | Data Year | Included | Excluded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human Development Index (HDI) | 2025 (2023 data) | The 13 sovereign island countries included in our ranking. This is a list we have selected specifically for this comparison; it is not an official UNDP classification of island states. | Mainland states and non-sovereign territories are excluded from the ranking and are referenced separately for context. |
Why this comparison uses the Human Development Index
We use the Human Development Index (HDI) because it looks past income statistics to give a broader picture of how developed Caribbean countries are. It combines life expectancy, education, and gross income to make it useful for comparing the overall living standards and human development of different Caribbean islands on a consistent basis.
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What changes when you use another metric?
| Metric | What it Measures | What it Does Not Measure |
|---|---|---|
| HDI | Health, education and income of a country’s population | It does not capture every aspect of quality of life, inequality, safety, political freedoms, or the strength of a passport |
| GDP Per Capita | A country’s economic output or income per person | It does not show how evenly income is distributed or directly measure health, education, quality of life, or human development |
| Passport Mobility | The level of international travel access provided by a passport | It does not measure a country’s economic strength, living standards, safety or overall development |
Caribbean Sovereign Island Countries Ranked by HDI
Here is a list of the top Caribbean countries according to the latest global Human Development Index (HDI). As mentioned, the HDI is an indicator of overall progress based on fundamental aspects of human development, including, education, income, and life expectancy. Two countries that offer Caribbean citizenship by investment rank in the top two positions.
| Regional HDI Ranking | HDI (Global Ranking) | HDI Value | Global HDI Ranking | Human Development Index Tier |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antigua and Barbuda | 0.851 | 53 | Very High HDI |
| 2 | St Kitts and Nevis | 0.840 | 58 | Very High HDI |
| 3 | Bahamas | 0.820 | 66 | Very High HDI |
| 4 | Barbados | 0.811 | 69 | Very High HDI |
| 5 | Trinidad and Tobago | 0.807 | 72 | Very High HDI |
| 6 | St Vincent and the Grenadines | 0.798 | 76 | High HDI |
| 7 | Grenada | 0.791 | 80 | High HDI |
| 8 | Dominican Republic | 0.776 | 89 | High HDI |
| 9 | Cuba | 0.762 | 97 | High HDI |
| 10 | Dominica | 0.761 | 98 | High HDI |
| 11 | St Lucia | 0.748 | 103 | High HDI |
| 12 | Jamaica | 0.720 | 117 | High HDI |
| 13 | Haiti | 0.554 | 166 | Medium HDI |
Note: Ranking figures are sourced from the United Nationals Development Program (UNDP) 2025 Human Development Report.
Most Developed Caribbean Islands
In this section, we examine five Caribbean islands that scored in the Very High Human Development Tier.
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda ranks 1st among Caribbean countries in the Human Development Index, with an HDI value of 0.851 and placing it in the Very High Human Development category. Its global ranking in the HDI is 53rd.
St Kitts and Nevis
St Kitts and Nevis ranks 2nd among Caribbean countries in the Human Development Index, with an HDI value of 0.840 and placing it in the Very High Human Development category. Its global ranking in the HDI is 58th.
The Bahamas
The Bahamas ranks 3rd among Caribbean islands in the Human Development Index, with an HDI value of 0.820 and placing it in the Very High Human Development category. Its global ranking in the HDI is 66th.
Barbados
Barbados ranks 4th among Caribbean islands in the Human Development Index, with an HDI value of 0.811 and placing it in the Very High Human Development category. Its global ranking in the HDI is 69th.
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago ranks 5th among Caribbean islands in the Human Development Index, with an HDI value of 0.807 and placing it in the Very High Human Development category. Its global ranking in the HDI is 72nd.
Why Caribbean Territories are Listed Separately
This is a ranking of sovereign island states, following an identical scope compare countries the same basis. Territories like the Cayman Islands, Puerto Rico, and Curaçao are excluded from consideration, as they do not fulfill the criteria of sovereign states defined in the ranking, nor do they have comparable HDI data issued by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
What changes when you use GDP per capita or other measures?
Using GDP per capita or another measure can produce a different picture concerning development. GDP per capita focuses mainly on economic output or income per person, helping to determine the richest Caribbean countries, but it lacks educational, health, and mobility considerations. These can highlight different strengths, but they do not capture the broader combination of health, education, and living standards measured by the HDI.
Profiles of the Leading Sovereign Island Countries
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda has a relatively high level of income, with GDP per capita of $24,819.20 in 2025 according to the World Bank, largely propelled by tourism and immigration schemes, including the Antigua and Barbuda Citizenship by Investment program. The Human Development Index reported that life expectancy at birth in Antigua and Barbuda increased by 1.9 years between 2007 and 2023.
St Kitts and Nevis
With a GDP per capita of $25,223 in 2025, according to the World Bank, St Kitts and Nevis is also a relatively high-income level for the Caribbean, with the St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment program being the leading citizenship program in the region. The country’s HDI ranking achieved its highest score in 2023, with life expectancy at birth increasing by one year between 2005 and 2023 and expected years of schooling increasing by 4.1 years.
The Bahamas
The Bahamas combines a high-income economy with established health and education systems. Its development profile is particularly influenced by its income level and human-capital outcomes, supported by tourism and the Bahamas Economic Permanent Residency program, with the World Bank reporting a GDP per capita of $39,455.40 in 2024.
Barbados
Barbados’s GDP per capita of $28,364.80 in 2024 places it ahead of the top two countries in the HDI. The country ranks the highest among the five for quality of the life and mobility in the Global Citizen Solutions Global Passport Index for 2026.
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago has a different economic profile from the smaller Caribbean states, with a GDP per capita of $18,967.3 in 2025. Between 1990 and 2023, Trinidad and Tobago’s HDI value increased from 0.661 to 0.807, a change of 22.1% and placing it into the Very High Human Development category.
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