The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. 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.
total: 35 years male: 33.8 years female: 36 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.369% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:
12.61 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:
8.61 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:
-0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.003 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.967 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.627 male(s)/female total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 11.55 deaths/1,000 live births male: 12.88 deaths/1,000 live births female: 10.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73 years male: 71.02 years female: 75.01 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.65 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.5%; (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
2,500 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 200 (2003 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial) adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial)
Ethnic groups:
black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6%
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: 99.7% male: 99.7% female: 99.7% (2002 est.)
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Barbados
Government type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
name: Bridgetown geographic coordinates: 13 06 N, 59 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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 UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 30 November (1966)
Constitution:
30 November 1966
Legal system:
English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 7 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Mia MOTTLEY (since 26 May 2003) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch 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
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) 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 21 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2008) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - BLP 23, DLP 7
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services); Caribbean Court of Justice is the highest court of appeal
Political parties and leaders:
Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [David THOMPSON]; People's Empowerment Party or PEP [David COMISSIONG]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Barbados Secondary Teachers' Union or BSTU [Patrick FROST]; Barbados Union of Teachers or BUT [Herbert GITTENS]; Congress of Trade Unions and Staff Associations of Barbados or CTUSAB, which includes the BWU, NUPW, BUT, and BSTU [Leroy TROTMAN]; Barbados Workers Union or BWU [Leroy TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMISSIONG]; National Union of Public Workers [Joseph GODDARD]
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael Ian KING 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
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Mary M. OURISMAN embassy: U.S. Embassy, Wildey Business Park, Wildey, St. Michael mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; CMR 1014, APO AA 34055 telephone: [1] (246) 436-4950 FAX: [1] (246) 429-5246, 429-3379
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 trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)
general assessment: NA domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system international: country code - 1-246; satellite earth stations - 1 (Intelsat -Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia
Royal Barbados Defense Force: Troops Command, Barbados Coast Guard (2007)
Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service; volunteers at earlier age with parental consent; no conscription (2001)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 71,524 females age 18-49: 72,302 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 54,510 females age 18-49: 54,889 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
0.5% (2006 est.)
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)
in April 2006, the Permanent Court of Arbitration issued a decision that delimited a maritime boundary with Trinidad and Tobago and compelled Barbados to enter a fishing agreement limiting Barbadian fishermen's catches of flying fish in Trinidad and Tobago's exclusive economic zone; in 2005, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to compulsory international arbitration under UNCLOS challenging whether the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's and Venezuela's maritime boundary extends into Barbadian waters; 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 (UNCLOS), which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/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
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