Barbados
parliamentary democracyIndependence 30 November 1966 (from UK)
Barbados as the 2006 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 118 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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.
Geography
Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
18 fieldsLand useshare of 431 sq km
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:
- Biodiversity, 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:
- none of the selected agreements
People
19 fieldsAge structuremale left, female right · (2006 est.)
Per 1,000 population(2006 est.)
Male · female
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.01 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 0.97 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.62 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 0.94 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Government
Parliamentary democracy; Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996); Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 7 September 1994)
18 fieldsHouse of Assembly, 30 seats, elected 21 May 2003one dot, one seat
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;
- Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas;
- note - the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status
Legal system
- English common law;
- no judicial review of legislative acts;
- accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
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)
Political parties and leaders
Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [David THOMPSON]
Political pressure groups and leaders
- Barbados Workers Union [Leroy TROTMAN];
- Clement Payne Labor Union [David COMISSIONG];
- People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY];
- Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE]
International organization participation
ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US
- 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:
- Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown; (courier) ALICO Building-Cheapside, Bridgetown
- 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)
Economy
Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into light industry and tourism.
41 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2000 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into light industry and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned enterprises.
The economy contracted in 2002-03 mainly due to a decline in tourism. Growth was positive in 2005, as economic conditions in the US and Europe moderately improved.
Exports - commodities
sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components
Imports - commodities
consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone system
- 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
Transportation
5 fieldsMerchant marine, 58 ships by typeone square, one ship · ships (1000 GRT or over) 433,390 GRT/664,998 DWT
Airports by runway lengthpaved only
Military
Royal Barbados Defense Force: Troops Command, Coast Guard (2005)
6 fieldsMilitary service age and obligation
- 18 years of age for voluntary military service;
- volunteers at earlier age with parental consent;
- no conscription (2001)
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)
Transnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes - international
- in 2005, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to compulsory international arbitration that will result in a binding award challenging whether the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's and Venezuela's maritime boundary extends into Barbadian waters and the southern limit of Barbadian traditional fishing;
- 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 Caribbean Sea
Illicit drugs
one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Barbados.” The World Factbook 2006. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/barbados/2006.