Most people might assume that authorities in Barbados would be more concerned about driving up tourist numbers from the U.S. and Europe, keeping crime down, and ensuring there are enough airlift and cruise ports to service the island’s lifeline sector, but there is another bugbear besetting the cabinet: the nation’s swiftly aging population.
The island of nearly 300,000 people is now contending with fears that there might not be enough locals in the next decade to sustain the country economically.
The latest figures authorities presented to a recent workshop shows that by 2030, one in six Barbadians would be 60 or older. The current status quo shows that one in five Bajans is over 65 and one in four is over 60.
“Our country is in a crisis with respect to an aging and declining population. Our country needs now to make decisions that may be difficult for some but necessary for all. That decision will lead to us committing to maintaining our values and our way of life as we know it. This country has seen a declining population, an aging population, a declining level of production as a result, and declining taxation,” Prime Minister Mia Mottley told parliament recently as statistics from a World Health Organization (WHO) study and a recent census emerged.
She expressed deep fears that there might well not be enough in the workforce in a decade or so to contribute to income tax and other statutory deductions that are key to state revenues. “We believe that this thing can be managed properly. Barbados has a strong caring infrastructure, and it does not come cheap. If we are going to maintain that because we believe in equity and we believe that the most vulnerable must be taken care of, then it means we have to manage carefully how we grow the economy—but equally making sure that the systems that are necessary to make sure that everybody can benefit and improve the quality of life.”
Barbados and The Bahamas have among the highest living standards in the 15-nation Caribbean Community.
As an indication of how seriously the situation is being viewed, Barbados might well be the only member of the 15-nation Caribbean Community with a minister especially responsible for the affairs of the elderly. Minister Kirk Humphrey in the recent presentation argues that the nation will have to come up with some creative ways of beating this oncoming crisis or face the consequences. “At the rate at which we are aging, Barbadians will become a super-aged society where over 21% is over 65 years old within the next decade. This must not be a cause for concern, surely, but it must be a call to action.”
The cabinet has toyed with the idea of importing younger workers from neighboring Caricom states, but such is usually a hot political potato in a country known for its insularity. PM Mottley said that any move in this direction would have to be carefully managed to ensure it works smoothly. “We have had the opportunity of knowing how Caricom people have been able to add value to this country, and in areas of construction and agriculture, there was a time where if you did not have those persons living here helping to control the price of work laborers in agriculture and construction, the level of inflation and cost of living would have gone through the roof at a much earlier point. That is why, in many countries, the absence of available labor has led to cost
of living increases,” she said.
Meanwhile, local lawmakers are continuing to study the WHO statistics as well as the results from the last census even as The Bahamas has been expressing similar fears about a looming labor shortage that could affect national productivity. Nearby Antigua’s U.S. Ambassador Sir Ronald Sanders, meanwhile, says his country has long beaten this problem by importing labor from neighbors.
“In Antigua and Barbuda, immigrants make up as much as 30% of the population, directly contributing to the country’s ability to maintain its health and education services and pension payments. Meeting these obligations is particularly challenging for Antigua and Barbuda because it has no personal income tax, but the situation would have been much worse without the immigrant working population,” he argued in a recent column.