Barbados

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Barbados

General Information
Geography
Government
Economy
Population
Health
Communications and media
Chronology


GENERAL INFORMATION

Area 430 sq km/166 sq mi Capital Bridgetown Language English (official), Bajan (a Barbadian English dialect) Religion 40% Anglican, 8% Pentecostal, 6% Methodist, 4% Roman Catholic Time difference GMT -4 Major holidays 1 January, 30 November, 25–26 December; variable: Good Friday, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, Kadooment (August), May Holiday, United Nations (October)


GEOGRAPHY

Major towns/cities Speightstown, Holetown, Oistins Physical features most easterly island of the West Indies; surrounded by coral reefs; subject to hurricanes June–November; highest point Mount Hillaby 340 m/1,115 ft Airports one international airport Railways none Roads total road network: 1,600 km/994 mi, of which 100% paved (2003 est); passenger cars: 370.4 per 1,000 people (2003 est)


GOVERNMENT

Head of state Queen Elizabeth II from 1966, represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn Husbands from 1996 Head of government Owen Arthur from 1994 Political system liberal democracy Political executive parliamentary Administrative divisions 11 parishes Political parties Barbados Labour Party (BLP), moderate left of centre; Democratic Labour Party (DLP), moderate left of centre; National Democratic Party (NDP), centrist Death penalty retained and used for ordinary crimes Armed forces 610; plus 430 reserves (2006 est) Conscription military service is voluntary Defence spend (% GDP) 0.5 (2004 est) Education spend (% GDP) 7.6 (2003 est) Health spend (% GDP) 4.8 (2004)


ECONOMY

Currency Barbados dollar GDP (US$) 3 billion (2005 est) Real GDP growth (% change on previous year) 4.2 (2006 est) GNI (US$) 2.6 billion (2004 est) GNI per capita (PPP) (US$) 17,000 (2005 est) Consumer price inflation 6.3% (2006 est) Unemployment 10% (2005 est) Labour force 3.3% agriculture, 17.3% industry, 78.4% services (2004) Foreign debt (US$) 763.5 million (2005 est) Major trading partners CARICOM, UK, USA, Japan, Canada, EU Resources petroleum and natural gas Industries sugar refining, food processing, industrial chemicals, beverages, tobacco, household appliances, electrical components, plastic products, electronic parts, tourism Exports manufactured goods, sugar, molasses, rum, other food and beverages; chemicals, electrical components. Principal market: CARICOM 36.5% (2004) Imports consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, motor cars, construction materials, basic manufactures. Principal source: USA 36.4% (2004) Arable land 37.2% (2006 est) Agricultural products sugar cane, cotton, sweet potatoes, yams, carrots, and other vegetables; fishing (740 fishing vessels employed in 1994)


POPULATION

Population 270,200 (2006 est) Population growth rate 270,200 (2006 est) Population density (per sq km) 628 (2006 est) Urban population (% of total) 53 (2005 est) Age distribution (% of total population) 0–14 19%, 15–59 68%, 60+ 13% (2005 est) Ethnic groups about 80% of African descent, about 16% mixed ethnicity, and 4% of European origin (mostly British) Life expectancy 73 (men); 79 (women) (2005–10) Child mortality rate (under 5, per 1,000 live births) 12 (2004) Education (compulsory years) 11 Literacy rate 99% (men); 99% (women) (2004 est)


HEALTH

Physicians (per 10,000 people) 12.1 (2004 est) Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) 7.6 (2002 est) HIV infection (% of population aged 15–49) 1.5 (2005 est) AIDS deaths <500 (2005 est) Access to drinking-water source (% of total population) 100 (urban); 100 (rural) (2002)


COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Landline telephones (per 100 people) 50.1 (2005 est) Mobile phone subscribers (per 100 people) 76.7 (2005 est) Radios (per 1,000 people) 651 (1999 est) TV sets (per 1,000 people) 289 (2004 est) Personal computer users (per 100 people) 14.9 (2005 est) Internet users (per 100 people) 59.5 (2005 est)


CHRONOLOGY

1536 Visited by Portuguese explorer Pedro a Campos and name Los Barbados (‘The Bearded Ones’) given in reference to its ‘bearded’ fig trees. Indigenous Arawak people virtually wiped out by epidemics after contact with Europeans. 1627 British colony established; developed as a sugar-plantation economy with black slaves brought in from West Africa. 1639 First parliament, House of Assembly, established. 1834 Slaves freed. 1937 Outbreak of riots; establishment of Barbados Labour Party (BLP) by Grantley Adams; moves towards more independent political system. 1951 Universal adult suffrage introduced; BLP won general elections. 1954 Ministerial government established, with BLP leader Adams as first prime minister. 1955 Group broke away from BLP and formed Democratic Labour Party (DLP). 1961 Independence achieved from Britain. 1966 Barbados achieved full independence within Commonwealth. 1967 Barbados became member of United Nations (UN). 1972 Diplomatic relations with Cuba established. 1983 Barbados supported US invasion of Grenada. 1999 BLP gained landslide victory in general elections, securing 26 of 28 House of Assembly seats. 2003 BLP, led by Prime Minister Owen Arthur, retained power in parliamentary elections, winning 23 of 30 seats in House of Assembly. 2004 Barbados took sea border dispute with Trinidad and Tobago to a UN-backed tribunal. 2005 Uprising among inmates of country's only prison ended in evacuation after fires badly damaged the building.


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