Barbados (2003) | Kenya (2002) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
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 | 7 provinces and 1 area*; Central, Coast, Eastern, Nairobi Area*, North Eastern, Nyanza, Rift Valley, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 21.2% (male 29,621; female 29,207)
15-64 years: 70% (male 94,840; female 99,230) 65 years and over: 8.8% (male 9,355; female 15,011) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.1% (male 6,462,430; female 6,327,457)
15-64 years: 56.1% (male 8,769,546; female 8,694,329) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 385,361; female 499,612) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton | coffee, tea, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs |
Airports | 1 (2002) | 231 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 19
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 211
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 113 under 914 m: 83 (2002) |
Area | total: 431 sq km
land: 431 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 582,650 sq km
land: 569,250 sq km water: 13,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly more than twice the size of Nevada |
Background | The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance. | Founding president and liberation struggle icon Jomo KENYATTA led Kenya from independence until his death in 1978, when current President Daniel Toroitich arap MOI took power in a constitutional succession. The country was a de facto one-party state from 1969 until 1982 when the ruling Kenya African National Union (KANU) made itself the sole legal party in Kenya. MOI acceded to internal and external pressure for political liberalization in late 1991. The ethnically fractured opposition failed to dislodge KANU from power in elections in 1992 and 1997, which were marred by violence and fraud, but are viewed as having generally reflected the will of the Kenyan people. President MOI stepped down in December of 2002 following fair and peaceful elections. Mwai KIBAKI of the Democratic Party of Kenya defeated KANU candidate Uhuru KENYATTA and assumed the presidency following a campaign centered on an anticorruption platform. |
Birth rate | 13.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 27.61 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $2.91 billion
expenditures: $2.97 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) (2000 est.) |
Capital | Bridgetown | Nairobi |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to October) | varies from tropical along coast to arid in interior |
Coastline | 97 km | 536 km |
Constitution | 30 November 1966 | 12 December 1963, amended as a republic 1964; reissued with amendments 1979, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1991, 1992, 1997, and 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados |
conventional long form: Republic of Kenya
conventional short form: Kenya former: British East Africa |
Currency | Barbadian dollar (BBD) | Kenyan shilling (KES) |
Death rate | 9.02 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 14.68 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $692 million (2002) | $8 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Earl N. PHILLIPS, Jr.
embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown; (courier) ALICO Building-Cheapside, Bridgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; FPO AA 34055 telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950 FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246, 429-3379 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Johnnie CARSON
embassy: US Embassy, P. O. Box 30137 Mombasa Road (near St. James Hospital), Nairobi mailing address: Box 21A, Unit 64100, APO AE 09831 telephone: [254] (2) 537-800 FAX: [254] (2) 537-810 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael Ian KING
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 339-9201 FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York consulate(s): Los Angeles |
chief of mission: Ambassador Yusuf Abdulraham NZIBO
chancery: 2249 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 387-6101 FAX: [1] (202) 462-3829 consulate(s) general: offices in Los Angeles and New York are closed; mission to the UN remains open |
Disputes - international | none | since colonial times, Kenya's administrative boundary has extended beyond its treaty boundary into Sudan creating the "Ilemi Triangle"; arms smuggling and Oromo rebel activities prompt strict border regime with Somalia |
Economic aid - recipient | $9.1 million (1995) | $457 million (1997) (1997) |
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. 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, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2002 mainly due to a 3% decline in tourism. Growth should be positive in 2003, the precise level largely dependent on economic conditions in the US and Europe. | Kenya, the regional hub for trade and finance in East Africa, is hampered by corruption and reliance upon several primary goods whose prices continue to decline. Following strong economic growth in 1995 and 1996, Kenya's economy has stagnated, with GDP growth failing to keep up with the rate of population growth. In 1997, the IMF suspended Kenya's Enhanced Structural Adjustment Program due to the government's failure to maintain reforms and curb corruption. A severe drought from 1999 to 2000 compounded Kenya's problems, causing water and energy rationing and reducing agricultural output. As a result, GDP contracted by 0.3% in 2000. The IMF, which had resumed loans in 2000 to help Kenya through the drought, again halted lending in 2001 when the government failed to institute several anticorruption measures. Despite the return of strong rains in 2001, weak commodity prices, endemic corruption, and low investment limited Kenya's economic growth to 1%, and Kenya is unlikely to see growth above 2% in 2002. Substantial IMF and other foreign support is essential to prevent a further decline in real per capita output. |
Electricity - consumption | 725.4 million kWh (2001) | 4.433 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 140 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 780 million kWh (2001) | 4.616 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 22%
hydro: 70% nuclear: 0% other: 8% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Kenya 5,199 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers | water pollution from urban and industrial wastes; degradation of water quality from increased use of pesticides and fertilizers; water hyacinth infestation in Lake Victoria; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; poaching |
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, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6% | Kikuyu 22%, Luhya 14%, Luo 13%, Kalenjin 12%, Kamba 11%, Kisii 6%, Meru 6%, other African 15%, non-African (Asian, European, and Arab) 1% |
Exchange rates | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2 (2002), 2 (2001), 2 (2000), 2 (1999), 2 (1998) | Kenyan shillings per US dollar - 78.597 (January 2002), 78.563 (2001), 76.176 (2000), 70.326 (1999), 60.367 (1998), 58.732 (1997) |
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 Mia MOTTLEY (since 26 May 2003) 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; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
chief of state: President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002) and Vice President Michael Kijana WAMALWA (since 3 January 2003) note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mwai KIBAKI (since 30 December 2002) and Vice President Michael Kijana WAMALWA (since 3 January 2003) note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; in addition to receiving the largest number of votes in absolute terms, the presidential candidate must also win 25% or more of the vote in at least five of Kenya's seven provinces and one area to avoid a runoff; election last held 27 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2007); vice president appointed by the president election results: President Mwai KIBAKI elected; percent of vote - Mwai KIBAKI 63%, Uhuru KENYATTA 30% |
Exports | NA (2001) | $1.8 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components | tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement |
Exports - partners | US 14.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 12%, UK 10.6%, Jamaica 6.2%, Saint Lucia 4.7% (2002) | UK 13.5%, Tanzania 12.5%, Uganda 12.0%, Germany 5.5% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 July - 30 June |
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) | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green; the red band is edged in white; a large warrior's shield covering crossed spears is superimposed at the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.153 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $31 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 16% services: 78% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 24%
industry: 13% services: 63% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -2.8% (2002 est.) | 1% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 10 N, 59 32 W | 1 00 N, 38 00 E |
Geography - note | easternmost Caribbean island | the Kenyan Highlands comprise one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa; glaciers are found on Mount Kenya, Africa's second highest peak; unique physiography supports abundant and varied wildlife of scientific and economic value |
Highways | total: 1,793 km
paved: 1,719 km unpaved: 74 km (1999) |
total: 63,300 km
paved: 8,940 km unpaved: 54,360 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 37% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center | widespread harvesting of small plots of marijuana; transit country for South Asian heroin destined for Europe and North America; Indian methaqualone also transits on way to South Africa; significant potential for money-laundering activity given the country's status as a regional financial center, massive corruption, and relatively high levels of narcotics-associated activities |
Imports | NA (2001) | $3.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components | machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics |
Imports - partners | US 41.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 17%, UK 7.3%, Japan 4.2% (2002) | UK 12%, UAE 9.8%, Japan 6.5%, India 4.4% (2000) |
Independence | 30 November 1966 (from UK) | 12 December 1963 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -3.2% (2000 est.) | -0.7% (2001 est.) |
Industries | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export | small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products processing; oil refining, cement; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
67.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.6% (2002 est.) | 3.3% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, EADB, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNU, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 19 (2000) | 65 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 670 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services) | Court of Appeal (chief justice is appointed by the president); High Court |
Labor force | 128,500 (2001 est.) | 10 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.) | agriculture 75%-80% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 3,477 km
border countries: Ethiopia 861 km, Somalia 682 km, Sudan 232 km, Tanzania 769 km, Uganda 933 km |
Land use | arable land: 37.21%
permanent crops: 2.33% other: 60.46% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 7.03%
permanent crops: 0.91% other: 92.06% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English | English (official), Kiswahili (official), numerous indigenous languages |
Legal system | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts | based on Kenyan statutory law, Kenyan and English common law, tribal law, and Islamic law; judicial review in High Court; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; constitutional amendment of 1982 making Kenya a de jure one-party state repealed in 1991 |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (30 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 21 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2008) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - BLP 23, DLP 7 |
unicameral National Assembly or Bunge (224 seats; 210 members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms, 12 so-called "nominated" members who are appointed by the president but selected by the parties in proportion to their parliamentary vote totals, 2 ex-officio members)
elections: last held 27 December 2002 (next to be held by early 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NARC 125, KANU 64, FORD-P 14, other 7; ex-officio 2; seats appointed by the president - NARC 7, KANU 4, FORD-P 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.84 years
male: 69.56 years female: 74.14 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 47.02 years
male: 46.2 years female: 47.85 years (2002 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: 78.1% male: 86.3% female: 70% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | Eastern Africa, bordering the Indian Ocean, between Somalia and Tanzania |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 34 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 284,222 GRT/439,810 DWT
ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 22, combination bulk 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, The Bahamas 1, Canada 4, Germany 1, Greece 2, Hong Kong 7, Norway 7, UK 18 (2002 est.) |
total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,893 GRT/6,320 DWT
ships by type: petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Barbados Defense Force (including Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $179.2 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.8% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 77,862 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 7,938,865 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 53,282 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 4,915,090 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) | Independence Day, 12 December (1963) |
Nationality | noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
noun: Kenyan(s)
adjective: Kenyan |
Natural hazards | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides | recurring drought; flooding during rainy seasons |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, natural gas | gold, limestone, soda ash, salt barites, rubies, fluorspar, garnets, wildlife, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -1.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: according to UNHCR, by the end of 2001 Kenya was host to 220,000 refugees from neighboring countries, including: Somalia 145,000 and Sudan 68,000 (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 483 km |
Political parties and leaders | Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [Clyde Mascoll] | Forum for the Restoration of Democracy-People or FORD-People [Kimaniwa NYOIKE, chairman]; Kenya African National Union or KANU [Uhuru KENYATTA]; National Rainbow Coalition or NARC [Mwai KIBAKI] - 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] | human rights groups; labor unions; Muslim organizations; National Convention Executive Council or NCEC, a proreform coalition of political parties and nongovernment organizations [Kivutha KIBWANA]; Protestant National Council of Churches of Kenya or NCCK [Mutava MUSYIMI]; Roman Catholic and other Christian churches; Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims or SUPKEM [Shaykh Abdul Gafur al-BUSAIDY, chairman] |
Population | 277,264 (July 2003 est.) | 31,138,735
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 50% (2000 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.38% (2003 est.) | 1.15% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina) | Kisumu, Lamu, Mombasa |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 24, FM 18, shortwave 6 (2001) |
Radios | - | 3.07 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 2,778 km
narrow gauge: 2,778 km 1.000-m gauge note: the line connecting Nairobi with the port of Mombasa is the most important in the country |
Religions | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% | Protestant 45%, Roman Catholic 33%, indigenous beliefs 10%, Muslim 10%, other 2%
note: a large majority of Kenyans are Christian, but estimates for the percentage of the population that adheres to Islam or indigenous beliefs vary widely |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 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: unreliable; little attempt to modernize except for service to business
domestic: trunks are primarily microwave radio relay; business data commonly transferred by a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) system international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 108,000 (1997) | 310,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,013 (1997) | 540,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus two cable channels) (1997) | 8 (2002) |
Terrain | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region | low plains rise to central highlands bisected by Great Rift Valley; fertile plateau in west |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 3.34 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10% (2001 est.) | 40% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | NA
note: part of the Lake Victoria system is within the boundaries of Kenya |