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Barbados:
Facts and Figures
Basic Facts |
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Official name |
Barbados |
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Capital |
Bridgetown |
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Area |
430 sq km (166 sq mi) |
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National Emblems
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 |
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Barbados:
Flag |
Barbados:
Coat of Arms |
Barbados:
National Flower |
Barbados:
Map |
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People
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Population |
279,912 (2006 estimate) |
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Population growth
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Population growth rate |
0.37 percent (2006 estimate) |
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Projected population in 2025 |
293,744 (2006 estimate) |
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Projected population in 2050 |
274,523 (2006 estimate) |
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Population density |
651
persons per sq km (2006 estimate) |
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1,686 persons per sq mi (2006 estimate) |
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Urban/rural distribution
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Share urban |
52
percent (2003 estimate) |
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Share rural |
49
percent (2003 estimate) |
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Largest cities, with population |
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Bridgetow |
139,854 (2003 estimate) |
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Ethnic groups
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African |
90
percent |
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Mixed |
4
percent |
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European, other |
6
percent |
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Languages |
English (official) |
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Religious affiliations
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Protestant |
31
percent |
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Anglican |
29
percent |
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Other Christian |
24
percent |
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Roman Catholic |
4
percent |
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Other |
12
percent |
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Health and Education |
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Life expectancy
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Total |
72.8 years (2006 estimate) |
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Female |
74.8 years (2006 estimate) |
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Male |
70.8
years (2006 estimate) |
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Infant mortality rate |
12
deaths per 1,000 live births (2006 estimate) |
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Population per physician |
827
people (2004) |
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Population per hospital bed |
132
people (1996) |
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Literacy rate
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Total |
99.7 percent (2000) |
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Female |
99.7
percent (2000) |
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Male |
99.7
percent (2000) |
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Education expenditure as a share of
gross national product (GNP) |
7.9
percent (2002-2003) |
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Number of years of compulsory
schooling |
11
years (2002-2003) |
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Number of students per teacher,
primary school |
16
students per teacher (2002-2003) |
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Government
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Form of
government |
Parliamentary democracy |
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Voting
qualifications |
Universal at age 18 |
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Constitution |
30
November 1966 |
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Armed forces |
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Total number of military
personnel |
610
(2004) |
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Military expenditures as a share
of gross domestic product (GDP) |
0.5
percent (2003) |
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Economy
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Gross domestic product (GDP, in
U.S.$) |
$2.8 billion (2004) |
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GDP per capita (U.S.$) |
$10,400 (2004) |
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GDP by economic sector |
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Agriculture, forestry, fishing |
5.4
percent (2003) |
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Industry |
20.6 percent (2003) |
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Services |
74
percent (2003) |
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Employment |
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Number of workers |
154,337 (2004) |
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Workforce share of economic sector |
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Agriculture, forestry, fishing |
5
percent (2003) |
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Industry |
18
percent (2003) |
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Services |
67
percent (2003) |
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Unemployment rate |
11
percent (2003) |
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National budget (U.S.$) |
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Total revenue |
$1,229 million (2004) |
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Total expenditure |
$966
million (2004) |
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Monetary unit |
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1 Barbados dollar (Bds$),
consisting of 100 cents |
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Major trade partners for exports |
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United States, Trinidad and
Tobago, United Kingdom, Jamaica, St. Lucia |
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Major trade partners for imports |
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United States, Trinidad and
Tobago, United Kingdom, Japan, Canada |
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Energy,
Communications, and Transportation
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Electricity production |
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Electricity from thermal sources |
100
percent (2003 estimate) |
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Electricity from hydroelectric
sources |
0
percent (2003 estimate) |
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Electricity from nuclear sources |
0
percent (2003 estimate) |
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Electricity from geothermal, solar,
and wind sources |
0
percent (2003 estimate) |
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Number of
radios per 1,000 people |
771
(2000 estimate) |
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Number of
telephones per 1,000 people |
505
(2004) |
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Number of
televisions per 1,000 people |
320
(2000 estimate) |
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Number of Internet
hosts per 10,000 people |
7.6
(2003) |
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Daily newspaper
circulation per 1,000 people |
202
(1996) |
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Number of
motor vehicles per 1,000 people |
370
(2003) |
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Paved road as
a share of total roads |
100
percent (2003) |
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Sources |
Basic Facts
and People sections
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Area data are from the
statistical bureaus of individual countries. Population, population
growth rate, and population projections are from the United States
Census Bureau, International Programs Center, International Data
Base (IDB) (www.census.gov). Urban and rural population data are
from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United
Nations (UN), FAOSTAT database (www.fao.org). Largest cities
population data and political divisions data are from the
statistical bureaus of individual countries. Ethnic divisions and
religion data are largely from the latest Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA)
World Factbook and from various country censuses and reports.
Language data are largely from the
Ethnologue, Languages of the World, Summer Institute of
Linguistics International (www.sil.org). |
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Health and
Education section |
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Life expectancy and infant
mortality data are from the United States Census Bureau,
International Programs Center, International database (IDB) (www.census.gov).
Population per physician and population per hospital bed data are
from the World Health Organization (WHO) (www.who.int). Education
data are from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). |
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Government section |
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Government, independence,
legislature, constitution, highest court, and voting qualifications
data are largely from various government Web sites, the latest
Europa World Yearbook, and the latest Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA)
World Factbook. The armed forces data is from
Military Balance. |
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Economy section |
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Gross domestic product (GDP), GDP
per capita, GDP by economic sectors, employment, and national budget
data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). Monetary
unit, agriculture, mining, manufacturing, exports, imports, and
major trade partner information is from the statistical bureaus of
individual countries, latest
Europa World Yearbook, and various United Nations and
International Monetary Fund (IMF) publications. |
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Energy,
Communication, and Transportation section |
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Electricity information is from
the Energy Information Administration (EIA) database (www.eia.doe.gov).
Radio, telephone, television, and newspaper information is from the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) database (www.unesco.org). Internet hosts, motor vehicles,
and road data are from the World Bank database (www.worldbank.org). |
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Note:
Figures may not total 100 percent due
to rounding. |
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