


Official Name:

Cities: Capital--Bridgetown.
Terrain: Generally flat, hilly in the interior.
Climate: Tropical.

Nationality: Noun and adjective--Barbadian(s); also "Bajan(s)."
Population (1999): 267,000.
Avg. annual growth rate (2000): 3.7%.
Ethnic groups: African 80%, mixed 16%, European 4%.
Religions: Anglican 70%, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, and Moravian.
Language: English.
Health: Infant mortality rate (1998)--7.8/1,000. Life expectancy--75 yrs. men; 77 yrs. women.
Work force (2000): 140,000. Sectors--commerce, tourism, government, manufacturing, construction, mining, agriculture, and fishing.
Unemployment (2000): 9.3%.

Type: Parliamentary democracy; independent sovereign state within the Commonwealth.
Independence: November 30, 1966.
Constitution: 1966.
Branches: Executive--governor general (representing Queen Elizabeth II, head of state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet. Legislative--bicameral parliament. Judicial--magistrate's courts, Supreme Court (High Court and Court of Appeals), privy council in London.
Subdivisions: 11 parishes and the city of Bridgetown.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.

GDP (est. 2000): $2.43 billion.
GDP growth rate (2000): 3.7%.
Per capita GDP (est. 2000): US $9,100.
Average inflation rate (2000): 2.5%.
Natural resources: Petroleum, fishing, natural gas.
Agriculture (4% of GDP): Products--Sugar accounts for 2.4% of GDP and 80% of arable land.
Industry: Types--Manufacturing and construction (17% of GDP)--food, beverages, textiles, paper, chemicals, fabricated products.
Services: (76 % of GDP) Tourism, banking and other financial services, Informatics (data processing).
Trade (est. 2000): Exports--$260.0 million. Major markets--U.S. 17%, CARICOM 45%, U.K. 14%, and Canada 3%. Imports--$800.3 million. Major suppliers--U.S. 42%, UK 8%, Canada 4%, CARICOM 15%.

About 80% of Barbados' population is of African descent, 4% European descent, and 16% mixed. About 70% of Barbadians are Anglican, and the rest mostly Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, and Moravian. There also are small Jewish and Muslim communities. Barbados' population growth rate has been very low, less than 1% since the1960s, largely due to family planning efforts and a high emigration rate.


From the arrival of the first British settlers in 1627-28 until independence in 1966, Barbados was under uninterrupted British control. Nevertheless, Barbados always enjoyed a large measure of local autonomy. Its House of Assembly, which began meeting in 1639, is the third-oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, preceded only by Bermuda's legislature and the Virginia House of Burgesses.

As the sugar industry developed into the main commercial enterprise, Barbados was divided into large plantation estates which replace the small holdings of the early British settlers. Some of the displaced farmers relocated to British colonies in North America. To work the plantations, slaves were brought from Africa; the slave trade ceased a few years before the abolition of slavery throughout the British empire in 1834.

Local politics were dominated by plantation owners and merchants of British descent. It was not until the 1930s that a movement for political rights was begun by the descendants of emancipated slaves. One of the leaders of this movement, Sir Grantley Adams, founded the Barbados Labor Party in 1938.

Progress toward more democratic government for Barbados was made in 1951, when universal adult suffrage was introduced. This was followed by steps toward increased self-government, and in 1961, Barbados achieved internal autonomy.


Under its constitution, Barbados is a parliamentary democracy modeled on the British system. The governor general represents the Monarch. Control of the government rests with the cabinet, headed by the prime minister and responsible to the Parliament.




The three political parties--the Barbados Labor Party (BLP), the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), and the National Democratic Party (NDP)--are all moderate and have no major ideological differences; electoral contests and political disputes often have personal overtones. The major political problems facing Barbados today are in promoting economic growth: creating jobs, encouraging agricultural diversification, attracting small industry, and promoting tourism.

The ruling BLP was decisively returned to power in January 1999 elections, winning 26 seats in the Parliament with the DLP only winning two seats. The Prime Minister, Owen Arthur, who also serves as Minister of Finance, has given a high priority to economic development. The main opposition party, the DLP, is led by David Thompson.

Principal Government Officials
Head of State-Queen Elizabeth II
Governor General--Sir Clifford Straughn Husbands
Prime Minister-Owen Arthur
Ambassador to the U.S. and the OAS-Michael King
Ambassador to the UN--June Clarke


Since independence, Barbados has transformed itself from a low-income economy dependent upon sugar production to a middle-income economy based on tourism. The economy went into a deep recession in 1990 after 3 years of steady decline brought on by fundamental macroeconomic imbalances. After a painful readjustment process, the economy began to grow again in 1993. Growth rates have averaged between 3%-5% since then.


Economic growth has led to net increases in employment in the tourism sector, as well as in construction and other services sub-sectors of the economy. The public service remains Barbados' largest single employer. Total labor force has increased from 126,000 in 1993 to 140,0000 persons in 2000, and unemployment has dropped significantly from over 20% in the early 1990s to 9.3% at the end of 2000.





Barbados has diplomatic missions headed by resident ambassadors or high commissioners in Canada, the U.K., the U.S., and Venezuela, and at the European Union (Brussels) and the UN. It also has resident consuls general in Toronto, Miami, and New York City. Australia, Brazil, Cuba, Canada, Colombia, China, Guatemala, the U.K., the U.S., and Venezuela have ambassadors or high commissioners resident in Barbados.


The U.S. and Barbados have had friendly bilateral relations since Barbados' independence in 1966. The U.S. has supported the government's efforts to expand the country's economic base and to provide a higher standard of living for its citizens. Barbados is a beneficiary of the U.S. Caribbean Basin InitiativeU.S. assistance is channeled primarily through multilateral agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank, the World Bank, and the recently opened USAID satellite office in Bridgetown.

Barbados also receives counternarcotics assistance and is the beneficiary of the U.S. military's exercise-related and humanitarian assistance construction program.


A popular tourist destination, Barbados had almost than 518,000 visitors in 2000. In addition, Barbados had nearly 433,000 cruise ship passenger arrivals, the majority of whom were U.S citizens. Approximately 3,000 Americans reside in the country.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Charge d'Affaires--Roland W. Bullen
Political/Economic Chief--Charles N. Patterson, Jr.t
Consul General--Theophilus J. Rose
Defense Attache--LTC John Churchill
Regional Labor Attache--Vacant
Public Affairs Officer--Emilia Puma


U.S. Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
Office of Latin America and the Caribbean
14th & Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20230
Fax: 202-482-0464

Caribbean/Latin American Action
1818 N Street, NW
Suite 310
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: 202-466-7464
Fax: 202-822-0075

[This is a mobile copy of Barbados (04/01)]

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