The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. African slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. The gradual introduction of social and political reforms in the 1940s and 1950s led to complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance.

Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela

13 10 N, 59 32 W

Central America and the Caribbean

total: 430 sq km
country comparison to the world: 202
land: 430 sq km
water: 0 sq km

2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

0 km

97 km

territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

tropical; rainy season (June to October)

relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region

lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m

petroleum, fish, natural gas

arable land: 27.91%
permanent crops: 2.33%
other: 69.77% (2011)

54.35 sq km (2003)

0.08 cu km (2011)

total: 0.1 cu km/yr (20%/26%/54%)
per capita: 371.3 cu m/yr (2009)

infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides

pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers

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, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

easternmost Caribbean island

noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial)

black 93%, white 3.2%, mixed 2.6%, East Indian 1%, other 0.2% (2000 census)

English

Protestant 63.4% (Anglican 28.3%, Pentecostal 18.7%, Methodist 5.1%, other 11.3%), Roman Catholic 4.2%, other Christian 7%, other 4.8%, none or unspecified 20.6% (2008 est.)

288,725 (July 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 181

0-14 years: 18.6% (male 26,849/female 26,853)
15-24 years: 13.8% (male 19,937/female 19,852)
25-54 years: 45.4% (male 65,153/female 65,902)
55-64 years: 12% (male 16,102/female 18,550)
65 years and over: 10.2% (male 11,642/female 17,885) (2013 est.)

total dependency ratio: 42.3 %
youth dependency ratio: 26.9 %
elderly dependency ratio: 15.5 %
potential support ratio: 6.5 (2013)

total: 37.3 years
male: 36.2 years
female: 38.4 years (2013 est.)

0.34% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 165

12.1 births/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 166

8.4 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 88

-0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 125

urban population: 44% of total population (2010)
rate of urbanization: 1.7% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

BRIDGETOWN (capital) 122,000 (2011)

at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.86 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

51 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
country comparison to the world: 107

total: 11.13 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 135
male: 12.49 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 9.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2013 est.)

total population: 74.75 years
country comparison to the world: 104
male: 72.47 years
female: 77.05 years (2013 est.)

1.68 children born/woman (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 172

7.7% of GDP (2011)
country comparison to the world: 68

1.81 physicians/1,000 population (2005)

6.6 beds/1,000 population (2010)

1.4% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37

2,100 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 134

fewer than 100 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 125

34.7% (2008)
country comparison to the world: 14

7.5% of GDP (2010)
country comparison to the world: 18

definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 99.7%
male: 99.7%
female: 99.7% (2002 est.)

total: 17 years
male: 15 years
female: 18 years (2011)

total: 26.2%
country comparison to the world: 35
male: 24.1%
female: 28.7% (2003)

conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados

parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

name: Bridgetown
geographic coordinates: 13 06 N, 59 37 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

11 parishes and 1 city*; Bridgetown*, Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas

30 November 1966 (from the UK)

Independence Day, 30 November (1966)

adopted 22 November 1966, effective 30 November 1966; amended several times, last in 2003 (2011)

English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Elliot BELGRAVE (since 1 June 2012)
head of government: Prime Minister Freundel STUART (since 23 October 2010)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister

elections: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister

bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21 seats; members appointed by the governor general - 12 on the advice of the Prime Minister, 2 on the advice of the opposition leader, and 7 at his discretion) and the House of Assembly (30 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held on 21 February 2013 (next to be called in 2018)
election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - DLP 51.3%, BLP 48.3%, other .4%; seats by party - DLP 16, BLP 14

highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the High Court with 8 justices) and the Court of Appeal (consists of the chief Justice and president of the court and 4 justices
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the governor-general on the recommendation of the prime minister and opposition leader of Parliament; other justices appointed by the governor-general on the recommendation of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, a 5-member independent body consisting of the Supreme Court chief justice, the commission head, and governor-general appointees recommended by the prime minister; justices serve until mandatory retirement at age 65
subordinate courts: Magistrates' Courts

Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]

Barbados Secondary Teachers' Union or BSTU [Mary REDMAN]

ACP, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CDB, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

chief of mission: Ambassador John E. BEALE (since 29 January 2009)
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 939-9200
FAX: [1] (202) 332-7467
consulate(s) general: Miami, New York
consulate(s): Los Angeles

chief of mission: Ambassador Larry L. PALMER (since 9 May 2012); note - also accredited to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
embassy: U.S. Embassy, Wildey Business Park, Wildey, St. Michael BB 14006
mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown BB 11000; (Department Name) Unit 3120, DPO AA 34055
telephone: [1] (246) 227-4000
FAX: [1] (246) 431-0179

three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the band colors represent the blue of the sea and sky and the gold of the beaches; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)

Neptune's trident

name: "The National Anthem of Barbados"
lyrics/music: Irving BURGIE/C. Van Roland EDWARDS
note: adopted 1966; the anthem is also known as "In Plenty and In Time of Need"

Barbados is the wealthiest and most developed country in the Eastern Caribbean and enjoys one of the highest per capita incomes in Latin America. Historically, the Barbadian economy was dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities. However, in recent years the economy has diversified into light industry and tourism with about four-fifths of GDP and of exports being attributed to services. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners and thrive from having the same time zone as eastern US financial centers and a relatively highly educated workforce. Barbados' tourism, financial services, and construction industries have been hard hit since the onset of the global economic crisis in 2008, which caused the economy to contract 4% in 2009 and grow below 1% annually since 2010. Barbados' public debt-to-GDP ratio rose from 56% in 2008 to 83% in 2012.

$6.961 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 160
note: data are in 2012 US dollars

$4.168 billion (2012 est.)

0% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 179

$25,000 (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 61
note: data are in 2012 US dollars

household consumption: 80.2%
government consumption: 16.1%
investment in fixed capital: 14%
investment in inventories: 1.4%
exports of goods and services: 42.5%
imports of goods and services: -54.3%

agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 13.9%
services: 83% (2012 est.)

sugarcane, vegetables, cotton

tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export

-1.4%
country comparison to the world: 151

142,000 (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 179

agriculture: 10%
industry: 15%
services: 75% (1996 est.)

11.6% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 122

NA%

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

revenues: $1.17 billion (2012 est.)
expenditures: $1.508 billion (2012 est.)

28.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 106

-8.1% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 191

85.6% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23

1 April - 31 March

4.8% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 140

7% (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 39

8.7% (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 107

$1.711 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 130

$5.711 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 123

$4.874 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 112

$4.571 billion (31 December 2011)
country comparison to the world: 85

$-204.4 million (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 82

$1.039 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 154

manufactures, sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components

Trinidad and Tobago 20.8%, US 11.9%, St. Lucia 9.7%, St. Vincent and the Grenadines 6%, Jamaica 5.6%, Antigua and Barbuda 4.9%, St. Kitts and Nevis 4.6%, UK 4.4% (2012)

$1.584 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 171

consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components

Trinidad and Tobago 35.9%, US 26.9%, China 5.6% (2012)

$839.7 million (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 140

$4.49 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 125

Barbadian dollars (BBD) per US dollar -
note: the Barbadian dollar is pegged to the US dollar

1.002 billion kWh (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 146

986 million kWh (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 150

0 kWh (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 161

0 kWh (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 159

239,000 kW (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 156

100% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5

0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43

0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 155

0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 154

1,001 bbl/day (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 109

764.5 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 70

0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 156

2.26 million bbl (1 January 2013 es)
country comparison to the world: 96

31 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 114

8,339 bbl/day (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 157

0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 149

8,736 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 133

20 million cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 89

20 million cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 112

0 cu m (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 61

0 cu m (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 156

113.3 million cu m (1 January 2013 es)
country comparison to the world: 106

1.442 million Mt (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 157

144,000 (2012)
country comparison to the world: 137

347,000 (2012)
country comparison to the world: 172

general assessment: island-wide automatic telephone system
domestic: fixed-line teledensity of roughly 50 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density approaching 125 per 100 persons
international: country code - 1-246; landing point for the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) submarine cable with links to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad; satellite earth stations - 1 (Intelsat - Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia (2009)

government-owned Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) operates the lone terrestrial TV station; CBC also operates a multi-channel cable TV subscription service; roughly a dozen radio stations, consisting of a CBC-operated network operating alongside privately owned radio stations (2007)

.bb

1,524 (2012)
country comparison to the world: 167

188,000 (2008)
country comparison to the world: 143

1 (2013)
country comparison to the world: 236

total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2013)

gas 33 km; oil 64 km; refined products 6 km (2013)

total: 1,600 km
country comparison to the world: 176
paved: 1,600 km (2011)

total: 109
country comparison to the world: 49
by type: bulk carrier 23, cargo 52, chemical tanker 13, container 6, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 8, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 83 (Canada 11, Greece 14, Iran 5, Lebanon 2, Norway 38, Sweden 4, Syria 1, Turkey 1, UAE 1, UK 6) (2010)

major seaport(s): Bridgetown

Royal Barbados Defense Force: Troops Command, Barbados Coast Guard (2011)

18 years of age for voluntary military service, or earlier with parental consent; no conscription (2013)

males age 16-49: 73,820
females age 16-49: 73,835 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49: 58,125
females age 16-49: 58,016 (2010 est.)

male: 1,842
female: 1,849 (2010 est.)

0.8% of GDP (2011)
country comparison to the world: 150

the Royal Barbados Defense Force includes a land-based Troop Command and a small Coast Guard; the primary role of the land element is island defense against external aggression; the Command consists of a single, part-time battalion with a small regular cadre deployed throughout the island; the cadre increasingly supports the police in patrolling the coastline for smuggling and other illicit activities (2007)

Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago abide by the April 2006 Permanent Court of Arbitration decision delimiting a maritime boundary and limiting catches of flying fish in Trinidad and Tobago's exclusive economic zone; joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which permits Venezuela to extend its Economic Exclusion Zone/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea

current situation: Barbados is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor; legal and illegal female migrants from Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Guyana seem most vulnerable to forced prostitution; Barbadian and immigrant children are prostituted in exchange for material goods; in the past, foreigners are reported to have been forced to work in the domestic service, agriculture, and construction industries
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Barbados does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; the country was granted a waiver of an otherwise required downgrade to Tier 3 because the government adopted a national action plan on human trafficking that specifies implementing agencies and addresses prosecution, protection, and prevention measures; the government conducted at least two sex trafficking investigations in 2012, as opposed to none in the previous year but did not report any prosecutions or convictions of trafficking offenses; Barbadian law does not appear to prohibit all forms of human trafficking and does not prescribe sufficiently stringent penalties; government efforts to prevent human trafficking included broadcasting short public awareness messages, holding town hall meetings, and funding a hotline (2013)