Countries
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Disputes - international: Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago abide by the April 2006 Permanent Court of Arbitration decision delimiting a maritime boundary and limiting catches of flying fish in Trinidad and Tobago's exclusive economic zone; 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, which permits Venezuela to extend its Economic Exclusion Zone/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea
Illicit drugs: one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center
Military branches: Royal Barbados Defense Force: Troops Command, Barbados Coast Guard
Military service age and obligation: 17 years of age for voluntary military service (younger volunteers require parental consent); no conscription
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 73,820
females age 16-49: 73,835
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 58,125
females age 16-49: 58,016
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 1,842
female: 1,849
Military expenditures: 0.8% of GDP
country comparison to the world: 148
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 island defense against external aggression; the Command consists of a single, part-time battalion with a small regular cadre deployed throughout the island; the cadre increasingly supports the police in patrolling the coastline for smuggling and other illicit activities
Airports: 1
country comparison to the world: 236
Pipelines: gas 33 km; oil 62 km; refined products 4 km
Roadways: total: 1,600 km
country comparison to the world: 176
Merchant marine: total: 109
country comparison to the world: 49
by type: bulk carrier 23, cargo 52, chemical tanker 13, container 6, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 8, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 1
foreign-owned: 83 (Canada 11, Greece 14, Iran 5, Lebanon 2, Norway 38, Sweden 4, Syria 1, Turkey 1, UAE 1, UK 6)
Ports and terminals: Bridgetown
Telephones - main lines in use: 140,700
country comparison to the world: 139
Telephones - mobile cellular: 347,900
country comparison to the world: 171
Telephone system: general assessment: island-wide automatic telephone system
domestic: fixed-line teledensity of roughly 50 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density approaching 125 per 100 persons
Broadcast media: government-owned Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) operates the lone terrestrial TV station; CBC also operates a multi-channel cable TV subscription service; roughly a dozen radio stations, consisting of a CBC-operated network operating alongside privately-owned radio stations
Internet country code: .bb
Internet hosts: 1,522
country comparison to the world: 167
Internet users: 188,000
country comparison to the world: 143
Historically, the Barbadian economy was dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities. However, in recent years the economy has diversified into light industry and tourism with about four-fifths of GDP and of exports being attributed to services. Growth has rebounded since 2003, bolstered by increases in construction projects and tourism revenues, reflecting its success in the higher-end segment, but the sector faced declining revenues in 2009 with the global economic downturn. The country enjoys one of the highest per capita incomes in the region. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners and thrive from having the same time zone as eastern US financial centers and a relatively highly educated workforce. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The public debt-to-GDP ratio rose to over 100% in 2009-11, largely because a sharp slowdown in tourism and financial services led to a wide budget deficit.
Government type: parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm
Administrative divisions: 11 parishes and 1 city*; Bridgetown*, Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas
Legal system: English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts
International law organization participation: accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Ethnic groups: black 93%, white 3.2%, mixed 2.6%, East Indian 1%, other 0.2%
Languages: English
Religions: Protestant 63.4% (Anglican 28.3%, Pentecostal 18.7%, Methodist 5.1%, other 11.3%), Roman Catholic 4.2%, other Christian 7%, other 4.8%, none or unspecified 20.6%
Population: 287,733
country comparison to the world: 180
Median age: total: 36.9 years
male: 35.8 years
female: 38 years
Population growth rate: 0.354%
country comparison to the world: 162
Net migration rate: -0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population
country comparison to the world: 129
Urbanization: urban population: 44% of total population
rate of urbanization: 1.7% annual rate of change
Major cities - population: BRIDGETOWN (capital) 112,000
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.52 years
country comparison to the world: 102
male: 72.25 years
female: 76.82 years
Total fertility rate: 1.68 children born/woman
country comparison to the world: 170
Health expenditures: 6.8% of GDP
country comparison to the world: 86
Education expenditures: 6.7% of GDP
country comparison to the world: 19
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 99.7%
male: 99.7%
female: 99.7%
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24: total: 26.2%
country comparison to the world: 23
male: 24.1%
female: 28.7%
Location: Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 97 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Climate: tropical; rainy season (June to October)
Terrain: relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region
Natural resources: petroleum, fish, natural gas
Land use: arable land: 37.21%, permanent crops: 2.33%, other: 60.46%
Natural hazards: infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides
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, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: easternmost Caribbean island
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.
Barbados
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