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Barbados

Introduction to Barbados

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.

Government

Capital:

Bridgetown

Independence:

30 November 1966 (from UK)

National holiday:

Independence Day, 30 November (1966)

Economy

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 should be positive in 2004, the precise level largely dependent on economic conditions in the US and Europe.

GDP:

purchasing power parity - $4.355 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 6%
industry: 16%
services: 78% (2000 est.)

Agriculture products:

sugarcane, vegetables, cotton

Industries:

tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export

Transportation

Highways:

total: 1,793 km
paved: 1,719 km
unpaved: 74 km (1999)

Ports and harbors:

Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina)

Merchant marine:

total: 42 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 427,465 GRT/668,195 DWT
by type: bulk 11, cargo 20, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 3, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 1
registered in other countries: 3 (2003 est.)
foreign-owned: Australia 1, Bahamas 1, Bangladesh 1, Canada 5, Greece 7, Hong Kong 7, Italy 2, Lebanon 1, Norway 9, United Kingdom 10

Airports:

1 (2003 est.)