Barbados

Radio

broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0 radios: NA

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

Television

broadcast stations: 2 (1 pay) televisions: NA

Branches

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

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP BASSAS DA INDIA (possession of France)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 71,153; males fit for military service 49,488 (1995 est.)

Agriculture

accounts for 6% of GDP; major cash crop is sugarcane; other crops - vegetables, cotton; not self-sufficient in food

Budget

revenues: $509 million expenditures: $636 million, including capital expenditures of $86 million (FY94/95 est.)

Currency

1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents

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

Electricity

capacity: 152,100 kW production: 510 million kWh consumption per capita: 1,841 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates

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

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%

External debt

$652 million (1991 est.)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

Illicit drugs

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

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%

Industrial production

growth rate 2% (FY93/94 est.); accounts for about 10% of GDP

Industries

tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2% (1994 est.)

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $2.4 billion (1994 est.)

National product per capita

$9,200 (1994 est.)

National product real growth rate

3% (1994 est.)

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.

Unemployment rate

20.5% (1994 est.)

Area

total area: 430 sq km land area: 430 sq km comparative area: slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Climate

tropical; rainy season (June to October)

Coastline

97 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

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Land boundaries

0 km

Land use

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

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 resources

petroleum, fishing, natural gas

Note

easternmost Caribbean island

Terrain

relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region

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

Capital

Bridgetown

Constitution

30 November 1966

Digraph

BB

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Courtney BLACKMAN chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9218, 9219

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

FAX

[1] (202) 332-7467 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York consulate(s): Los Angeles

FAX

[1] (809) 429-5246

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)

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

Independence

30 November 1966 (from UK)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court of Judicature

Legal system

English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament

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

Names

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Barbados

National holiday

Independence Day, 30 November (1966)

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

Political parties and leaders

Democratic Labor Party (DLP),David THOMPSON; Barbados Labor Party (BLP), Owen ARTHUR; National Democratic Party (NDP), Richard HAYNES

Senate

consists of a 21-member body appointed by the governor general

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

parliamentary democracy

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

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.)

Birth rate

15.45 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate

8.27 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Ethnic divisions

African 80%, European 4%, other 16%

Infant mortality rate

19.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

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.)

Languages

English

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 74.16 years male: 71.47 years female: 77.06 years (1995 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over has ever attended school (1970) total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99%

Nationality

noun: Barbadian(s) adjective: Barbadian

Net migration rate

-4.82 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Population

256,395 (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate

0.24% (1995 est.)

Religions

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

Total fertility rate

1.78 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Airports

total: 1 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 1

Highways

total: 1,570 km paved: 1,475 km unpaved: gravel, earth 95 km

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

Ports

Bridgetown

Railroads

0 km