:Barbados Geography

Total area:
    430 km2
Land area:
    430 km2
Comparative area:
    slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries:
    none
Coastline:
    97 km
Maritime claims:
  Exclusive economic zone:
    200 nm
  Territorial sea:
    12 nm
Disputes:
    none
Climate:
    tropical; rainy season (June to October)
Terrain:
    relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region
Natural resources:
    crude oil, fishing, natural gas
Land use:
    arable land 77%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 9%; forest and
    woodland 0%; other 14%
Environment:
    subject to hurricanes (especially June to October)
Note:
    easternmost Caribbean island

:Barbados People

Population:
    254,934 (July 1992), growth rate 0.1% (1992)
Birth rate:
    16 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
    9 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
    --6 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
    22 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
    70 years male, 76 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
    1.8 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
    noun - Barbadian(s); adjective - Barbadian
Ethnic divisions:
    African 80%, mixed 16%, European 4%
Religions:
    Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%),
    Roman Catholic 4%; none 17%, unknown 3%, other 9% (1980)
Languages:
    English
Literacy:
    99% (male 99%, female 99%) age 15 and over having ever attended school
    (1970)
Labor force:
    120,900 (1991); services and government 37%; commerce 22%; manufacturing and
    construction 22%; transportation, storage, communications, and financial
    institutions 9%; agriculture 8%; utilities 2% (1985 est.)
Organized labor:
    32% of labor force

:Barbados Government

Long-form name:
    none
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 - there may be a new city of Bridgetown
Independence:
    30 November 1966 (from UK)
Constitution:
    30 November 1966
Legal system:
    English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts
National holiday:
    Independence Day, 30 November (1966)
Executive branch:
    British monarch, governor general, prime minister, deputy prime minister,
    Cabinet
Legislative branch:
    bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house
    or House of Assembly
Judicial branch:
    Supreme Court of Judicature
Leaders:
  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 Lloyd Erskine SANDIFORD (since 2 June 1987)
Political parties and leaders:
    Democratic Labor Party (DLP), Erskine SANDIFORD; Barbados Labor Party (BLP),
    Henry FORDE; National Democratic Party (NDP), Richie HAYNES
Suffrage:
    universal at age 18
Elections:
  House of Assembly:
    last held 22 January 1991 (next to be held by January 1996); results - DLP
    49.8%; seats - (28 total) DLP 18, BLP 10
Other political or pressure groups:
    Industrial and General Workers Union, Sir Frank WALCOTT; People's
    Progressive Movement, Eric SEALY; Workers' Party of Barbados, Dr. George
    BELLE
Member of:
    ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD,
    IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES,
    LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Diplomatic representation:
    Ambassador Dr. Rudi WEBSTER; Chancery at 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington,
    DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-9200 through 9202; there is a Barbadian
    Consulate General in New York and a Consulate in Los Angeles
  US:
    Ambassador G. Philip HUGHES; Embassy at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce
    Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown (mailing address is P. O. Box 302, Box B,
    FPO AA 34054); telephone (809) 436-4950 through 4957; FAX (809) 429-5246

:Barbados Government

Flag:
    three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, 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)

:Barbados Economy

Overview:
    A per capita income of $6,500 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. The tourist industry is now a major employer
    of the labor force and a primary source of foreign exchange. The economy
    slowed in 1990-91, however, and Bridgetown's declining hard currency
    reserves and inability to finance its deficits have caused it to adopt an
    austere economic reform program.
GDP:
    purchasing power equivalent - $1.7 billion, per capita $6,500; real growth
    rate--3.1% (1990)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
    3.4% (1990)
Unemployment rate:
    18% (1991)
Budget:
    revenues $514 million; expenditures $615 million (FY91-92)
Exports:
    $210.6 million (f.o.b., 1990)
  commodities:
    sugar and molasses, chemicals, electrical components, clothing, rum,
    machinery and transport equipment
  partners:
    CARICOM 30%, US 20%, UK 20%
Imports:
    $704 million (c.i.f., 1990)
  commodities:
    foodstuffs, consumer durables, raw materials, machinery, crude oil,
    construction materials, chemicals
  partners:
    US 35%, CARICOM 13%, UK 12%, Japan 6%, Canada 8%, Venezuela 4%
External debt:
    $539.9 million (1990)
Industrial production:
    growth rate--2.7% (1990); accounts for 14% of GDP
Electricity:
    152,100 kW capacity; 539 million kWh produced, 2,117 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
    tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export
Agriculture:
    accounts for 10% of GDP; major cash crop is sugarcane; other crops -
    vegetables and cotton; not self-sufficient in food
Economic aid:
    US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $15 million; Western (non-US)
    countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $171 million
Currency:
    Barbadian dollars (plural - dollars); 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
    Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1 - 2.0113 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year:
    1 April - 31 March

:Barbados Communications

Highways:
    1,570 km total; 1,475 km paved, 95 km gravel and earth
Ports:
    Bridgetown
Merchant marine:
    2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,200 GRT/7,338 DWT
Civil air:
    no major transport aircraft
Airports:
    1 with permanent-surface runways 2,440-3,659 m
Telecommunications:
    islandwide automatic telephone system with 89,000 telephones; tropospheric
    scatter link to Trinidad and Saint Lucia; broadcast stations - 3 AM, 2 FM, 2
    (1 is pay) TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station

:Barbados Defense Forces

Branches:
    Royal Barbados Defense Force, Coast Guard, Royal Barbados Police Force
Manpower availability:
    males 15-49, 69,678; 48,803 fit for military service, no conscription
Defense expenditures:
    exchange rate conversion - $10 million, 0.7% of GDP (1989)