Barbados (2001) | Libya (2003) | |
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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 | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
21.68% (male 30,122; female 29,572) 15-64 years: 69.44% (male 93,283; female 97,915) 65 years and over: 8.88% (male 9,432; female 15,006) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 34.5% (male 970,026; female 929,174)
15-64 years: 61.4% (male 1,744,992; female 1,630,399) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 109,262; female 115,221) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 136 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 58
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 78
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 39 under 914 m: 18 (2002) |
Area | total:
430 sq km land: 430 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Alaska |
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. | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. |
Birth rate | 13.47 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 27.43 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$725.5 million expenditures: $750.6 million, including capital expenditures of $126.3 million (FY97/98 est.) |
revenues: $13.7 billion
expenditures: $8.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Bridgetown | Tripoli |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to October) | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
Coastline | 97 km | 1,770 km |
Constitution | 30 November 1966 | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Barbados |
conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
Currency | Barbadian dollar (BBD) | Libyan dinar (LYD) |
Death rate | 8.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 3.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $425 million (2000 est.) | $4.4 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador James A. DALEY embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; FPO AA 34055 telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950 FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246 |
the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Michael KING chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9200 FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York consulate(s): Los Angeles |
Libya does not have an embassy in the US |
Disputes - international | none | Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in Niger in currently dormant disputes; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya |
Economic aid - recipient | $9.1 million (1995) | $15 million (2000) |
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 1996-2000. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a light manufacturing sector. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, encourage direct foreign investment, and privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. Growth should remain steady in 2001, with new tourist facilities a plus factor. | The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. Higher oil prices in the last three years led to an increase in export revenues, which has improved macroeconomic balances but has done little to stimulate broad-based economic growth. Libya is making slow progress toward economic liberalization and the upgrading of economic infrastructure, but truly market-based reforms will be slow in coming. |
Electricity - consumption | 667.7 million kWh (1999) | 18.77 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 718 million kWh (1999) | 20.18 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
Ethnic groups | black 80%, white 4%, other 16% | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
Exchange rates | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.2 (2003), 0.6 (2002), 0.51 (2001), 0.5 (2000), 0.39 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996) 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 the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; prime minister appointed by the governor general |
chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
Exports | $260 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components, clothing | crude oil, refined petroleum products (1999) |
Exports - partners | UK 14.8%, US 11.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 7.6%, Venezuela 6.1%, Jamaica 5.8% (1998) | Italy 42.6%, Germany 14.1%, Spain 13.6%, Turkey 6.9%, Switzerland 4.4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
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) | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $33.36 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 16% services: 80% (1998) |
agriculture: 9%
industry: 45% services: 46% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $14,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,200 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2000 est.) | 1.2% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 10 N, 59 32 W | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
Geography - note | easternmost Caribbean island | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total:
1,600 km paved: 1,578 km unpaved: 22 km (1998) |
total: 83,200 km
paved: 47,590 km unpaved: 35,610 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US | - |
Imports | $800.3 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods (1999) |
Imports - partners | US 30.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 10.2%, Japan 8.3%, UK 7.7%, Canada 2.2% (1998) | Italy 25.6%, Germany 9.8%, South Korea 6.6%, UK 6.6%, Tunisia 6.5%, Japan 6.4%, France 5.7% (2002) |
Independence | 30 November 1966 (from UK) | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.8% (1996) | NA% |
Industries | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
Infant mortality rate | 12.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 26.8 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 29.16 deaths/1,000 live births female: 24.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2000 est.) | 1% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 19 (2000) | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 4,700 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services) | Supreme Court |
Labor force | 136,000 (1998 est.) | 1.5 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.) | services 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
Land use | arable land:
37% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 12% other: 46% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.17% other: 98.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
Legal system | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 20 January 1999 (next to be held by January 2004) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BLP 26, DLP 2 |
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
73.25 years male: 70.66 years female: 75.86 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 76.07 years
male: 73.91 years female: 78.34 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 97.4% male: 98% female: 96.8% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 NM
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
Merchant marine | total:
47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 671,545 GRT/1,125,635 DWT ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 28, combination bulk 1, container 2, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Canada 2, Hong Kong 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 21 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 130,081 GRT/115,480 DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Algeria 1, Kuwait 1, UAE 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Barbados Defense Force (includes Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force | Armed Peoples on Duty (Army), Navy, Air and Air Defense Command (includes Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $1.3 billion (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 3.9% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
78,069 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,546,432 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
53,576 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 914,649 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 17 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 61,511 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
Nationality | noun:
Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial) adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
Natural hazards | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, natural gas | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
Net migration rate | -0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate 225 km; gas 3,196 km; oil 6,872 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [David THOMPSON]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Richard HAYNES] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMMISSIONG]; People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY]; Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE] | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements |
Population | 275,330 (July 2001 est.) | 5,499,074
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.46% (2001 est.) | 2.39% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina) | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) |
Radios | 237,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% | Sunni Muslim 97% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.01 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 (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia |
general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 108,000 (1997) | 500,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,013 (1997) | 20,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus two cable channels) (1997) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) |
Terrain | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
Total fertility rate | 1.64 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.49 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11% (1999 est.) | 30% (2001) |
Waterways | none | none |