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Barbados |
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| Background: |
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.
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| Location: |
Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
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| Geographic
coordinates: |
13 10 N, 59 32 W |
| Map
references: |
Central
America and the Caribbean |
| Area: |
total: 431 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land:
431 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
| 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: 37.21%
permanent crops: 2.33%
other: 60.46% (1998 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
10 sq km (1998 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
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| Population: |
277,264 (July 2003 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 21.2% (male 29,621; female 29,207)
15-64
years: 70% (male 94,840; female 99,230)
65 years and over:
8.8% (male 9,355; female 15,011) (2003 est.) |
| Median
age: |
total: 33.3 years
male: 32.2 years
female:
34.4 years (2002) |
| Population
growth rate: |
0.38% (2003 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
13.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
9.02 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female
total population:
0.93 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
total: 12.72 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
11.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 14.39 deaths/1,000
live births |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population: 71.84 years
male: 69.56 years
female: 74.14 years (2003 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
1.65 children born/woman (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: 97.4%
male: 98%
female:
96.8% (1995 est.)
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| Economy
- overview: |
Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane
cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has
diversified into manufacturing and tourism. Offshore finance and information
services are important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a
light-manufacturing sector. The government continues its efforts to
reduce unemployment, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to
privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted
in 2002 mainly due to a 3% decline in tourism. Growth should be positive
in 2003, the precise level largely dependent on economic conditions
in the US and Europe. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $4 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
-1% (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $14,500 (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 16%
services:
78% (2000 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
-0.6% (2002 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
128,500 (2001 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
10% (2001 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures:
$886 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Industries: |
tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
-3.2% (2000 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
780 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other:
0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
725.4 million kWh (2001) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (2001) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (2001) |
| Oil
- production: |
1,271 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
| Oil
- consumption: |
10,900 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
| Oil
- exports: |
NA (2001) |
| Oil
- imports: |
NA (2001) |
| Oil
- proved reserves: |
1.254 million bbl (January 2002 est.) |
| Natural
gas - proved reserves: |
70.79 million cu m (January 2002 est.) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
sugarcane, vegetables, cotton |
| Exports: |
$227 million (2002) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical
components |
| Exports
- partners: |
Caribbean Community 43.2%, US 15.3%, UK 13.2%, Canada 2.0% (2000) |
| Imports: |
$987 million (2002) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals,
fuel, electrical components |
| Imports
- partners: |
US 40.8%, Caribbean Community 19.8%, UK 8.1%, Japan 5.2%, Canada 4.2%
(2000) |
| Debt
- external: |
$692 million (2002) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$9.1 million (1995) |
| Currency: |
Barbadian dollar (BBD) |
| Currency
code: |
BBD |
| Exchange
rates: |
Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2 (2002), 2 (2001), 2 (2000), 2 (1999),
2 (1998) |
| Fiscal
year: |
1 April - 31 March
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