World Facts

Capital: Bridgetown-
Type of Government: parliamentary democracy; independent sovereign state within the Commonwealth-
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
Age Structure: 0-14 years: 20.6% (male 28,813/female 28,634)
Agriculture: sugarcane, vegetables, cotton-
Airports:
With Paved Runways: total: 1-
With Unpaved Runways:
Area: -. -
Background:
Birth rate: 12.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget: revenues: $847 million (including grants)
Coastline: -
Climate: -
Communications:
Constitution: 30 November 1966-
Currency: Barbadian dollar (BBD)-
Current account balance:
Death rate: 9.17 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external: $668 million (2003)-
Dependency status: -
Dependent areas:
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Michael Ian KING-
Disputes - international: -
Distribution of family income: -
Economic aid - donor:
Economic aid - recipient: $9.1 million (1995)-
Economy - overview:
Electricity - consumption:
Electricity - exports:
Electricity - imports:
Electricity - production:
Elevation extremes: -
Environment - current issues:
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
Ethnic groups: black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6%
Exchange rates: Barbadian dollars per US dollar - NA (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003), 2 (2002), 2 (2001)
Executive branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996)
Exports: $209 million (2004 est.)
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)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March-
Flag description:
GDP (official exchange rate): $3.051 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (purchasing power parity): $4.831 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 6%
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $17,300 (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.5% (2005 est.)-
Geographic coordinates: -
Geography - note: -
Government - note:
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.5% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 200 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 2,500 (2003 est.)-
Heliports:
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA-
Illicit drugs:
Imports: $1.476 billion (2004 est.)
Imports - partners: US 35.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 20%, UK 5.6%, Japan 4.3% (2004)
Independence: 30 November 1966 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate: -3.2% (2000 est.)
Industries: tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export
Infant mortality rate: total: 12.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.5% (2003 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
Internet country code: .bb
Internet hosts: 204 (2003)
Internet users: 100,000 (2003)-
Investment (gross fixed): -
Irrigated land:
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services)
Labor force: 128,500 (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Land boundaries: -
Land use:
Languages: English-
Legal system:
Legislative branch:
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 72.59 years
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school-
Location: -
Major infectious diseases: -
Manpower available for military service: -
Manpower fit for military service: -
Manpower reaching military service age annually: -
Map references: -
Maritime claims:
Median age: total: 34.15 years
Merchant marine: total: 58 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 427,465 GRT/668,195 DWT
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)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; volunteers at earlier age with parental consent; no conscription (2001)
National holiday: Independence Day, 30 November (1966)
Nationality: noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)-
Natural gas - consumption: -
Natural gas - exports: -
Natural gas - imports:
Natural gas - production:
Natural gas - proved reserves: 70.79 million cu m (1 January 2002)-
Natural hazards: -
Natural resources:
Net migration rate: -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption: 10,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: NA (2001)
Oil - imports: NA (2001)
Oil - production: 1,000 bbl/day (2003)
Oil - proved reserves: 1.254 million bbl (1 January 2002)-
People - note: -
Political parties and leaders: Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [Clyde Mascoll]
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]-
Population:
Population below poverty line: NA
Population growth rate: 0.33% (2005 est.)-
Ports and terminals: -
Public debt:
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004)-
Railways: -
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
Religions: Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12%-
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Roadways: total: 1,600 km
Sex ratio:
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system: general assessment: NA
Telephones - main lines in use: 134,000 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 140,000 (2003)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (plus two cable channels) (2004)-
Terrain:
Total fertility rate: 1.65 children born/woman (2005 est.)-
Transportation - note:
Unemployment rate: 10.7% (2003 est.)-
Waterways: