Barbados (2004) | Europa Island (2001) | |
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 | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 21% (male 29,294; female 29,020)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 95,675; female 99,864) 65 years and over: 8.8% (male 9,370; female 15,066) (2004 est.) |
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Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton | - |
Airports | 1 (2003 est.) | 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 431 sq km
land: 431 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
28 sq km land: 28 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | about 0.16 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | A French possession since 1897, the island is heavily wooded; it is the site of a small military garrison that staffs a weather station. |
Birth rate | 12.98 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
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Capital | Bridgetown | - |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to October) | tropical |
Coastline | 97 km | 22.2 km |
Constitution | 30 November 1966 | - |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Europa Island local long form: none local short form: Ile Europa |
Currency | Barbadian dollar (BBD) | - |
Death rate | 9.08 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $668 million (2003) | - |
Dependency status | - | possession of France; administered by a high commissioner of the Republic, resident in Reunion |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER
embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown; (courier) ALICO Building-Cheapside, Bridgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; CMR 1014, APO AA 34055 telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950 FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246, 429-3379 |
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Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael Ian KING
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 339-9200 FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York consulate(s): Los Angeles |
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Disputes - international | Barbados intends to take its claim before UNCLOS arbitration that the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with Venezuela extends into its waters; joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea | claimed by Madagascar |
Economic aid - recipient | $9.1 million (1995) | - |
Economy - overview | Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into light industry and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2002-03 mainly due to a decline in tourism. Growth should be positive in 2004, the precise level largely dependent on economic conditions in the US and Europe. | no economic activity |
Electricity - consumption | 725.4 million kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - production | 780 million kWh (2001) | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m |
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location 24 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers | NA |
Environment - international agreements | 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
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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Ethnic groups | black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6% | - |
Exchange rates | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2 (2003), 2 (2002), 2 (2001), 2 (2000), 2 (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 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 |
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Exports | NA (2001) | - |
Exports - commodities | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components | - |
Exports - partners | US 18.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 14.5%, UK 14%, Jamaica 7.8%, Saint Lucia 6.2%, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 4.7% (2003) | - |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | - |
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) | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.355 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 16% services: 78% (2000 est.) |
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GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $15,700 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2003 est.) | - |
Geographic coordinates | 13 10 N, 59 32 W | 22 20 S, 40 22 E |
Geography - note | easternmost Caribbean island | wildlife sanctuary |
Highways | total: 1,793 km
paved: 1,719 km unpaved: 74 km (1999) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
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Illicit drugs | one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | - |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components | - |
Imports - partners | US 37.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 19.6%, UK 6.2%, Japan 4.4% (2003) | - |
Independence | 30 November 1966 (from UK) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | -3.2% (2000 est.) | - |
Industries | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export | - |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.61 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.26 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.5% (2003 est.) | - |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | - |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 0 sq km (1993) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services) | - |
Labor force | 128,500 (2001 est.) | - |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 15%, services 75% (1996 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 37.21%
permanent crops: 2.33% other: 60.46% (2001) |
arable land:
0% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 100% other: 0% |
Languages | English | - |
Legal system | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts | the laws of France, where applicable, apply |
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 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.64 years
male: 69.51 years female: 73.81 years (2004 est.) |
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Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97.4% male: 98% female: 96.8% (1995 est.) |
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Location | Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | Southern Africa, island in the Mozambique Channel, about one-half of the way from southern Madagascar to southern Mozambique |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 42 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 427,465 GRT/668,195 DWT
by type: bulk 11, cargo 20, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 3, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: Australia 1, Bahamas 1, Bangladesh 1, Canada 5, Greece 7, Hong Kong 7, Italy 2, Lebanon 1, Norway 9, United Kingdom 10 registered in other countries: 3 (2004 est.) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Royal Barbados Defense Force (Troops Command and Coast Guard) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 77,714 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 53,127 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) | - |
Nationality | noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
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Natural hazards | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, natural gas | NEGL |
Net migration rate | -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [Clyde Mascoll] | - |
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] | - |
Population | 278,289 (July 2004 est.) | no indigenous inhabitants
note: there is a small French military garrison (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | - |
Population growth rate | 0.36% (2004 est.) | - |
Ports and harbors | Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina) | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | - |
Religions | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% | - |
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 (2004 est.) |
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Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system international: country code - 1-246; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia |
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Telephones - main lines in use | 134,000 (2003) | - |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 140,000 (2003) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus two cable channels) (1997) | - |
Terrain | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region | low and flat |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2004 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 10.7% (2003 est.) | - |
Waterways | - | none |