Background: 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.

Geographic coordinates: 13 10 N 59 32 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 430 km²
Land: 430 km²
Water: 0 km²
Rank: 202
Comparative: 2.5 times the size of Washington DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 97 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 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
Extremes highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m

Natural resources: petroleum fish natural gas

Land use
Agricultural land: 32.6%
Forest: 19.4%
Other: 48%

Irrigated land: 54.35 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 0.08 km³ (2011)

Natural hazards: infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides

Geography
Note: easternmost Caribbean island

Population: 290,604 (July 2015 est.)
Rank: 181
Growth rate: 0.31% (2015 est.)
Growth rate rank: 169
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Barbadian or Bajan
Adjective: Barbadian or Bajan

Ethnic groups: black 92.4% white 2.7% mixed 3.1% East Indian 1.3% other 0.2% unspecified 0.2% (2010 est.)

Languages: English (official) Bajan (English-based creole language widely spoken in informal settings)

Religions: Protestant 66.3% (includes Anglican 23.9% other Pentecostal 19.5% Adventist 5.9% Methodist 4.2% Wesleyan 3.4% Nazarene 3.2% Church of God 2.4% Baptist 1.8% Moravian 1.2% other Protestant .8%) Roman Catholic 3.8% other Christian 5.4% (includes Jehovah's Witness 2.0% other 3.4%) Rastafarian 1% other 1.5% none 20.6% unspecified 1.2% (2010 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 18.29%
15-24 years: 13.35%
25-54 years: 44.62%
55-64 years: 12.87%
65 years and over: 10.88% (2015 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 50.4%
Youth dependency ratio: 29.1%
Elderly dependency ratio: 21.3%
Potential support ratio: 4.7%

Median age
Total: 37.6 years
Male: 36.5 years
Female: 38.7 years

Population growth rate: 0.31% (2015 est.)
Rank: 169

Birth rate: 11.87 births/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 166

Death rate: 8.44 deaths/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 82

Net migration rate: -0.3 migrant(s)/1000 population (2015 est.)
Rank: 125

Urbanization
Urban population: 31.5% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0.13% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: BRIDGETOWN (capital) 90,000 (2014)

Environment
Current issues: pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers
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 Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.01 male/female
0-14 years: 1 male/female
15-24 years: 0.99 male/female
25-54 years: 0.99 male/female
55-64 years: 0.88 male/female
65 years and over: 0.66 male/female
Total population: 0.94 male/female

Infant mortality rate
Total: 10.42 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 11.52 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 9.31 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 132

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.18 years
Male: 72.82 years
Female: 77.56 years
Rank: 103

Total fertility rate: 1.68 children born/woman (2015 est.)
Rank: 174

Drinking water source:

Physicians density: 1.81 physicians/1000 population (2005)

Hospital bed density: 6.2 beds/1000 population (2012)

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.88% (2013 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 46
People living with hivaids: 1500 (2012 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 116
Deaths: NA

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 33.2% (2014)
Rank: 14

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 3.5% (2013)

Education expenditures: 5.6% of GDP (2012)
Rank: 54

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 15 years
Male: 14 years
Female: 17 years

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Barbados
Note: the name derives from the Portuguese 'as barbadas' which means the bearded ones and can refer either to the long hanging roots of the island's bearded-fig trees or to the alleged beards of the native Carib inhabitants

Government type: parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

Capital
Name: Bridgetown
Geographic coordinates: 13 06 N 59 37 W
Time difference: UTC-4

Administrative divisions: 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

Independence: 30 November 1966 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day 30 November (1966)

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

Legal system: English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts

International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II ; represented by Governor General Elliot BELGRAVE (since 1 June 2012)
Head of government: Prime Minister Freundel STUART
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
Electionsappointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections the leader of the majority party or leader of the majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate and the House of Assembly (30 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)
Elections: House of Assembly - last held on 21 February 2013
Election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - DLP 51.3% BLP 48.3% other 0.4%; seats by party - DLP 16 BLP 14

Judicial branch
Highest court: Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal (consists of the chief Justice and president of the court and 4 justices; note - Barbados a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) as the final court of appeal
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

Political parties and leaders:

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador John E. BEALE
In the us chancery: 2,144 Wyoming Avenue NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] 939-9,200
In the us FAX: [1] 332-7,467
In the us consulate general: Miami New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Larry L. PALMER ; note - also accredited to Antigua and Barbuda Dominica Grenada Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
From the us embassy: U.S. Embassy Wildey Business Park Wildey St. Michael BB 14,006
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 302 Bridgetown BB 11,000; Unit 3,120 DPO AA 34,055
From the us telephone: [1] 227-4,000
From the us FAX: [1] 431-0179

Flag description: 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)

National symbols: Neptune's trident pelican Red Bird of Paradise flower (also known as Pride of Barbados); national colors: blue yellow black

National anthem
Name: 'The National Anthem of Barbados'
Lyrics and music: Irving BURGIE/C. Van Roland EDWARDS
Note: adopted 1966; the anthem is also known as 'In Plenty and In Time of Need'

Economy overview: Barbados is the wealthiest and most developed country in the Eastern Caribbean and enjoys one of the highest per capita incomes in the region. 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. Barbados' public debt-to-GDP ratio rose from 56% in 2008 to 90.5% in 2014. Growth prospects are limited because of a weak tourism outlook and planned austerity measures.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2014 US dollars
Rank: 176

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 207

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2014 US dollars
Rank: 98

Gross national saving:
Rank: 163

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 80.9%
Government consumption: 14.5%
Investment in fixed capital: 14.1%
Investment in inventories: 2%
Exports of goods and services: 39.2%
Imports of goods and services: -50.7%: (2014 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 3.1%
Industry: 12%
Services: 85%

Agriculture products: sugarcane vegetables cotton

Industries: tourism sugar light manufacturing component assembly for export

Industrial production growth rate: -5.5% (2014 est.)
Rank: 194

Labor force: 142,800 (2014 est.)
Rank: 179
By occupation agriculture: 10%
By occupation industry: 15%
By occupation services: 75%

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 125

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $1.1 billion
Expenditures: $1.5 billion
Surplus or deficit: -9.4% of GDP (2014 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 199

Taxes and other revenues: 25.7% of GDP (2014 est.)
Rank: 113

Public debt:
Rank: 14

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 97

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 47

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 100

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 134

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 134

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 119

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 88

Current account balance:
Rank: 102

Exports:
Rank: 167
Commodities: manufactures sugar molasses rum other foodstuffs and beverages chemicals electrical components
Partners: Trinidad and Tobago 20.7% US 11.2% St. Lucia 9.6% St. Vincent and the Grenadines 6% Jamaica 5.5% Antigua and Barbuda 4.9% St. Kitts and Nevis 4.6% (2013)

Imports:
Rank: 171
Commodities: consumer goods machinery foodstuffs construction materials chemicals fuel electrical components
Partners: Trinidad and Tobago 35% US 24.6% Canada 8% (2013)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 144

Debt external:
Rank: 130

Exchange rates:
Note: the Barbadian dollar is pegged to the US dollar

Electricity
Production: 1.002 billion kWh (2011 est.)
Production rank: 145
Consumption: 934 million kWh (2011 est.)
Consumption rank: 153
Exports: 0 kWh (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 104
Imports: 0 kWh (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 118
Installed generating capacity: 239,000 kW (2011 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 157
Generation sources fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 5
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 45
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 157
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 156

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 1001 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 101
Crude oil exports: 764.5 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 67
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 156
Crude oil proven reserves: 2.84 million bbl (1 January 2014 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 96

Refined petroleum
Products production: 31 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 115
Products consumption: 7,980 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products consumption rank: 160
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 150
Products imports: 8,736 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 133

Natural gas
Production: 20 million m³ (2012 est.)
Production rank: 87
Consumption: 20 million m³ (2012 est.)
Consumption rank: 110
Exports: 0 m³ (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 58
Imports: 0 m³ (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 156
Proven reserves: 141.6 million m³ (1 January 2014 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 105

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 1.312 million Mt (2012 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 163

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 150,000
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 52
Fixed lines rank: 138
Mobile cellular total: 305,500
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 105
Mobile cellular rank: 176

Telephone system
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 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)

Broadcast media: 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)

Internet
Country code: .bb
Users total: 227,400
Users percent of population: 78.5%
Users rank: 152

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service or earlier with parental consent; no conscription (2013)

Airports: 1 (2013)
Rank: 236
With paved runways total: 1
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1

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

Roadways
Total: 1600 km
Paved: 1600 km
Rank: 177

Merchant marine
Total: 109
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 (2010)
Rank: 49

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Bridgetown

Disputes international: 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

Illicit drugs: one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center