BARBADOS
OFFICIAL NAME Barbados
CAPITAL CITY Bridgetown
GEOGRAPHY
Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Area:
total area: 430 sq km
land area: 430 sq km
comparative area: slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington,
DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 97 km
Maritime
claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: none
Climate: tropical; rainy season (June to October)
Terrain: relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region
Natural resources: petroleum, fishing, natural gas
Land use:
arable land: 77%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 9%
forest and woodland: 0%
other: 14%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment:
current issues: pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal
by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination
of aquifers
natural hazards: hurricanes (especially June to October); periodic
landslides
international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Endangered
Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity
Note: easternmost Caribbean island
PEOPLE
Population: 256,395 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 24% (female 30,175; male 31,507)
15-64 years: 66% (female 86,103; male 82,727)
65 years and over: 10% (female 15,849; male 10,034) (July 1995
est.)
Population growth rate: 0.24% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 15.45 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 8.27 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -4.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 19.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy
at birth:
total population: 74.16 years
male: 71.47 years
female: 77.06 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.78 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Barbadian(s)
adjective: Barbadian
Ethnic divisions: African 80%, European 4%, other 16%
Religions: Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, unknown 3%, other 9% (1980)
Languages: English
Literacy:
age 15 and over has ever attended school (1970)
total population: 99%
male: 99%
female: 99%
Labor
force: 124,800 (1992)
by occupation: services and government 41%, commerce 15%, manufacturing
and construction 18%, transportation, storage, communications, and financial
institutions 8%, agriculture 6%, utilities 2% (1992 est.)
GOVERNMENT
Names:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados
Digraph: BB
Type: parliamentary democracy
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
note: the new city of Bridgetown may be given parish status
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:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented
by Governor General Dame Nita BARROW (since 6 June 1990)
head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 6
September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Billie MILLER (since 6 September
1994)
cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the governor general on advice of
the prime minister
Legislative
branch: bicameral Parliament
Senate: consists of a 21-member body appointed by the governor
general
House of Assembly: election last held 6 September 1994 (next to
be held by January 1999); results - percentage vote by party NA; seats
- (28 total) DLP 8, BLP 19, NDP 1
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature
Political parties and leaders: Democratic Labor Party (DLP),David THOMPSON; Barbados Labor Party (BLP), Owen ARTHUR; National Democratic Party (NDP), Richard HAYNES
Other political or pressure groups: Barbados Workers Union, Leroy TROTMAN; People's Progressive Movement, Eric SEALY; Workers' Party of Barbados, Dr. George BELLE; Clement Payne Labor Union, David COMMISSIONG
Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, 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, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic
representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Courtney BLACKMAN
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-9218, 9219
FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467
consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
consulate(s): Los Angeles
US diplomatic
representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jeanette W. HYDE
embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street,
Bridgetown
mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; FPO AA 34055
telephone: [1] (809) 436-4950
FAX: [1] (809) 429-5246
ECONOMY
Overview: A per capita income of $9,200 gives Barbados one of the highest standards of living of all the small island states of the eastern Caribbean. Historically, the economy was based on the cultivation of sugarcane and related activities. In recent years, however, the economy has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. A moderate recovery that began in late 1993 after 3 years of contraction is mainly due to increased tourism and expansion in the construction sector. Economic prospects for 1995 depend mostly on continued growth in the industrialized countries, especially in Europe, which would spur further expansion in tourism.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $9,200 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 20.5% (1994 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $509 million
expenditures: $636 million, including capital expenditures of $86
million (FY94/95 est.)
Exports:
$161 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities: sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages,
chemicals, electrical components, clothing
partners: US 13%, UK 10%, Trinidad and Tobago 9%, Windward Islands
8%
Imports:
$703 million (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
commodities: consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction
materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components
partners: US 36%, UK 11%, Trinidad and Tobago 11%, Japan 3%
External debt: $652 million (1991 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 2% (FY93/94 est.); accounts for about 10% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity: 152,100 kW
production: 510 million kWh
consumption per capita: 1,841 kWh (1993)
Industries: tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export
Agriculture: accounts for 6% of GDP; major cash crop is sugarcane; other crops - vegetables, cotton; not self-sufficient in food
Illicit drugs: one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for the US and Europe
Economic
aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $15 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89),
$171 million
Currency: 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1 - 2.0113 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
TRANSPORTATION
Railroads: 0 km
Highways:
total: 1,570 km
paved: 1,475 km
unpaved: gravel, earth 95 km
Ports: Bridgetown
Merchant
marine:
total: 12 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 61,563 GRT/103,632
DWT
ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 6, oil tanker 2
Airports:
total: 1
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1
COMMUNICATIONS
Telephone
system: 89,000 telephones
local: island wide automatic telephone system;
intercity: NA
international: 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station; tropospheric
scatter link to Trinidad and Saint Lucia
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0
radios: NA
Television:
broadcast stations: 2 (1 pay)
televisions: NA
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Royal Barbados Defense Force (includes the Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 71,153; males fit for military service 49,488 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP