Unlocking the Caribbean’s Data Potential: Key Findings from the Global Data Barometer
This analysis of the findings for the Caribbean region in the second edition of the Global Data Barometer was compiled by Suzana Russell and Lila Rao-Graham from the Caribbean Open Institute.
The second edition of the Global Data Barometer includes data from five Caribbean countries: Jamaica, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic and Barbados. Among these, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica stand out as regional leaders in data openness and infrastructure, with scores that surpass both the Caribbean and this edition’s averages. This reflects stronger political will and institutional capacity to promote data transparency.
One of the most promising areas in the region is public procurement, which shows consistent progress in improving accountability and reducing corruption risks in government contracting. The region also scores well in data infrastructure, indicating growing technical capacity for open data management. In terms of social capacity, internet access scored well, reflecting strong digital capability across the region, even though access disparities persist in rural and underserved areas.
Despite these bright spots, the Caribbean faces serious challenges in political accountability. Key indicators related to political integrity and land management score low across most countries, underscoring ongoing policy and implementation gaps that hinder transparency, civic engagement and inclusive governance.
Key Trends in the Caribbean
The Caribbean displays uneven progress across data governance, capability and availability. Public procurement achieved the highest scores regionally, consistently ranking well across all five countries, indicating a strong regional emphasis on transparency in government contracting.
Looking more closely at the action areas, the region shows strength in digital infrastructure, with a regional score of 65.35. High scores in internet access, data literacy, and data protection point to a strong foundation for digital transformation. However, the region scored low in politically sensitive areas such as lobbying, land use, and political integrity interoperability, revealing a critical transparency gap.
Main Highlights from the Barometer
The Dominican Republic and Jamaica lead the region in overall Global Data Barometer scores, surpassing regional averages, an achievement linked to stronger institutional frameworks and national data policies. Among thematic clusters, public procurement emerged as the strongest area, with a regional average of 61.64, reflecting robust legal and implementation practices in public procurement data. The region also demonstrated technical readiness for open data ecosystems, as evidenced by a score of 65.35 in data infrastructure. Internet access topped the capability cluster with an impressive average score of 87.16, indicating widespread digital connectivity that supports access to data and public services.
Key Obstacles and Gaps
Land management was the lowest-scoring cluster across the Caribbean, which suggests weak governance and lack of transparency in land data. Several indicators scored zero across many countries, including lobbying, land use, political integrity interoperability, and language. These gaps reflect systemic and institutional weaknesses in governance and accountability. The lack of consistent legal and regulatory frameworks, particularly around open data and political finance, continues to hinder progress. Additionally, limited human and financial resources in public sector institutions remain obstacles to implementing and sustaining open data practices.
The Pathway to Strengthening the Caribbean Data Ecosystem
The Global Data Barometer’s findings underscore the need for governments in the region to strengthen political commitment and legal frameworks. In the next few years, it is of critical importance for governments to update national open data policies and data protection laws to formalize commitments. In addition, there is a need for long term investment in capacity building. Continuous training for public servants, civil society, and journalists is essential to ensure data literacy, increase data use, and encourage more informed policymaking, accountability and transparency.
Land management and political integrity interoperability datasets are some of the lowest ranking datasets in the region, the regional average for political integrity is 22.07, while land management ranks lowest at 3.28. Adopting policies that will improve data collection and publication will go a long way in enhancing transparency and accountability.
As digital literacy improves and citizens become more engaged, we anticipate increased pressure for greater transparency. Many Caribbean governments are expanding e-government services and we expect that this will likely accelerate data availability. There is no need to reinvent the wheel as countries like the Dominican Republic and Jamaica can serve as examples to other countries in the region that are looking to adopt open data governance.
Although faced with human resources and financial constraints, the Caribbean demonstrates how small, developing states with limited resources can still achieve progress in areas like public procurement and data infrastructure.
While data gaps persist, it is still important to keep having comparable, up-to-date data across the Caribbean. Reliable and current data informs effective policymaking and development and development strategies. Governments can leverage these insights to address complex issues like inequality. Comparable regional data also supports regional integration, facilitates benchmarking and enables countries to assess progress, share best practices, and coordinate regional strategies. Most importantly, timely open data strengthens democratic progress in the region by empowering civil society, the media, and citizens to hold public institutions and governments accountable.
Explore the full regional findings in the Global Data Barometer website, and join the conversation on how we can shape a data future that works for everyone.