Barbados

 

Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs                                          
June 2007                                                                     
                                                                       
  Background Note: Barbados                                                   
                                             
  Rockley Beach in the resort town of                                         
  Rockley, Barbados. September 13,                                            
  2001. [© AP Images]                                                         
                                                                       
  The flag of Barbados is three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side),    
  gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band.  
                                                                       
  PROFILE                                                                     
                                                                       
  OFFICIAL NAME:                                                              
  Barbados                                                                    
                                                                       
  Geography                                                                   
  Area: 431 sq. km. (166 sq. mi.); about three times the size of Washington,  
  DC.                                                                         
  Cities: Capital--Bridgetown.                                                
  Terrain: Generally flat, hilly in the interior.                             
  Climate: Tropical.                                                          
                                                                       
  People                                                                      
  Nationality: Noun and adjective--Barbadian(s); informally "Bajan(s)."       
  Population (2006 estimate): 279,912.                                        
  Annual population growth rate (2005): 0.3%.                                 
  Ethnic groups: Predominantly of African descent 90%, White 4%, Asian or mixed
  6%.                                                                         
  Religions: Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other
  12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12%.                               
  Language: English.                                                          
  Education (2005): Adult literacy--99.7%.                                    
  Health (2005): Infant mortality rate--11.0/1,000. Life expectancy--men 70.8 
  years; women 74.8 years.                                                    
  Work force (2006): 142,000 (tourism, government, manufacturing, construction,
  mining, agriculture, fishing).                                              
  Unemployment (2006): 7.6%.                                                  
                                                                       
  Government                                                                  
  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), Caribbean Court of Justice in      
  Trinidad and Tobago.                                                        
  Subdivisions: Eleven parishes and the city of Bridgetown.                   
  Political parties: Barbados Labour Party (BLP, incumbent), Democratic Labour
  Party (DLP), People's Empowerment Party (PEP).                              
  Suffrage: Universal at 18.                                                  
                                                                       
  Economy                                                                     
  GDP (2006): $2.976 billion.                                                 
  GDP growth rate (2006): 3.8%.                                               
  Per capita GDP (2006 est.): $17,300.                                        
  Inflation (2006): 7.6%.                                                     
  Natural resources: Petroleum, fish, quarrying, natural gas.                 
  Agriculture: Sugar accounts for less than 1% of GDP and 80% of arable land. 
  Manufacturing and construction: Food, beverages, infrastructure, electronic 
  components, textiles, paper, chemicals.                                     
  Services: Tourism, banking and other financial services, and data processing.
  Trade (2005): Exports--$359 million (merchandise) and $1.41 billion         
  (commercial services). Major markets--United States (13.4%), European Union 
  (12.4%), Trinidad and Tobago (10.8%), St. Lucia (6.1%), and Jamaica (5%).   
  Imports--$1.6 billion (merchandise) and $636 million (commercial services). 
  Major suppliers--United States (35.9%), Trinidad and Tobago (21.2%), European
  Union (13.3%), Japan (7.6%), and Canada (3.4%).                             
  Official exchange rate: BDS$2 = U.S. $1.                                    
                                                                       
  PEOPLE                                                                      
  About 90% of Barbados' population is of African descent, 4% European descent,
  and 6% Asian or mixed. About 40% 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 the 1960s, largely due to family planning efforts and
  a high emigration rate.                                                     
                                                                       
  HISTORY                                                                     
  British sailors who landed on Barbados in the 1620s at the site of          
  present-day Holetown on the Caribbean coast found the island uninhabited. As
  elsewhere in the eastern Caribbean, Arawak Indians may have been annihilated
  by invading Caribs, who are believed to have subsequently abandoned the     
  island.                                                                     
                                                                       
  From the arrival of the first British settlers in 1627-28 until independence
  in 1966, Barbados was a self-funding colony under uninterrupted British rule.
  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 replaced 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.                           
                                                                       
  Plantation owners and merchants of British descent dominated local politics.
  It was not until the 1930s that the descendants of emancipated slaves began a
  movement for political rights. One of the leaders of this movement, Sir     
  Grantley Adams, founded the Barbados Labour Party in 1938. Progress toward  
  more democratic government for Barbados was made in 1951, when the first    
  general election under universal adult suffrage occurred. This was followed 
  by steps toward increased self-government, and in 1961, Barbados achieved the
  status of self-governing autonomy.                                          
                                                                       
  From 1958 to 1962, Barbados was one of 10 members of the West Indies        
  Federation, and Sir Grantley Adams served as its first and only prime       
  minister. When the federation was terminated, Barbados reverted to its former
  status as a self-governing colony. Following several attempts to form another
  federation composed of Barbados and the Leeward and Windward Islands,       
  Barbados negotiated its own independence at a constitutional conference with
  the United Kingdom in June 1966. After years of peaceful and democratic     
  progress, Barbados became an independent state within the British           
  Commonwealth on November 30, 1966.                                          
                                                                       
  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 bicameral Parliament consists of the House of Assembly and Senate. The 30
  members of the House are elected by universal suffrage to 5-year terms.     
  Elections may be called at any time the government wishes to seek a new     
  mandate or if the government suffers a vote of no-confidence in Parliament. 
  The Senate's 21 members are appointed by the governor general--12 with the  
  advice of the prime minister, two with the advice of the leader of the      
  opposition, and seven at the governor general's discretion to represent     
  segments of the community.                                                  
                                                                       
  Barbados has an independent judiciary composed of magistrate courts, which  
  are statutorily authorized, and a Supreme Court, which is constitutionally  
  mandated. The Supreme Court consists of the high court and the court of     
  appeals, each with four judges. The Chief Justice serves on both the high   
  court and the court of appeals. The court of last resort is the Caribbean   
  Court of Justice.                                                           
                                                                       
  The island is divided into 11 parishes and the city of Bridgetown for       
  administrative purposes. There is no local government.                      
                                                                       
  GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS                                         
  The two main political parties--the Barbados Labour Party (BLP), the        
  Democratic Labour Party (DLP)--are both 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 foreign investment, and promoting tourism.      
                                                                       
  The ruling BLP was decisively returned to power in May 2003 elections,      
  winning 23 seats in the Parliament with the DLP gaining seven seats. The    
  Prime Minister, Owen Arthur, who also serves as Minister of Finance, has    
  given a high priority to economic development and diversification. The main 
  opposition party, the DLP, is led by David Thompson, a Member of Parliament.
                                                                       
  Principal Government Officials                                              
  Head of State--Queen Elizabeth II                                           
  Governor General--Sir Clifford Straughn Husbands                            
  Prime Minister--Owen Seymour Arthur                                         
                                                                       
  Deputy Prime Minister--Mia Amor Mottley                                     
  Ambassador to the United States and the OAS--Michael King                   
  Ambassador to the UN--Dr. Christopher Hackett                               
                                                                       
  Barbados maintains an embassy in the United States at 2144 Wyoming Avenue,  
  NW, Washington, D.C. 20008 (tel. 202-939-9200), a consulate general in New  
  York City at 800 2nd Avenue, 18th Floor, New York, NY 10017 (tel.           
  212-867-8435), and a consulate general in Miami at 150 Alhambra Circle, Suite
  1270, Coral Gables, FL 33134 (tel. 305-442-1994).                           
                                                                       
  ECONOMY                                                                     
  Since independence, Barbados has transformed itself from a low-income economy
  dependent upon sugar production into an upper-middle-income economy based on
  tourism. Barbados is now one of the most prosperous countries in the western
  hemisphere outside of the United States and Canada. 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 averaged between 3%-5%
  since then until 2001, when the economy contracted 2.8% in the wake of the  
  September 11 terrorist attacks and the global drop-off in tourism. Growth   
  picked up again in 2004 and 2005, and the economy grew by 3.8% in 2006.     
                                                                       
  Tourism drives the economy in Barbados, but offshore banking and financial  
  services have become an increasingly important source of foreign exchange and
  economic growth. The sugar industry, once dominant, now makes up less than 1%
  of GDP and employs only around 500 people. The labor force totaled 142,000  
  persons at the end of 2006. The average rate of unemployment during the last
  quarter of 2006 was estimated at 7.6%. The current account deficit expanded 
  to 12.5% of GDP, and government debt rose above 80% of GDP in 2006.         
                                                                       
  Barbados hosted the final matches of the Cricket World Cup in 2007, and much
  of the country's investment during 2006 and the beginning of 2007 was       
  directed toward accommodating the expected influx of visitors. As a result of
  these preparations, growth was registered in all sectors, especially        
  transportation, communications, construction, and utilities. The government 
  and private sector are both working to prepare the country for the Caribbean
  Community (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy (CSME)--a European Union-style
  single market.                                                              
                                                                       
  FOREIGN RELATIONS                                                           
  As a small nation, the primary thrust of Barbados' diplomatic activity has  
  been within international organizations. The island is a member of the      
  Commonwealth and participates in its activities. Barbados was admitted to the
  United Nations in December 1966. Barbados joined the Organization of American
  States (OAS) in 1967.                                                       
                                                                       
  On July 4, 1973, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, and Jamaica signed a
  treaty in Trinidad to found the Caribbean Community and Common Market       
  (CARICOM). In May 1974, most of the remaining English-speaking Caribbean    
  states joined CARICOM, which now has 15 members. Barbados also is a member of
  the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), established in 1970, with headquarters
  in Bridgetown. The Eastern Caribbean's Regional Security System (RSS), which
  associates Barbados with six other island nations, also is headquartered in 
  Barbados. In July 1994, Barbados joined the newly established Association of
  Caribbean States (ACS).                                                     
                                                                       
  Barbados has diplomatic missions headed by resident ambassadors or high     
  commissioners in Canada, the United Kingdom, the United States, and         
  Venezuela, and at the European Union (Brussels) and the UN. It also has     
  resident consuls general in Toronto, Miami, and New York City. Brazil,      
  Canada, China, Cuba, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela   
  have ambassadors or high commissioners resident in Barbados.                
                                                                       
  U.S.-BARBADIAN RELATIONS                                                    
  In 1751, George Washington visited Barbados as a young man, making what is  
  believed to have been his only trip abroad. The U.S. Government has been    
  represented on Barbados since 1823. From 1956 to 1978, the United States    
  operated a naval facility in Barbados.                                      
                                                                       
  The United States and Barbados have had friendly bilateral relations since  
  Barbados' independence in 1966. The United States 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 Initiative. U.S. assistance is channeled primarily     
  through multilateral agencies such as the Inter-American Development Bank and
  the World Bank, as well as the U.S. Agency for International Development    
  (USAID) office in Bridgetown.                                               
                                                                       
  In May 1997, Prime Minister Owen Arthur hosted President Clinton and 14 other
  Caribbean leaders during the first-ever U.S.-regional summit in Bridgetown, 
  Barbados. The summit strengthened the basis for regional cooperation on     
  justice and counter narcotics issues, finance and development, and trade.   
                                                                       
  Barbados receives counternarcotics assistance and is eligible to benefit from
  the U.S. military's exercise-related and humanitarian assistance construction
  program.                                                                    
                                                                       
  Barbados and U.S. authorities cooperate closely in the fight against        
  narcotics trafficking and other forms of transnational crime. In 1996, the  
  United States and Barbados signed a mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) and
  an updated extradition treaty covering all common offenses, including       
  conspiracy and organized crime. A maritime law enforcement agreement was    
  signed in 1997. A popular tourist destination, Barbados had around 570,000  
  tourists in 2006, mainly cruise ship visitors. The majority of tourists are 
  from the U.K., Germany, the Caribbean, and the United States. An estimated  
  3,000 Americans reside in the country.                                      
                                                                       
  Principal U.S. Embassy Officials                                            
  Ambassador--Mary M. Ourisman                                                
  Deputy Chief of Mission--Mary Ellen T. Gilroy                               
  Political/Economic Counselor--Martina Strong (Acting)                       
  Consul General--Clyde Howard Jr.                                            
  Regional Labor Attaché--Martina Strong                                      
  Economic-Commercial Affairs--Anthony Eterno                                 
  Public Affairs Officer--Julie O'Reagan                                      
  Peace Corps Director--Kate Raftery                                          
                                                                       
  The U.S. Embassy in Barbados is located in the Wildey Business Park, Wildey,
  St. Michael (tel: 246-436-4950; fax: 246-429-5246).                         
                                                                       
  Other Contact Information                                                   
  U.S. Department of Commerce                                                 
  International Trade Administration                                          
  Office of Latin America and the Caribbean                                   
  14th & Constitution Avenue, NW                                              
  Washington, DC 20230                                                        
  Tel: 202-482-1658, 800-USA-Trade                                            
  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                                                           
                                                                       
  TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION                                             
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  For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad  
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  (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm give the
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  publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government       
  Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.                 
                                                                       
  Further Electronic Information                                              
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