The CIA World Factbook Every edition, 2011 to 2025 Central America and the Caribbean
Trafficking in persons Barbados, in 5 editions.
The entry for Barbados published Trafficking in persons in 5 editions of 36, from 2011 to 2025. The text changed in 3 editions. Each is shown as published. Trafficking in persons in every entry.
- editions changed the text
- 3
- the first edition with it
- 2011
- the latest edition with it
- 2025
Published as “Trafficking in persons” (2011 to 2025).
field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe edition shownChoose an edition on the strip beside the text, or step through them with the arrows. Mark changes compares it with the edition before: the marks are ours, words added and words removed.
2025 edition
Rewritten since 2021- current situation:
- Barbados is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor
- tier rating:
- Tier 2 Watch List - the Government of Barbados does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
- the main obstacles to anti-trafficking progress in Barbados were the new legislation's failure to criminalize all forms of trafficking in persons, the government's absence of formal procedures to guide officials in victim identification and assistance, and the absence of a formal mechanism to coordinate government and NGO actions on trafficking issues (2011)
current situation:
Barbados is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor
tier rating:
Tier 2 Watch List - the Government of Barbados does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; the main obstacles to anti-trafficking progress in Barbados were the new legislation's failure to criminalize all forms of trafficking in persons, the government's absence of formal procedures to guide officials in victim identification and assistance, and the absence of a formal mechanism to coordinate government and NGO actions on trafficking issues (2011)
The entry for Barbados did not include Trafficking in persons.
The same text in 2013 and 2014.
- current situation:
- Barbados is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor;
- legal and illegal female migrants from Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Guyana seem most vulnerable to forced prostitution;
- Barbadian and immigrant children are prostituted in exchange for material goods;
- in the past, foreigners are reported to have been forced to work in the domestic service, agriculture, and construction industries
- tier rating:
- Tier 2 Watch List - Barbados does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
- however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
- the country was granted a waiver of an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 because the government adopted a national action plan on human trafficking that specifies implementing agencies and addresses prosecution, protection, and prevention measures;
- the government conducted at least two sex trafficking investigations in 2012, as opposed to none in the previous year but did not report any prosecutions or convictions of trafficking offenses;
- Barbadian law does not appear to prohibit all forms of human trafficking and does not prescribe sufficiently stringent penalties;
- government efforts to prevent human trafficking included broadcasting short public awareness messages, holding town hall meetings, and funding a hotline (2013)
Rewritten: too little of the 2011 text remains to mark the changes.
current situation:
Barbados is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor; legal and illegal female migrants from Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Guyana seem most vulnerable to forced prostitution; Barbadian and immigrant children are prostituted in exchange for material goods; in the past, foreigners are reported to have been forced to work in the domestic service, agriculture, and construction industries
tier rating:
Tier 2 Watch List - Barbados does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; the country was granted a waiver of an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 because the government adopted a national action plan on human trafficking that specifies implementing agencies and addresses prosecution, protection, and prevention measures; the government conducted at least two sex trafficking investigations in 2012, as opposed to none in the previous year but did not report any prosecutions or convictions of trafficking offenses; Barbadian law does not appear to prohibit all forms of human trafficking and does not prescribe sufficiently stringent penalties; government efforts to prevent human trafficking included broadcasting short public awareness messages, holding town hall meetings, and funding a hotline (2013)
The entry for Barbados did not include Trafficking in persons.
- current situation:
- human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Barbados;
- foreign women are subject to sex trafficking;
- children are exploited in sex trafficking by parents and caregivers, according to anecdotal reports;
- documented and undocumented migrants from Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, and Venezuela are at high risk for trafficking, while migrants from other nearby countries are increasingly vulnerable
- tier rating:
- Tier 2 Watch List — Barbados does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so;
- the government completed an anti-trafficking manual on assisting and interviewing victims, reinstated the anti-trafficking task force, and increased training for law enforcement and child care officials;
- however, authorities again did not identify any trafficking victims, reported no new prosecutions, and have never convicted anyone of trafficking;
- the national action plan has yet to be completed (2020)
Rewritten: too little of the 2014 text remains to mark the changes.
current situation: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Barbados; foreign women are subject to sex trafficking; children are exploited in sex trafficking by parents and caregivers, according to anecdotal reports; documented and undocumented migrants from Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, and Venezuela are at high risk for trafficking, while migrants from other nearby countries are increasingly vulnerable
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List — Barbados does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government completed an anti-trafficking manual on assisting and interviewing victims, reinstated the anti-trafficking task force, and increased training for law enforcement and child care officials; however, authorities again did not identify any trafficking victims, reported no new prosecutions, and have never convicted anyone of trafficking; the national action plan has yet to be completed (2020)
The entry for Barbados did not include Trafficking in persons.
- tier rating:
- Tier 2 Watch List — Barbados did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts to eliminate trafficking compared with the previous reporting period and was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List;
- for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/barbados/
Rewritten: too little of the 2021 text remains to mark the changes.
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List — Barbados did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts to eliminate trafficking compared with the previous reporting period and was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/barbados/
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Cite this page
Central Intelligence Agency. “Barbados: Trafficking in persons.” The World Factbook, 2011–2025 editions. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/barbados/trafficking-in-persons.