BARBADOS                                                                        
GEOGRAPHY                                                                       
Total area: 430 km2; land area: 430 km2                                         
                                                                                
Comparative area: slightly less than 2.5 times the size of                      
Washington, DC                                                                  
                                                                                
Land boundaries: none                                                           
                                                                                
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               
                                                                                
Natural resources: crude oil, fishing, natural gas                              
                                                                                
Land use: arable land 77%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and                      
pastures 9%; forest and woodland 0%; other 14%                                  
                                                                                
Environment: subject to hurricanes (especially June to October)                 
                                                                                
Note: easternmost Caribbean island                                              
                                                                                
PEOPLE                                                                          
Population: 254,626 (July 1991), growth rate 0.1% (1991)                        
                                                                                
Birth rate: 16 births/1,000 population (1991)                                   
                                                                                
Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1991)                                    
                                                                                
Net migration rate: - 6 migrants/1,000 population (1991)                        
                                                                                
Infant mortality rate: 23 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)                       
                                                                                
Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 76 years female (1991)                 
                                                                                
Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1991)                            
                                                                                
Nationality: noun--Barbadian(s); adjective--Barbadian                           
                                                                                
Ethnic divisions: African 80%, mixed 16%, European 4%                           
                                                                                
Religion: Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist               
7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%; none 17%, unknown 3%, other 9%               
(1980)                                                                          
                                                                                
Language: English                                                               
                                                                                
Literacy: 99% (male 99%, female 99%) age 15 and over having ever                
attended school (1970)                                                          
                                                                                
Labor force: 112,300; services and government 37%; commerce 22%;                
manufacturing and construction 22%; transportation, storage,                    
communications, and financial institutions 9%; agriculture 8%; utilities        
2% (1985 est.)                                                                  
                                                                                
Organized labor: 32% of labor force                                             
                                                                                
GOVERNMENT                                                                      
Long-form name: none                                                            
                                                                                
Type: parliamentary democracy                                                   
                                                                                
Capital: Bridgetown                                                             
                                                                                
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--there may         
be a new city of Bridgetown                                                     
                                                                                
Independence: 30 November 1966 (from UK)                                        
                                                                                
Constitution: 30 November 1966                                                  
                                                                                
Legal system: English common law; no judicial review of                         
legislative acts                                                                
                                                                                
National holiday: Independence Day, 30 November (1966)                          
                                                                                
Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime                      
minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet                                        
                                                                                
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper                   
house or Senate and a lower house or House of Assembly                          
                                                                                
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature                                    
                                                                                
Leaders:                                                                        
                                                                                
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),                     
represented by Governor General Sir Hugh SPRINGER (since 24 February            
1984);                                                                          
                                                                                
Head of Government--Prime Minister Lloyd Erskine SANDIFORD (since               
2 June 1987)                                                                    
                                                                                
Political parties and leaders:                                                  
Democratic Labor Party (DLP), Erskine SANDIFORD;                                
Barbados Labor Party (BLP), Henry FORDE;                                        
National Democratic Party (NDP), Richie HAYNES                                  
                                                                                
Suffrage: universal at age 18                                                   
                                                                                
Elections:                                                                      
                                                                                
House of Assembly--last held 22 January 1991 (next to be held by                
January 1996);                                                                  
results--DLP 49.8%;                                                             
seats--(28 total) DLP 18, BLP 10                                                
                                                                                
Communists: negligible                                                          
                                                                                
Other political or pressure groups: Industrial and General Workers              
Union, Sir Frank WALCOTT; People's Progressive Movement, Eric SEALY;            
Workers' Party of Barbados, Dr. George BELLE                                    
                                                                                
Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB,                  
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,           
ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD,            
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO                                              
                                                                                
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Sir William DOUGLAS; Chancery             
at 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-9200        
through 9202; there is a Barbadian Consulate General in New York and a          
Consulate in Los Angeles;                                                       
                                                                                
US--Ambassador G. Philip HUGHES; Embassy at Canadian                            
Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown (mailing           
address is P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown or FPO Miami 34054); telephone (809)       
436-4950 through 4957                                                           
                                                                                
Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, 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)                             
                                                                                
ECONOMY                                                                         
Overview: A per capita income of $6,500 gives Barbados one of                   
the highest standards of living of all the small island states of the           
eastern Caribbean. Historically, the economy was based on the cultivation       
of sugarcane and related activities. In recent years, however, the              
economy has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. The tourist             
industry is now a major employer of the labor force and a primary source        
of foreign exchange. An unemployment rate of 18% remains one of the most        
serious economic problems facing the country.                                   
                                                                                
GDP: $1.7 billion, per capita $6,500; real growth rate                          
3.6% (1989 est.)                                                                
                                                                                
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.2% (1989)                                   
                                                                                
Unemployment: 18% (1990)                                                        
                                                                                
Budget: revenues $501 million; expenditures $484 million,                       
including capital expenditures of $113 million (FY91)                           
                                                                                
Exports: $165 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);                                      
                                                                                
commodities--sugar and molasses, chemicals, electrical components,              
clothing, rum, machinery and transport equipment;                               
                                                                                
partners: CARICOM 30%, US 20%, UK 20%                                           
                                                                                
Imports: $701 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.);                                      
                                                                                
commodities--foodstuffs, consumer durables, raw materials,                      
machinery, crude oil, construction materials, chemicals;                        
                                                                                
partners--US 35%, CARICOM 13%, UK 12%, Japan 6%, Canada 8%,                     
Venezuela 4%                                                                    
                                                                                
External debt: $550 million (June 1990 est.)                                    
                                                                                
Industrial production: growth rate - 1.5% (1989); accounts                      
for 14 % of GDP                                                                 
                                                                                
Electricity: 132,000 kW capacity; 494 million kWh produced, 1,880               
kWh per capita (1990)                                                           
                                                                                
Industries: tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly             
for export                                                                      
                                                                                
Agriculture: accounts for 10% of GDP; major cash crop is sugarcane;             
other crops--vegetables and cotton; not self-sufficient in food                 
                                                                                
Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $15                    
million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments          
(1970-88), $169 million                                                         
                                                                                
Currency: Barbadian dollars (plural--dollars); 1 Barbadian dollar               
(Bds$) = 100 cents                                                              
                                                                                
Exchange rates: Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1--2.0113 (fixed                
rate)                                                                           
                                                                                
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March                                                   
                                                                                
COMMUNICATIONS                                                                  
Highways: 1,570 km total; 1,475 km paved, 95 km gravel and earth                
                                                                                
Ports: Bridgetown                                                               
                                                                                
Merchant marine: 2 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,200               
GRT/7,338 DWT                                                                   
                                                                                
Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft                                           
                                                                                
Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runways 2,440-3,659 m                        
                                                                                
Telecommunications: islandwide automatic telephone system with                  
89,000 telephones; tropospheric scatter link to Trinidad and Saint Lucia;       
stations--3 AM, 2 FM, 2 (1 is pay) TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth          
station                                                                         
                                                                                
DEFENSE FORCES                                                                  
Branches: Royal Barbados Defense Force, Coast Guard, Royal                      
Barbados Police Force                                                           
                                                                                
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 69,038; 48,455 fit for military             
service, no conscription                                                        
                                                                                
Defense expenditures: $10 million, 0.7% of GDP (1989)                           
                                                                                
