Barbados and Its Neighbours in the Caribbean

GUIDES · BARBADOS

A small island with only sea borders, Barbados punches above its size in the Caribbean: it hosts regional institutions, settled its sea lines by law and now courts Venezuela.

The Barbados neighbourhood is made of water. The island has no land border, and its nearest neighbours are Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the French island of Martinique and, further south, Guyana.

For a US reader, the region matters for three reasons. Barbados is a market for American goods, a base for regional security and finance, and a government that talks to Washington and Caracas at once.

An Island East of the Island Chain

Barbados sits apart from its neighbours in a literal sense. The 2006 arbitral award between Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago describes the Windward Islands as a chain of rugged volcanic islands.

Barbados, it notes, is not part of that chain but sits east of it.

The award gives the distances that shape the island’s diplomacy. Barbados lies about 80 nautical miles east of Saint Lucia, the closest of the Windward Islands, and 116 nautical miles north-east of Tobago.

The island itself covers 441 sq km and is built of coral terraces on a sedimentary base.

That position faces the open Atlantic on one side and the Caribbean island arc on the other. It explains why fisheries, sea lanes and maritime boundaries dominate relations with the neighbours.

There is no frontier to police on land, but there is a large ocean zone to share.

Size also matters. The World Bank put the population at 282,623 in 2025.

By the same source, output per person was about US$28,365 in 2025, above Trinidad and Tobago at US$18,967 and Saint Lucia at US$14,746, but now below oil-rich Guyana at US$32,414.

Sea Borders Settled by Treaty and Arbitration

Barbados has settled several of its sea lines on paper. The UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea lists three bilateral agreements in force for the island.

The first is a co-operation treaty with Guyana dated 2 December 2003, in force since 5 May 2004. Instead of drawing a single line, it sets out how the two states share jurisdiction where their exclusive economic zones overlap.

The second is an agreement with France on the delimitation of the maritime space between the two countries, dated 15 October 2009 and in force since 1 January 2010. France is a neighbour through its Caribbean territories, and Martinique is now an associate member of CARICOM.

The third is a boundary with Saint Lucia, dated 6 July 2017 and in force since 1 September 2019. No delimitation treaty with St Vincent and the Grenadines appears in the UN record for Barbados.

Trinidad and Tobago and the Flying Fish Question

The sea line with Trinidad and Tobago was drawn by judges, not diplomats. In 2004 Barbados took Trinidad and Tobago to arbitration under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, through the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

On 11 April 2006 a five-member tribunal chaired by Judge Stephen Schwebel unanimously fixed a single maritime boundary for the continental shelf and economic zones. It did not accept either side’s full claim.

The dispute was largely about flying fish, a migratory stock that the Barbadian fleet catches. Barbados had argued that its fishers had long worked off Tobago.

The tribunal held that it had no jurisdiction to set a fisheries regime in waters belonging to Trinidad and Tobago.

It did, however, place both governments under a duty to co-ordinate the conservation of flying fish stocks. They must also negotiate in good faith an agreement giving Barbadian fishers access to Trinidad and Tobago’s waters, subject to its right to manage them.

An earlier fishing agreement from November 1990 lasted only one year and was never renewed, according to Barbados’ case as recorded in the award. In November 2023 fisheries officials of both countries issued a joint communiqué pledging to move towards a new agreement, but set no timeline.

Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Eastern Caribbean Security Net

The closest neighbours to the west are small island states with which Barbados shares a security system. The Regional Security System (RSS), a defence and police co-operation pact, is headquartered in Barbados.

The RSS began with a memorandum of understanding in October 1982. Barbados signed it with four members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), a bloc of smaller island states.

They were Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Saint Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

St Kitts and Nevis joined in September 1983 and Grenada in January 1985. A treaty signed in St George’s, Grenada, gave the RSS legal status in March 1996.

Barbados also sends help to its neighbours. The Bridgetown press reported in August 2026 that the island had sent emergency aid to Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa, before deploying a medical team to Venezuela.

CARICOM, Free Movement and the Caribbean Court of Justice

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is the 15-member regional integration body, with its secretariat in Georgetown, Guyana. It is the main frame for the Barbados neighbourhood.

Its associate members include Martinique, French Guiana, Curaçao and several British territories.

Barbados is in the inner circle on free movement. From 1 October 2025, Barbados, Belize, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines let each other’s nationals live and work indefinitely without work permits.

The legal basis is the Enhanced Cooperation Protocol of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley said in July 2026 that fewer than 1,000 people had used the scheme and that most had chosen Barbados. She linked this to the island’s labour and skills shortages.

Grenada has applied to join, and Saint Lucia has signalled interest, she said as the 51st CARICOM summit closed in Saint Lucia.

Barbados also uses the regional court. The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), inaugurated in Port of Spain in 2005, is the final court of appeal for Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana and Saint Lucia.

Venezuela: A Neighbour Across the Sea

Venezuela lies beyond Trinidad and Tobago, but in 2026 Barbados stepped up its ties with Caracas. The two governments held talks in Bridgetown on 27 April 2026.

On Monday 24 August 2026, Mottley and Delcy Rodríguez, who leads Venezuela’s government as acting president, agreed a joint declaration in Caracas, according to the Bridgetown press. It covers the commercial exchange of hydrocarbons and oil derivatives, Venezuelan training for Barbadian energy staff and technical help with exploration.

The declaration also covers food security, fisheries investment, scholarships from the 2027/2028 academic year and a planned direct maritime cargo route. A technical working team is to monitor the agreements.

The visit followed two earthquakes in Venezuela on 24 June 2026 that killed more than 6,500 people, according to the same reports. A Barbadian emergency medical team operating since July 2026 had treated more than 2,700 people and carried out 74 surgeries by late August, Mottley said.

This puts Barbados in a different place from some neighbours. In a November 2025 editorial, a Bridgetown newspaper criticised Trinidad and Tobago’s government under Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

It faulted Port of Spain for refusing to endorse a CARICOM statement on the Caribbean as a “Zone of Peace” during the US military build-up.

Where Barbados Leads: A Base for Regional Institutions

For a country of under 300,000 people, Barbados hosts an unusual share of regional institutions. The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), a regional development lender, has its headquarters at Wildey, St Michael.

It was set up by an agreement signed in 1969 that entered into force in 1970.

The RSS headquarters is also on the island, so Barbados is the base for Eastern Caribbean security co-operation. CARICOM keeps an office in St Michael for its single market and external trade units.

Beyond the region, Mottley has used Bridgetown as a brand. The Bridgetown Initiative, which grew out of a retreat she convened in July 2022, calls for reform of the international financial system.

It asks for action on liquidity and debt, much more development finance and the mobilisation of private capital.

Barbados follows on other files. Its final appeals go to a court seated in Port of Spain, and it must negotiate fisheries access rather than control the stocks its fishers chase.

What It Means for US Readers

For investors and exporters, Barbados is a small market with a large US surplus. The US Census Bureau recorded US$648.8 million in US goods exports to Barbados in 2025 against US$46.7 million in imports, a surplus of US$602.1 million.

Barbados is one of thirteen Caribbean partners in the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, the US programme on counternarcotics, law enforcement and youth crime prevention.

The Venezuela file deserves attention. US investors should check whether any hydrocarbon trade under the August 2026 declaration falls under US sanctions rules on Venezuela, administered by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

For travellers and would-be expats, CARICOM free movement does not apply to US citizens. Americans moving to Barbados still need the island’s own visa or permit routes, and nearby islands set their own entry rules.

What Is Not Known

Whether Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago will sign a new fishing agreement, as the 2006 award requires them to negotiate, is not known. No timetable has been published.

How the energy exchange with Venezuela will be structured, and whether it will need US licences, has not been made public. The route and start date of the planned cargo link are also open.

When Grenada will formally join the free movement group, and whether Saint Lucia will follow, has not been announced.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which countries are Barbados’s closest neighbours?

Barbados has no land border. Its nearest neighbours are Saint Lucia, about 80 nautical miles to the west, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago to the south-west, the French island of Martinique and Guyana further south.

What did the 2006 Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago arbitration decide?

On 11 April 2006 a tribunal fixed a single maritime boundary between the two countries. It also told both governments to co-operate on flying fish stocks and negotiate in good faith an agreement giving Barbadian fishers access to Trinidad and Tobago’s waters.

Which maritime boundary agreements has Barbados signed?

The UN lists three: a co-operation treaty with Guyana from 2003, a delimitation agreement with France from 2009 and a boundary with Saint Lucia from 2017. The line with Trinidad and Tobago was set by arbitration.

Does CARICOM free movement apply to Americans?

No. Since 1 October 2025 it lets nationals of Barbados, Belize, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines live and work in each other’s countries without work permits. US citizens need Barbados’ own visa or permit routes.

What did Barbados agree with Venezuela in 2026?

A joint declaration agreed in Caracas on 24 August 2026 covers hydrocarbon trade, energy training, food security, fisheries, scholarships and a planned direct cargo route. A technical working team is to monitor it.

Which regional institutions are based in Barbados?

Barbados hosts the headquarters of the Caribbean Development Bank in Wildey, St Michael, and of the Regional Security System. CARICOM also has an office in St Michael.

Sources: Permanent Court of Arbitration, Barbados v. Trinidad and Tobago; UN Reports of International Arbitral Awards, Vol. XXVII, award of 11 April 2006; UN DOALOS, Barbados maritime agreements; CARICOM, member states and associate members; Caribbean Court of Justice, about the CCJ; Regional Security System, about us; Caribbean Development Bank, about us; Bridgetown Initiative; US Census Bureau, trade in goods with Barbados; US State Department, US relations with Barbados; World Bank, population data for Barbados; World Bank, GDP per capita, current US$; Barbados Today, Barbados-Venezuela joint declaration, 25 August 2026; Barbados Today, medical team in Venezuela, 27 August 2026; Barbados Today, free movement uptake, 8 July 2026; Barbados Today, fishing talks, 8 November 2023; Barbados Today, editorial on Trinidad and Tobago and CARICOM, 4 November 2025 (all accessed 12 October 2026).