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Barbados
Background: The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Its economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance.
Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela Geographic coordinates: 13 10 N, 59 32 W Map references: Central America and the Caribbean Area:
Area - comparative: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 97 km Maritime claims:
Climate: tropical; rainy season (June to October) Terrain: relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region Elevation extremes:
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, natural gas Land use:
Irrigated land: NA sq km Natural hazards: infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides Environment - current issues: pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers Environment - international agreements:
Geography - note: easternmost Caribbean island
Population: 274,540 (July 2000 est.) Age structure:
Population growth rate: 0.55% (2000 est.) Birth rate: 14.45 births/1,000 population (2000 est.) Death rate: 8.68 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.) Net migration rate: -0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.) Sex ratio:
Infant mortality rate: 12.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.) Life expectancy at birth:
Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (2000 est.) Nationality:
Ethnic groups: black 80%, white 4%, other 16% Religions: Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% Languages: English Literacy:
Country name:
Data code: BB Government type: parliamentary democracy; independent sovereign state within the Commonwealth Capital: Bridgetown Administrative divisions:
11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas
Independence: 30 November 1966 (from UK) National holiday: Independence Day, 30 November (1966) Constitution: 30 November 1966 Legal system: English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Executive branch:
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (28 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Service) Political parties and leaders: Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [David THOMPSON]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Richard HAYNES] Political pressure groups and leaders: Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMMISSIONG]; People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY]; Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE] International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO Diplomatic representation in the US:
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)
Economy - overview: Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. The start of the Port Charles Marina project in Speightstown helped the tourism industry continue to expand in 1996-99. Offshore finance and informatics are important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a light manufacturing sector. The government continues its efforts to reduce the unacceptably high unemployment rate, encourage direct foreign investment, and privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.9 billion (1998 est.) GDP - real growth rate: 4.4% (1998 est.) GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $11,200 (1998 est.) GDP - composition by sector:
Population below poverty line: NA% Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (1998) Labor force: 136,000 (1998 est.) Labor force - by occupation: services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.) Unemployment rate: 12% (1998 est.) Budget:
Industries: tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export Industrial production growth rate: 0.8% (1996) Electricity - production: 672 million kWh (1998) Electricity - production by source:
Electricity - consumption: 625 million kWh (1998) Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998) Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998) Agriculture - products: sugarcane, vegetables, cotton Exports: $211.2 million (1998) Exports - commodities: sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components, clothing Exports - partners: UK 14.8%, US 11.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 7.6%, Venezuela 6.1%, Jamaica 5.8% (1998) Imports: $1.01 billion (1998) Imports - commodities: consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components Imports - partners: US 30.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 10.2%, Japan 8.3%, UK 7.7%, Canada 2.2% (1998) Debt - external: $550 million (1998 est.) Economic aid - recipient: $9.1 million (1995) Currency: 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents Exchange rates: Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1 - 2.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Telephones - main lines in use: 90,000 (1995) Telephones - mobile cellular: 4,614 (1995) Telephone system:
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) Radios: 237,000 (1997) Television broadcast stations: 1 (plus two cable channels) (1997) Televisions: 76,000 (1997) Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (1999)
Railways: 0 km Highways:
Ports and harbors: Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina) Merchant marine:
Airports: 1 (1999 est.) Airports - with paved runways:
Military branches: Royal Barbados Defense Force (includes Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force Military manpower - availability:
Military manpower - fit for military service:
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Disputes - international: none Illicit drugs: one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for the US and Europe Please click here for a guide to the country profiles Click here for all other countries
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