United Kingdom (2001) | Barbados (2001) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | England - 47 boroughs, 36 counties*, 29 London boroughs**, 12 cities and boroughs***, 10 districts****, 12 cities*****, 3 royal boroughs******; Barking and Dagenham**, Barnet**, Barnsley, Bath and North East Somerset****, Bedfordshire*, Bexley**, Birmingham***, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest, Bradford***, Brent**, Brighton and Hove, City of Bristol*****, Bromley**, Buckinghamshire*, Bury, Calderdale, Cambridgeshire*, Camden**, Cheshire*, Cornwall*, Coventry***, Croydon**, Cumbria*, Darlington, Derby*****, Derbyshire*, Devon*, Doncaster, Dorset*, Dudley, Durham*, Ealing**, East Riding of Yorkshire****, East Sussex*, Enfield**, Essex*, Gateshead, Gloucestershire*, Greenwich**, Hackney**, Halton, Hammersmith and Fulham**, Hampshire*, Haringey**, Harrow**, Hartlepool, Havering**, Herefordshire*, Hertfordshire*, Hillingdon**, Hounslow**, Isle of Wight*, Islington**, Kensington and Chelsea******, Kent*, City of Kingston upon Hull*****, Kingston upon Thames******, Kirklees, Knowsley, Lambeth**, Lancashire*, Leeds***, Leicester*****, Leicestershire*, Lewisham**, Lincolnshire*, Liverpool***, City of London*****, Luton, Manchester***, Medway, Merton**, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Newcastle upon Tyne***, Newham**, Norfolk*, Northamptonshire*, North East Lincolnshire****, North Lincolnshire****, North Somerset****, North Tyneside, Northumberland*, North Yorkshire*, Nottingham*****, Nottinghamshire*, Oldham, Oxfordshire*, Peterborough*****, Plymouth*****, Poole, Portsmouth*****, Reading, Redbridge**, Redcar and Cleveland, Richmond upon Thames**, Rochdale, Rotherham, Rutland****, Salford***, Shropshire*, Sandwell, Sefton, Sheffield***, Slough, Solihull, Somerset*, Southampton*****, Southend-on-Sea, South Gloucestershire****, South Tyneside, Southwark**, Staffordshire*, St. Helens, Stockport, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent*****, Suffolk*, Sunderland***, Surrey*, Sutton**, Swindon, Tameside, Telford and Wrekin****, Thurrock, Torbay, Tower Hamlets**, Trafford, Wakefield***, Walsall, Waltham Forest**, Wandsworth**, Warrington, Warwickshire*, West Berkshire****, Westminster***, West Sussex*, Wigan, Wiltshire*, Windsor and Maidenhead******, Wirral, Wokingham****, Wolverhampton, Worcestershire*, York*****; Northern Ireland - 24 districts, 2 cities*; Antrim, Ards, Armagh, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast*, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Down, Dungannon, Fermanagh, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, Derry*, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane; Scotland - 32 council areas; Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, The Scottish Borders, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney Islands, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Shetland Islands, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, West Dunbartonshire, Eilean Siar (Western Isles), West Lothian; Wales - 11 county boroughs, 9 counties*, 2 cities and counties**; Isle of Anglesey*, Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff**, Ceredigion*, Carmarthenshire*, Conwy, Denbighshire*, Flintshire*, Gwynedd, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire*, Neath Port Talbot, Newport, Pembrokeshire*, Powys*, Rhondda Cynon Taff, Swansea**, Torfaen, The Vale of Glamorgan*, Wrexham | 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:
18.89% (male 5,778,415; female 5,486,114) 15-64 years: 65.41% (male 19,712,932; female 19,304,771) 65 years and over: 15.7% (male 3,895,921; female 5,469,637) (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish | sugarcane, vegetables, cotton |
Airports | 489 (2000 est.) | 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
349 over 3,047 m: 10 2,438 to 3,047 m: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 162 914 to 1,523 m: 89 under 914 m: 55 (2000 est.) |
total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
140 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 116 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
244,820 sq km land: 241,590 sq km water: 3,230 sq km note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands |
total:
430 sq km land: 430 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside of the European Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. Regional assemblies with varying degrees of power opened in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland in 1999. | 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. |
Birth rate | 11.54 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.47 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$555.2 billion expenditures: $510.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $37.7 billion (FY00) |
revenues:
$725.5 million expenditures: $750.6 million, including capital expenditures of $126.3 million (FY97/98 est.) |
Capital | London | Bridgetown |
Climate | temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast | tropical; rainy season (June to October) |
Coastline | 12,429 km | 97 km |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | 30 November 1966 |
Country name | conventional long form:
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland conventional short form: United Kingdom abbreviation: UK |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Barbados |
Currency | British pound (GBP) | Barbadian dollar (BBD) |
Death rate | 10.35 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $425 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Philip LADER embassy: 24/31 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A1AE mailing address: PSC 801, Box 40, FPO AE 09498-4040 telephone: [44] (0) 207499-9000 (switchboard) FAX: [44] (171) 409-1637 consulate(s) general: Belfast, Edinburgh |
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Sir Christopher J. R. MEYER chancery: 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-6500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-7870 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco consulate(s): Dallas, Denver, Miami, Orlando (reports to Atlanta), San Juan, and Seattle |
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 |
Disputes - international | Northern Ireland issue with Ireland (historic peace agreement signed 10 April 1998); Gibraltar issue with Spain; Argentina claims Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas); Argentina claims South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; Mauritius and the Seychelles claim Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory); Rockall continental shelf dispute involving Denmark and Iceland; territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim; disputes with Iceland, Denmark, and Ireland over the Faroe Islands continental shelf boundary outside 200 NM | none |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $3.4 billion (1997) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $9.1 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, deploys an essentially capitalistic economy, one of the quartet of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe. Over the past two decades the government has greatly reduced public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only 1% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance. The economy has grown steadily, at just above or below 3%, for the last several years. The BLAIR government has put off the question of participation in the euro system until after the next election, in June of 2001; Chancellor of the Exchequer BROWN has identified some key economic tests to determine whether the UK should join the common currency system, but it will largely be a political decision. A serious short-term problem is foot-and-mouth disease, which by early 2001 had broken out in nearly 600 farms and slaughterhouses and had resulted in the killing of 400,000 animals. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 333.012 billion kWh (1999) | 667.7 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 265 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 14.5 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 342.771 billion kWh (1999) | 718 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
69.38% hydro: 1.55% nuclear: 26.68% other: 2.39% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Fenland -4 m highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m |
Environment - current issues | continues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (has meet Kyoto Protocol target of a 12.5% reduction from 1990 levels and hopes to reduce even more); small particulate emissions, largely from vehicular traffic, remain a problem; solid waste continues to rise and recycling is very limited | pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
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 |
Ethnic groups | English 81.5%, Scottish 9.6%, Irish 2.4%, Welsh 1.9%, Ulster 1.8%, West Indian, Indian, Pakistani, and other 2.8% | black 80%, white 4%, other 16% |
Exchange rates | British pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996) | Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the queen, born 14 November 1948) head of government: Prime Minister Anthony C. L. (Tony) BLAIR (since 2 May 1997) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons (assuming there is no majority party, a prime minister would have a majority coalition or at least a coalition that was not rejected by the majority) |
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 |
Exports | $282 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $260 million (2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco | sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components, clothing |
Exports - partners | EU 58% (Germany 12%, France 10%, Netherlands 8%), US 15% (1999) | UK 14.8%, US 11.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 7.6%, Venezuela 6.1%, Jamaica 5.8% (1998) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | blue with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland) and which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); known as the Union Flag or Union Jack; the design and colors (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of other flags including other Commonwealth countries and their constituent states or provinces, as well as British overseas territories | 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) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.36 trillion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
1.7% industry: 24.9% services: 73.4% (1999) |
agriculture:
4% industry: 16% services: 80% (1998) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $22,800 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $14,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 2.8% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 54 00 N, 2 00 W | 13 10 N, 59 32 W |
Geography - note | lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and now linked by tunnel under the English Channel; because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters | easternmost Caribbean island |
Heliports | 11 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
371,603 km paved: 371,603 km (including 3,303 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (1998 est.) |
total:
1,600 km paved: 1,578 km unpaved: 22 km (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.6% highest 10%: 27.3% (1991) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | gateway country for Latin American cocaine entering the European market; major consumer of synthetic drugs, producer of limited amounts of synthetic drugs and synthetic precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian heroin; money-laundering center | one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US |
Imports | $324 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | $800.3 million (2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs | consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components |
Imports - partners | EU 53% (Germany 14%, France 9%, Netherlands 7%), US 13%, Japan 5% (1999) | US 30.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 10.2%, Japan 8.3%, UK 7.7%, Canada 2.2% (1998) |
Independence | England has existed as a unified entity since the 10th century; the union between England and Wales was enacted under the Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284; in the Act of Union of 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanent union as Great Britain; the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 formalized a partition of Ireland; six northern Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland and the current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927 | 30 November 1966 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2000) | 0.8% (1996) |
Industries | machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, and other consumer goods | tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export |
Infant mortality rate | 5.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 12.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.4% (2000 est.) | 2% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, C, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECA (associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 245 (2000) | 19 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,080 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | House of Lords (highest court of appeal; several Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are appointed by the monarch for life); Supreme Courts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (comprising the Courts of Appeal, the High Courts of Justice, and the Crown Courts); Scotland's Court of Session and Court of the Justiciary | Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services) |
Labor force | 29.2 million (1999) | 136,000 (1998 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 1%, industry 19%, services 80% (1996 est.) | services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
360 km border countries: Ireland 360 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
25% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 46% forests and woodland: 10% other: 19% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
37% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 12% other: 46% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland) | English |
Legal system | common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; no judicial review of Acts of Parliament; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; British courts and legislation are increasingly subject to review by European Union courts | English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament comprised of House of Lords (consists of approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers and 26 clergy) and House of Commons (659 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is dissolved earlier)
elections: House of Lords - no elections (some proposals for further reform include elections); House of Commons - last held 7 June 2001 (next to be held by NA May 2006) election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Labor 412, Conservative and Unionist 166, Liberal Democrat 52, other 29 note: in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Parliament (because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of 1999 and was rescinded in February 2000); in 1999 there were elections for a new Scottish Parliament and a new Welsh Assembly |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
77.82 years male: 75.13 years female: 80.66 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
73.25 years male: 70.66 years female: 75.86 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling total population: 99% (1978 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 97.4% male: 98% female: 96.8% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, islands including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of France | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela |
Map references | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
200 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,934,776 GRT/3,760,240 DWT ships by type: bulk 4, cargo 31, chemical tanker 11, combination ore/oil 1, container 47, liquefied gas 3, passenger 14, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 52, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 19, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 1 (2000 est.) |
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.) |
Military branches | Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force | Royal Barbados Defense Force (includes Ground Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $36.884 billion (FY97) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.7% (FY97) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
14,599,199 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
78,069 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
12,139,930 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
53,576 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, celebrated on the second Saturday in June (1926) | Independence Day, 30 November (1966) |
Nationality | noun:
Briton(s), British (collective plural) adjective: British |
noun:
Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial) adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial) |
Natural hazards | NA | infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides |
Natural resources | coal, petroleum, natural gas, tin, limestone, iron ore, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, lead, silica, arable land | petroleum, fish, natural gas |
Net migration rate | 1.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil (almost all insignificant) 933 km; petroleum products 2,993 km; natural gas 12,800 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | Conservative and Unionist Party [William HAGUE]; Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Rev. Ian PAISLEY]; Labor Party [Anthony (Tony) Blair]; Liberal Democrats [Charles KENNEDY]; Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru) [Ieuan Wyn JONES]; Scottish National Party or SNP [John SWINNEY]; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) [Gerry ADAMS]; Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) [John HUME]; Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [David TRIMBLE] | Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [David THOMPSON]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Richard HAYNES] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Confederation of British Industry; National Farmers' Union; Trades Union Congress | 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 | 59,647,790 (July 2001 est.) | 275,330 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 17% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.23% (2001 est.) | 0.46% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Aberdeen, Belfast, Bristol, Cardiff, Dover, Falmouth, Felixstowe, Glasgow, Grangemouth, Hull, Leith, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Peterhead, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Scapa Flow, Southampton, Sullom Voe, Tees, Tyne | Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 219, FM 431, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 84.5 million (1997) | 237,000 (1997) |
Railways | total:
16,878 km broad gauge: 342 km 1.600-m gauge (190 km double track); note - all 1.600-m gauge track, of which 342 km is in common carrier use, and is in Northern Ireland standard gauge: 16,536 km 1.435-m gauge (4,928 km electrified; 12,591 km double or multiple track) (1996) |
0 km |
Religions | Anglican 27 million, Roman Catholic 9 million, Muslim 1 million, Presbyterian 800,000, Methodist 760,000, Sikh 400,000, Hindu 350,000, Jewish 300,000 (1991 est.) | Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
technologically advanced domestic and international system domestic: equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems international: 40 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Eutelsat; at least 8 large international switching centers |
general assessment:
NA domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 34.878 million (1997) | 108,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 13 million (yearend 1998) | 8,013 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 228 (plus 3,523 repeaters) (1995) | 1 (plus two cable channels) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast | relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region |
Total fertility rate | 1.73 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.64 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.5% (2000 est.) | 11% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 3,200 km | none |