# The World Factbook (1990)/Barbados

pages 26–27
​Barbados
See regional map III
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:
    Extended 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: 77% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 9% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 14% other
Environment: subject to hurricanes (especially June to October)
Note: easternmost Caribbean island
People
Population: 262,688 (July 1990), growth rate 0.6% (1990)
Birth rate: 18 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: -5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 16 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 73 years male, 77 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.1 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Barbadian(s); adjective—Barbadian
Ethnic divisions: 80% African, 16% mixed, 4% European
Religion: 70% Anglican, 9% Methodist, 4% Roman Catholic, 17% other, including Moravian
Language: English
​Literacy: 99%
Labor force: 112,300; 37% services and government; 22% commerce, 22% manufacturing and construction; 9% transportation, storage, communications, and financial institutions; 8% agriculture; 2% utilities (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 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 28 May 1986 (next to be held by May 1991); results—DLP 59.4%, BLP 40.6%; seats—(27 total) DLP 24, BLP 3; note—a split in the DLP in February 1989 resulted in the formation of the NDP, changing the status of seats to DLP 20, NDP 4, BLP 3
Communists: negligible
Other political or pressure groups: Industrial and General Workers Union, Bobby Clarke; People's Progressive Movement, Eric Sealy; Workers' Party of Barbados, Dr. George Belle
Member of: ACP, CARICOM, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, IDB—Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ISO, ITU, IWC—International Wheat Council, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, 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-nominee 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 $5,250 gives Barbados the highest standard 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. A high unemployment rate of about 19% in 1988 remains one of the most serious economic problems facing the country.
GDP: $1.3 billion, per capita $5,250 (1988 est.); real growth rate 3.7% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.7% (1988)
Unemployment: 18.6% (1988)
Budget: revenues $476 million; expenditures $543 million, including capital expenditures of $94 million (FY86)
Exports: $173 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities—sugar and molasses, electrical components, clothing, rum, machinery and transport equipment; partners—US 30%, CARICOM, UK, Puerto Rico, Canada
Imports: $582 million (c.i.f., 1988); commodities—foodstuffs, consumer durables, raw materials, crude oil; partners—US 34%, CARICOM, Japan, UK, Canada
External debt: $635 million (December 1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate -5.4% (1987 est.)
Electricity: 132,000 kW capacity; 460 million kWh produced, 1,780 kWh per capita (1989)
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
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-84), $14 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $144 million
Currency: Barbadian dollars (plural—dollars); 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 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 St. Lucia; stations—3 AM, 2 FM, 2 (1 is pay) TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Defense Forces
Branches: Barbados Defense Force, Royal Barbados Police Force
Military manpower: males 15-49, 67,677; 47,566 fit for military service, no conscription
Defense expenditures: 0.6% of GDP (1986)