Background: 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.
Government type: parliamentary democracy; independent
sovereign state within the Commonwealth
Capital: Bridgetown
Currency: 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents
Geography of Barbados
Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic
Ocean, northeast of Venezuela|
Geographic coordinates: 13 10 N, 59 32 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area:
total: 430 sq km
land: 430 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 97 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical; rainy season (June to October)
Terrain: relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, natural gas
Land use:
arable land: 37%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 5%
forests and woodland: 12%
other: 46% (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides
Environment - current issues: pollution of coastal waters from waste
disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens
contamination of aquifers
Environment - international agreements:
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
Geography - note: easternmost Caribbean island
People of Barbados
About 80% of Barbados' population is of African descent, 4% European
descent, and 16% mixed. About 70% of Barbadians are Anglican, and the rest
mostly Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, and Moravian. There also are
small Jewish and Muslim communities. Barbados' population growth rate has
been very low, less than 1% since the1960s, largely due to family planning
efforts and a high emigration rate.
Population: 279,254 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
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)
Population growth rate: 0.46%
Birth rate: 13.47 births/1,000 population
Death rate: 8.53 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate: -0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Infant mortality rate: 12.04 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.25 years
male: 70.66 years
female: 75.86 years
Total fertility rate: 1.64 children born/woman
Nationality:
noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial)
Ethnic groups: black 80%, white 4%, other 16%
Religions: Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist
7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12%
Languages: English
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97.4%
male: 98%
female: 96.8% (1995 est.)
SOURCES: The World Factbook, U.S. Department of State |