Barbados

Airports

1 with permanent-surface runways 2,440-3,659 m

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

Highways

1,570 km total; 1,475 km paved, 95 km gravel and earth

Merchant marine

2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,200 GRT/7,338 DWT

Ports

Bridgetown

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

Branches

Royal Barbados Defense Force, Coast Guard, Royal Barbados Police Force

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $10 million, 0.7% of GDP (1989)

Manpower availability

males 15-49, 69,678; 48,803 fit for military service, no conscription

Agriculture

accounts for 10% of GDP; major cash crop is sugarcane; other crops - vegetables and cotton; not self-sufficient in food

Budget

revenues $514 million; expenditures $615 million (FY91-92)

Currency

Barbadian dollars (plural - dollars); 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $15 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $171 million

Electricity

152,100 kW capacity; 539 million kWh produced, 2,117 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates

Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1 - 2.0113 (fixed rate)

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%

External debt

$539.9 million (1990)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

GDP

purchasing power equivalent - $1.7 billion, per capita $6,500; real growth rate--3.1% (1990)

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%

Industrial production

growth rate--2.7% (1990); accounts for 14% of GDP

Industries

tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.4% (1990)

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.

Unemployment rate

18% (1991)

Climate

tropical; rainy season (June to October)

Coastline

97 km

Comparative area

slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Disputes

none

Environment

subject to hurricanes (especially June to October)

Land area

430 km2

Land boundaries

none

Land use

arable land 77%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 9%; forest and woodland 0%; other 14%

Maritime claims

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

crude oil, fishing, natural gas

Note

easternmost Caribbean island

Terrain

relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region

Total area

430 km2

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

Capital

Bridgetown

Constitution

30 November 1966

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

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

Executive branch

British monarch, governor general, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet

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)

Independence

30 November 1966 (from UK)

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)

Legal system

English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Assembly

Long-form name

none

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

National holiday

Independence Day, 30 November (1966)

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

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

Type

parliamentary democracy

Birth rate

16 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

9 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic divisions

African 80%, mixed 16%, European 4%

Infant mortality rate

22 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

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.)

Languages

English

Life expectancy at birth

70 years male, 76 years female (1992)

Literacy

99% (male 99%, female 99%) age 15 and over having ever attended school (1970)

Nationality

noun - Barbadian(s); adjective - Barbadian

Net migration rate

--6 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor

32% of labor force

Population

254,934 (July 1992), growth rate 0.1% (1992)

Religions

Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%; none 17%, unknown 3%, other 9% (1980)

Total fertility rate

1.8 children born/woman (1992)