1994 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1994 (Project Gutenberg)
Introduction
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 new city of Bridgetown may be given parish status
Agriculture
accounts for 6% of GDP; major cash crop is sugarcane; other crops - vegetables, cotton; not self-sufficient in food
Airports
total: 1 usable: 1 with permanent-surface runways: 1 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
Area
total area: 430 sq km land area: 430 sq km comparative area: slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Birth rate
15.63 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Branches
Royal Barbados Defense Force, including the Ground Forces and Coast Guard, Royal Barbados Police Force
Budget
revenues: $547 million expenditures: $620 million, including capital expenditures of $60 million (FY92-93)
Capital
Bridgetown
Climate
tropical; rainy season (June to October)
Coastline
97 km
Constitution
30 November 1966
Currency
1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents
Death rate
8.4 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $10 million, 0.7% of GDP (1989)
Digraph
BB
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Rudi Valentine WEBSTER chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 939-9200 through 9202 consulate(s) general: New York consulate(s): Los Angeles
Economic aid
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $15 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $171 million
Electricity
capacity: 152,100 kW production: 540 million kWh consumption per capita: 2,118 kWh (1992)
Environment
current issues: pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers natural hazards: subject to hurricanes (especially June to October); periodic landslides international agreements: party to - Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity
Ethnic divisions
African 80%, European 4%, other 16%
Exchange rates
Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1 - 2.0113 (fixed rate)
Executive branch
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Nita BARROW (since 6 June 1990) head of government: Prime Minister Lloyd Erskine SANDIFORD (since 2 June 1987); Deputy Prime Minister Philip Marlowe GREAVES (since 2 June 1987) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the governor general on advice of the prime minister
Exports
$158 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components, clothing partners: US 13%, UK 13%, Trinidad and Tobago 9%, Windward Islands 7.8%
External debt
$652 million (1991 est.)
FAX
(809) 429-5246
Fiscal year
1 April - 31 March
Flag
three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, 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)
Highways
total: 1,570 km paved: 1,475 km unpaved: gravel, earth 95 km
House of Assembly
election last held 22 January 1991 (next to be held by January 1996); results - DLP 49.8%; seats - (28 total) DLP 18, BLP 10
Imports
$465 million (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components partners: US 33%, UK 11%, Trinidad and Tobago 11%, Japan 5%
Independence
30 November 1966 (from UK)
Industrial production
growth rate -1.3% (1991); accounts for 10% of GDP
Industries
tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export, petroleum
Infant mortality rate
3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
6.1% (1992)
International disputes
none
Irrigated land
NA sq km
Judicial branch
Supreme Court of Judicature
Labor force
120,900 (1991) by occupation: services and government 37%, commerce 22%, manufacturing and construction 22%, transportation, storage, communications, and financial institutions 9%, agriculture 8%, utilities 2% (1985 est.)
Land boundaries
0 km
Land use
arable land: 77% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 9% forest and woodland: 0% other: 14%
Languages
English
Legal system
English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts
Legislative branch
bicameral Parliament
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 73.83 years male: 71.11 years female: 76.76 years (1994 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over having ever attended school (1970) total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99%
Location
Caribbean, in the extreme eastern Caribbean Sea, about 375 km northeast of Venezuela
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 70,751; fit for military service 49,330
Map references
Central America and the Caribbean, South America, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Member of
ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO
Merchant marine
2 oil tankers (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 44,466 GRT/76,219 DWT
Names
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Barbados
National holiday
Independence Day, 30 November (1966)
National product
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $2.2 billion (1993 est.)
National product per capita
$8,700 (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate
-3% (1992)
Nationality
noun: Barbadian(s) adjective: Barbadian
Natural resources
petroleum, fishing, natural gas
Net migration rate
-5.16 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Note
easternmost Caribbean island
Other political or pressure groups
Barbados Workers Union, Leroy TROTMAN; People's Progressive Movement, Eric SEALY; Workers' Party of Barbados, Dr. George BELLE; Clement Payne Labor Union, David COMMISSIONG
Overview
A per capita income of $8,700 gives Barbados one of the highest standards of living of all the small island states of the eastern Caribbean. Historically, the economy was based on the cultivation of sugar cane and related activities. In recent years, however, the economy has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. The tourist industry is now a major employer of the labor force and a primary source of foreign exchange. The economy slowed in 1990-92 as Bridgetown's difficulty in financing its deficits caused it to exert control over domestic demands
Political parties and leaders
Democratic Labor Party (DLP), Erskine SANDIFORD; Barbados Labor Party (BLP), Owen ARTHUR; National Democratic Party (NDP), Richie HAYNES
Population
255,827 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate
0.21% (1994 est.)
Ports
Bridgetown
Religions
Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, unknown 3%, other 9% (1980)
Senate
consists of a 21-member body appointed by the governor general
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Telecommunications
island wide automatic telephone system with 89,000 telephones; tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad and Saint Lucia; broadcast stations - 3 AM, 2 FM, 2 (1 is pay) TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Terrain
relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region
Total fertility rate
1.78 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Type
parliamentary democracy
Unemployment rate
23% (1992)
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Jeanette W. HYDE embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; FPO AA 34055 telephone: (809) 436-4950