2000 Edition

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.

Area

land

430 sq km

total

430 sq km

water

0 sq km

Area - comparative

2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Climate

tropical; rainy season (June to October)

Coastline

97 km

Elevation extremes

highest point

Mount Hillaby 336 m

lowest point

Atlantic Ocean 0 m

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

party to

Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity

Geographic coordinates

13 10 N, 59 32 W

Geography - note

easternmost Caribbean island

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Land boundaries

0 km

Land use

arable land

37%

forests and woodland

12%

other

46% (1993 est.)

permanent crops

0%

permanent pastures

5%

Location

Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean

Maritime claims

exclusive economic zone

200 nm

territorial sea

12 nm

Natural hazards

infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides

Natural resources

petroleum, fish, natural gas

Terrain

relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region

Age structure

0-14 years: 22% (male 30,687; female 30,172) 15-64 years: 69% (male 92,241; female 96,866) 65 years and over: 9% (male 9,506; female 15,068) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

14.45 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

8.68 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

black 80%, white 4%, other 16%

Infant mortality rate

12.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Languages

English

Life expectancy at birth

female

75.6 years (2000 est.)

male

70.43 years

total population

73 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over has ever attended school

female

96.8% (1995 est.)

male

98%

total population

97.4%

Nationality

adjective

Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial)

noun

Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)

Net migration rate

-0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Population

274,540 (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

0.55% (2000 est.)

Religions

Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12%

Sex ratio

at birth

1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female

total population

0.93 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.7 children born/woman (2000 est.)

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

note

the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status

Capital

Bridgetown

Constitution

30 November 1966

Country name

conventional long form

none

conventional short form

Barbados

Data code

BB

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d' Affairs Roland BULLEN

embassy

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown

mailing address

P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; FPO AA 34055

telephone

(246) 436-4950

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery

2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

chief of mission

Ambassador Courtney N. BLACKMAN

consulate(s)

Los Angeles

consulate(s) general

Miami and New York

telephone

(202) 939-9200

Executive branch

cabinet

Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister

chief of state

Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996)

elections

none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; prime minister appointed by the governor general

head of government

Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 6 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Billie MILLER (since 6 September 1994)

FAX

(246) 429-5246

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)

Government type

parliamentary democracy; independent sovereign state within the Commonwealth

Independence

30 November 1966 (from UK)

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

Judicial branch

Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Service)

Legal system

English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts

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)

election results

House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - BLP 26, DLP 2

elections

House of Assembly - last held 20 January 1999 (next to be held by January 2004)

National holiday

Independence Day, 30 November (1966)

Political parties and leaders

Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP ; National Democratic Party or NDP

Political pressure groups and leaders

Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union ; People's Progressive Movement ; Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE]

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

sugarcane, vegetables, cotton

Budget

expenditures

$750.6 million, including capital expenditures of $126.3 million (FY97/98 est.)

revenues

$725.5 million

Currency

1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents

Debt - external

$550 million (1998 est.)

Economic aid - recipient

$9.1 million (1995)

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.

Electricity - consumption

625 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - production

672 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

100%

hydro

0%

nuclear

0%

other

0% (1998)

Exchange rates

Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1 - 2.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar)

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)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

GDP

purchasing power parity - $2.9 billion (1998 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

4.9%

industry

15.6%

services

79.5% (1997)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $11,200 (1998 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

4.4% (1998 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

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)

Industrial production growth rate

0.8% (1996)

Industries

tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export

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.)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Unemployment rate

12% (1998 est.)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

3 (1999)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios

237,000 (1997)

Telephone system

domestic

island-wide automatic telephone system

international

satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia

Telephones - main lines in use

90,000 (1995)

Telephones - mobile cellular

4,614 (1995)

Television broadcast stations

1 (plus two cable channels) (1997)

Televisions

76,000 (1997)

Airports

1 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total

1 over 3,047 m: 1 (1999 est.)

Highways

paved

1,578 km

total

1,600 km

unpaved

22 km (1998 est.)

Merchant marine

note

a flag of convenience registry; includes ships of 2 countries: Canada owns 2 ships, Hong Kong 1 (1998 est.)

ships by type

bulk 10, cargo 29, combination bulk 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 2 (1999 est.)

total

47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 654,580 GRT/1,103,780 DWT

Ports and harbors

Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina)

Railways

0 km

Military branches

Royal Barbados Defense Force (includes Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

NA%

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 77,789 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 53,472 (2000 est.)

Disputes - international

none

Illicit drugs

one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for the US and Europe

BASSAS DA INDIA