Barbados (2005) | Senegal (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 | 10 regions (regions, singular - region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor
note: there may be another region called Matam |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.6% (male 28,813/female 28,634)
15-64 years: 70.6% (male 96,590/female 100,622) 65 years and over: 8.8% (male 9,432/female 15,163) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 43.7% (male 2,330,395; female 2,289,706)
15-64 years: 53.3% (male 2,707,195; female 2,929,998) 65 years and over: 3% (male 156,514; female 166,499) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton | peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 20 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 431 sq km
land: 431 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 196,190 sq km
land: 192,000 sq km water: 4,190 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than South Dakota |
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. | Independent from France in 1960, Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. However, the envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. Despite peace talks, a southern separatist group sporadically has clashed with government forces since 1982. Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping. |
Birth rate | 12.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 36.23 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $1.373 billion
expenditures: $1.373 billion, including capital expenditures of $357 million (2002 est.) |
Capital | Bridgetown | Dakar |
Climate | tropical; rainy season (June to October) | tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind |
Coastline | 97 km | 531 km |
Constitution | 30 November 1966 | a new constitution was adopted 7 January 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados |
conventional long form: Republic of Senegal
conventional short form: Senegal local long form: Republique du Senegal local short form: Senegal |
Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XOF); note - responsible authority is the Central Bank of the West African States |
Death rate | 9.17 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.88 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $668 million (2003) | $3.1 billion (2002 est.) |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Harriet L. ELAM-THOMAS
embassy: Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Rue Kleber, Dakar mailing address: B. P. 49, Dakar telephone: [221] 823-4296 FAX: [221] 822-2991 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael Ian 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 Amadou Lamine BA
chancery: 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-0540 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6315 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | in 2005, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to compulsory international arbitration that will result in a binding award challenging whether the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's and Venezuela's maritime boundary extends into Barbadian waters and the southern limit of Barbadian traditional fishing; 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 | separatist war in Casamance region results in refugees and cross-border raids, arms smuggling, other illegal activities, and political instability in Guinea-Bissau |
Economic aid - recipient | $9.1 million (1995) | $362.6 million (2002 est.) |
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 probably was positive in 2004, as economic conditions in the US and Europe moderately improved. | In January 1994, Senegal undertook a bold and ambitious economic reform program with the support of the international donor community. This reform began with a 50% devaluation of Senegal's currency, the CFA franc, which was linked at a fixed rate to the French franc. Government price controls and subsidies have been steadily dismantled. After seeing its economy contract by 2.1% in 1993, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to the reform program, with real growth in GDP averaging 5% annually during 1995-2002. Annual inflation had been pushed down to less than 1%, but rose to an estimated 3.3% in 2001 and 3.0% in 2002. Investment rose steadily from 13.8% of GDP in 1993 to 16.5% in 1997. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified external tariff. Senegal also realized full Internet connectivity in 1996, creating a miniboom in information technology-based services. Private activity now accounts for 82% of GDP. In 2003, GDP will probably again grow at about 5%. On the negative side, Senegal faces deep-seated urban problems of chronic unemployment, trade union militancy, juvenile delinquency, and drug addiction. |
Electricity - consumption | 744 million kWh (2002) | 1.412 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 800 million kWh (2002) | 1.518 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | 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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed feature near Nepen Diakha 581 m |
Environment - current issues | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers | wildlife populations threatened by poaching; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; overfishing |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6% | Wolof 43.3%, Pular 23.8%, Serer 14.7%, Jola 3.7%, Mandinka 3%, Soninke 1.1%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 9.4% |
Exchange rates | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2 (2002), 2 (2001), 2 (2000) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.7 (1999), 589.95 (1998) |
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 7 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 Abdoulaye WADE (since 1 April 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Idrissa SECK (since 4 November 2002) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term under new constitution; election last held 27 February and 19 March 2000 (next to be held 27 February 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Abdoulaye WADE elected president; percent of vote in the second round of voting - Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 58.49%, Abdou DIOUF (PS) 41.51% |
Exports | NA | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components | fish, groundnuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton |
Exports - partners | US 20.6%, UK 14.5%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.9%, Saint Lucia 6.9%, Jamaica 6.6%, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5.1% (2004) | India 20.7%, France 13%, Mali 8.9%, Greece 7.7%, Italy 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) | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), yellow, and red with a small green five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $15.64 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 16% services: 78% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 27% services: 55% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $16,400 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.3% (2004 est.) | 2.4% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 10 N, 59 32 W | 14 00 N, 14 00 W |
Geography - note | easternmost Caribbean island | westernmost country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an enclave of Senegal |
Highways | total: 1,600 km
paved: 1,578 km unpaved: 22 km (2002) |
total: 14,576 km
paved: 4,271 km including 7 km of expressways unpaved: 10,305 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 33.5% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center | transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin moving to Europe and North America; illicit cultivator of cannabis |
Imports | NA | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components | foods and beverages, capital goods, fuels |
Imports - partners | US 35.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 20%, UK 5.6%, Japan 4.3% (2004) | France 25.6%, Nigeria 8.7%, Thailand 7.2%, US 5.4%, Germany 5.4%, Italy 4.5%, Spain 4% (2002) |
Independence | 30 November 1966 (from UK) | 4 April 1960 (from France); complete independence was achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960 |
Industrial production growth rate | -3.2% (2000 est.) | 8.1% (2002 est.) |
Industries | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export | agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.5 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.14 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 57.57 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 61.34 deaths/1,000 live births female: 53.68 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.5% (2003 est.) | 3% (2002 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, MIPONUH, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMOVIC, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | 710 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services) | Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals; note - the judicial system was reformed in 1992 |
Labor force | 128,500 (2001 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 15%, services 75% (1996 est.) | agriculture 70% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,640 km
border countries: The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km |
Land use | arable land: 37.21%
permanent crops: 2.33% other: 60.46% (2001) |
arable land: 11.58%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 88.23% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English | French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka |
Legal system | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts | based on French civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; the Council of State audits the government's accounting office; 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 (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 Assemblee Nationale (120 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms)
note: the former National Assembly, dissolved in the spring of 2001, had 140 seats elections: last held 29 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SOPI Coalition 89, AFP 11, PS 10, other 10 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.59 years
male: 70.6 years female: 74.6 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 56.37 years
male: 54.83 years female: 57.95 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 99.7% male: 99.7% female: 99.7% (2002 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.2% male: 50% female: 30.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 58 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 427,465 GRT/668,195 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 14, cargo 31, chemical tanker 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 53 (Bahamas 1, Bangladesh 1, Canada 12, Greece 11, Lebanon 2, Netherlands 1, Norway 17, UAE 1, United Kingdom 7) registered in other countries: 1 (2005) |
- |
Military - note | the Royal Barbados Defense Force includes a land-based Troop Command and a small Coast Guard; the primary role of the land element is to defend the island against external aggression; the Command consists of a single, part-time battalion with a small regular cadre that is deployed throughout the island; it increasingly supports the police in patrolling the coastline to prevent smuggling and other illicit activities (2005) | - |
Military branches | Royal Barbados Defense Force: Troops Command and Coast Guard (2005) | Army, Navy, Air Force, National Gendarmerie, National Police (Surete Nationale) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $68.6 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.4% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,404,838 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,256,973 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 116,688 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) | Independence Day, 4 April (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
noun: Senegalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Senegalese |
Natural hazards | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides | lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | petroleum, fish, natural gas | fish, phosphates, iron ore |
Net migration rate | -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 0.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 564 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [Clyde Mascoll] | African Party for Democracy and Socialism or And Jef (also known as PADS/AJ) [Landing SAVANE, secretary general]; African Party of Independence [Majhemout DIOP]; Alliance of Forces of Progress or AFP [Moustapha NIASSE]; Democratic and Patriotic Convention or CDP (also known as Garab-Gi) [Dr. Iba Der THIAM]; Democratic League-Labor Party Movement or LD-MPT [Dr. Abdoulaye BATHILY]; Front for Socialism and Democracy or FSD [Cheikh Abdoulaye DIEYE]; Gainde Centrist Bloc or BGC [Jean-Paul DIAS]; Independence and Labor Party or PIT [Amath DANSOKHO]; National Democratic Rally or RND [Madier DIOUF]; Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE]; Socialist Party or PS [Ousmane Tanor DIENG]; SOPI Coalition (a coalition led by the PDS) [Abdoulaye WADE]; Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]; other small parties |
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] | labor; Muslim brotherhoods; students; teachers |
Population | 279,254 (July 2005 est.) | 10,580,307 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 54% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.33% (2005 est.) | 2.56% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bridgetown | Dakar, Kaolack, Matam, Podor, Richard Toll, Saint-Louis, Ziguinchor |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 8, FM 20, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 906 km
narrow gauge: 906 km 1.000-meter gauge (2002) |
Religions | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% | Muslim 94%, indigenous beliefs 1%, Christian 5% (mostly Roman Catholic) |
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 (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 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 |
general assessment: good system
domestic: above-average urban system; microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system international: 4 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 134,000 (2003) | 234,916 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 140,000 (2003) | 373,965 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus two cable channels) (2004) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region | generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 4.93 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.7% (2003 est.) | 48% (urban youth 40%) (2001 est.) |
Waterways | - | 897 km
note: 785 km on the Senegal river, and 112 km on the Saloum river |