Barbados (2001) | Seychelles (2008) | |
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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 | 23 administrative districts; Anse aux Pins, Anse Boileau, Anse Etoile, Anse Louis, Anse Royale, Baie Lazare, Baie Sainte Anne, Beau Vallon, Bel Air, Bel Ombre, Cascade, Glacis, Grand' Anse (on Mahe), Grand' Anse (on Praslin), La Digue, La Riviere Anglaise, Mont Buxton, Mont Fleuri, Plaisance, Pointe La Rue, Port Glaud, Saint Louis, Takamaka |
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: 25.4% (male 10,504/female 10,272)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 27,405/female 28,706) 65 years and over: 6.1% (male 1,590/female 3,418) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton | coconuts, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet potatoes, cassava (tapioca), bananas; poultry; tuna |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 15 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
Area | total:
430 sq km land: 430 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 455 sq km
land: 455 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | A lengthy struggle between France and Great Britain for the islands ended in 1814, when they were ceded to the latter. Independence came in 1976. Socialist rule was brought to a close with a new constitution and free elections in 1993. President France-Albert RENE, who had served since 1977, was re-elected in 2001, but stepped down in 2004. Vice President James MICHEL took over the presidency and in July 2006 was elected to a new five-year term. |
Birth rate | 13.47 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15.83 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$725.5 million expenditures: $750.6 million, including capital expenditures of $126.3 million (FY97/98 est.) |
revenues: $380.9 million
expenditures: $361.2 million (2007 est.) |
Capital | Bridgetown | name: Victoria
geographic coordinates: 4 38 S, 55 27 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to October) | tropical marine; humid; cooler season during southeast monsoon (late May to September); warmer season during northwest monsoon (March to May) |
Coastline | 97 km | 491 km |
Constitution | 30 November 1966 | 18 June 1993 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Barbados |
conventional long form: Republic of Seychelles
conventional short form: Seychelles local long form: Republic of Seychelles local short form: Seychelles |
Currency | Barbadian dollar (BBD) | - |
Death rate | 8.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.25 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $425 million (2000 est.) | $957 million (31 December 2007 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 does not have an embassy in Seychelles; the ambassador to Mauritius is accredited to Seychelles |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jean Ronald JUMEAU
chancery: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400C, New York, NY 10017 telephone: [1] (212) 972-1785 FAX: [1] (212) 972-1786 |
Disputes - international | none | together with Mauritius, Seychelles claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory) |
Economic aid - recipient | $9.1 million (1995) | $18.81 million (2005) |
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. | Since independence in 1976, per capita output in this Indian Ocean archipelago has expanded to roughly seven times the pre-independence, near-subsistence level, moving the island into the upper-middle income group of countries. Growth has been led by the tourist sector, which employs about 30% of the labor force and provides more than 70% of hard currency earnings, and by tuna fishing. In recent years, the government has encouraged foreign investment to upgrade hotels and other services. At the same time, the government has moved to reduce the dependence on tourism by promoting the development of farming, fishing, and small-scale manufacturing. Sharp drops illustrated the vulnerability of the tourist sector in 1991-92 due largely to the Gulf War and once again following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US. Economic growth slowed in 1998-2002 and fell in 2003-04, due to sluggish tourist and tuna sectors, but resumed in 2005-07. Real GDP grew by 5.8% in 2007, driven by tourism and a boom in tourism-related construction. The Seychelles rupee was allowed to depreciate in 2006 after being overvalued for years and fell by 10% in the first 9 months of 2007. |
Electricity - consumption | 667.7 million kWh (1999) | 193.4 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 718 million kWh (1999) | 208 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Morne Seychellois 905 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers | water supply depends on catchments to collect rainwater |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 80%, white 4%, other 16% | mixed French, African, Indian, Chinese, and Arab |
Exchange rates | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) | Seychelles rupees per US dollar - 6.5 (2007), 5.5 (2006), 5.5 (2005), 5.5 (2004), 5.4007 (2003) |
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: President James Alix MICHEL (since 14 April 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President James MICHEL (since 14 April 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for two more terms); election last held 28-30 July 2006 (next to be held in 2011) election results: President James MICHEL elected president; percent of vote - James MICHEL 53.73%, Wavel RAMKALAWAN 45.71%, Philippe BOULLE 0.56%; note - this was the first election in which President James MICHEL participated; he was originally sworn in as president after former president France Albert RENE stepped down in April 2004 |
Exports | $260 million (2000 est.) | 0 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components, clothing | canned tuna, frozen fish, cinnamon bark, copra, petroleum products (reexports) |
Exports - partners | UK 14.8%, US 11.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 7.6%, Venezuela 6.1%, Jamaica 5.8% (1998) | UK 25.5%, France 17.5%, Italy 11.9%, Mauritius 8.5%, Japan 8.3%, Spain 8.2%, Netherlands 4.3% (2006) |
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) | five oblique bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, red, white, and green (bottom) radiating from the bottom of the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 16% services: 80% (1998) |
agriculture: 2.4%
industry: 25.6% services: 72% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $14,500 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2000 est.) | 5.8% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 10 N, 59 32 W | 4 35 S, 55 40 E |
Geography - note | easternmost Caribbean island | 41 granitic and about 75 coralline islands |
Highways | total:
1,600 km paved: 1,578 km unpaved: 22 km (1998) |
- |
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.) | 5,800 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 30.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 10.2%, Japan 8.3%, UK 7.7%, Canada 2.2% (1998) | Saudi Arabia 17.7%, South Africa 9.7%, Spain 8.1%, France 7.8%, Singapore 7.2%, Italy 4.8%, UK 4% (2006) |
Independence | 30 November 1966 (from UK) | 29 June 1976 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.8% (1996) | 1% (2007 est.) |
Industries | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export | fishing, tourism, processing of coconuts and vanilla, coir (coconut fiber) rope, boat building, printing, furniture; beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 12.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 14.75 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2000 est.) | 2.9% (2007 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 19 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services) | Court of Appeal; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the president |
Labor force | 136,000 (1998 est.) | 30,900 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.) | agriculture: 10%
industry: 19% services: 71% (1989) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
37% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 12% other: 46% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 2.17%
permanent crops: 13.04% other: 84.79% (2005) |
Languages | English | Creole 91.8%, English 4.9% (official), other 3.1%, unspecified 0.2% (2002 census) |
Legal system | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts | based on English common law, French civil law, and customary law |
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 National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (34 seats; 25 members elected by popular vote, 9 allocated on a proportional basis to parties winning at least 10% of the vote; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 10-12 May 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - SPPF 56.2%, SNP 43.8%; seats by party - SPPF 23, SNP 11 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
73.25 years male: 70.66 years female: 75.86 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.34 years
male: 66.98 years female: 77.86 years (2007 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: 91.8% male: 91.4% female: 92.3% (2002 census) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | archipelago in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
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: 6 ships (1000 GRT or over) 108,348 GRT/165,593 DWT
by type: cargo 1, carrier 1, chemical tanker 4 foreign-owned: 3 (Hong Kong 1, Nigeria 1, South Africa 1) (2007) |
Military branches | Royal Barbados Defense Force (includes Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force | Seychelles Defense Force: Army, Coast Guard (includes Naval Wing, Air Wing), National Guard (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 2% (2006 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
78,069 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
53,576 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) | Constitution Day (National Day), 18 June (1993) |
Nationality | noun:
Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial) adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
noun: Seychellois (singular and plural)
adjective: Seychellois |
Natural hazards | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides | lies outside the cyclone belt, so severe storms are rare; short droughts possible |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, natural gas | fish, copra, cinnamon trees |
Net migration rate | -0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -5.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
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] | Democratic Party or DP [James MANCHAM, Paul CHOW]; Seychelles National Party or SNP [Wavel RAMKALAWAN] (formerly the United Opposition or UO); Seychelles People's Progressive Front or SPPF [France Albert RENE, James MICHEL] (the governing party) |
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] | Roman Catholic Church; trade unions |
Population | 275,330 (July 2001 est.) | 81,895 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.46% (2001 est.) | 0.432% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 2 (2001) |
Radios | 237,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% | Roman Catholic 82.3%, Anglican 6.4%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.1%, other Christian 3.4%, Hindu 2.1%, Muslim 1.1%, other non-Christian 1.5%, unspecified 1.5%, none 0.6% (2002 census) |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.023 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.955 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.465 male(s)/female total population: 0.932 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 17 years of age; universal |
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: effective system
domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is roughly 110 telephones per 100 persons; radiotelephone communications between islands in the archipelago international: country code - 248; direct radiotelephone communications with adjacent island countries and African coastal countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 108,000 (1997) | 20,700 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,013 (1997) | 70,300 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus two cable channels) (1997) | 2 (plus 9 repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region | Mahe Group is granitic, narrow coastal strip, rocky, hilly; others are coral, flat, elevated reefs |
Total fertility rate | 1.64 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.74 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | - |