Barbados

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Barbados is the most eastern island of the Caribbean archipelago with St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines being within its closest vicinity. Barbados consists mostly of hilly terrain with most of its flat land on its east side and its hilly terrain towards the west.

Famous for its crystal blue waters as well as its beaches, Barbados has been a famous tourist destination. Since its discovery, the island became inhabited by European settlers that have cultivated several crops throughout its existence. The share of the European population declined rapidly after the introduction of slavery which has led to a black majority on the island. After the abolishment of slavery and several uprisings on Barbados, Barbados gained its independence in 1966 when it became a parliamentary democracy, but it remained a part of the British Commonwealth.

Barbados is one of the smaller states in the world, with a total surface area of 432 square kilometers or 170 square miles. This makes Barbados slightly larger than St. Vincent and the Grenadines and slightly smaller than the Seychelles.

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

There are no known permanent bodies of water residing within Barbados.

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Even though Barbados experiences some precipitation due to its location to the equator, this water largely seeps away through its permeable soil which leads the water to an underground reservoir. Due to the filtration through rocks as well as the treatments by the government’s water treatment plants, the quality of water in Barbados is relatively high.

Barbados experiences a tropical climate with warm and humid conditions. Throughout most of the year, Barbados experiences lots of sunshine. The period between June and November is it’s raining season, also known as its hurricane season which experiences most of the rainfall. On average, Barbados is 26.3 degrees Celsius or 79.34 degrees Fahrenheit which ranks it as the 32nd warmest state in the world.

Temperature

Its average highest temperature ranks Barbados as the 61st warmest state in the world with an average temperature of 29.3 degrees Celsius or 84.7 degrees Fahrenheit.

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Its coldest temperature is on average 23.4 degrees Celsius or 74 degrees Fahrenheit. This ranks Barbados as the 178th coldest state in the world.

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

The dry season is from February until April. During the rainy season, Barbados experiences more than 150 millimeters, or six inches of rainfall per month. Annually, it has a rainfall of 128 centimeters or 50 inches. This ranks Barbados is 66th state with the highest precipitation.

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

The capital, Bridgetown, is a home to around 100,000 people. The capital that is closest to Bridgetown is Kingstown of St. Vincent and the Grenadines with a distance of 172 kilometers or 107 miles. The capital that is furthest removed his Dili of East Timor with a distance of 19,289 kilometers or almost 12,000 miles.

The economy of Barbados is an open market economy and is among the wealthier economies of the Caribbean archipelago. Due to its history in slavery, the export of sugar was highly lucrative. However, due to changes in production, Barbados has diversified its economy and has focused more on tourism and offshore banking. The agricultural sector has been declining at the same time and currently represents around 25 percent of total GDP of Barbados. The main economic partners of Barbados are the United States which represents 37 percent of its exports and 25 percent of its imports and Trinidad and Tobago which represents 15 percent of its imports and 21 percent of its exports.

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

In total, Barbados is a member of 10 international economic organizations this ranks Barbados as the 147th most economically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Caribbean Development Bank
Inter-American Development Bank
International Monetary Fund
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
Caribbean Community
International Renewable Energy Agency
Group of 77

The GDP of Barbados is nearly US$5 billion which ranks Barbados as the 161st highest GDP in the world.

The GDP per capita is around US$17,000. This ranks the income of its citizens as the 49th highest in the world.

The figure below displays the average amount that inhabitant of other states earn for every 1$ that an average Barbadian citizen makes.

Its GDP per surface area is around 11,408 US dollars per square kilometer or US$28,858 per square mile. This ranks Barbados is the 19th highest GDP per surface area.

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

The purchasing power per capita is around US$16,000.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of Afghanistan with the rest of the world.

The graph on the left displays the purchasing power parity of the rest of the world in relation to the purchasing power of 1$ in Barbados.

English, and Creole versions of English, are the main languages spoken in Barbados. Its population of 288,000 people mainly consists of people from African descent. However, some refugees as well as businessmen from the Middle East, the United Kingdom, the United States and China are also residing in Barbados. Due to its small population, it is ranked as the 166th largest state in terms of population size.

Population

Population density

It is, however, ranked as the 11th most densely populated state in the world with a population of around 664 people per square kilometer or 1681 people per square mile.

Emigration

Most of the Barbadians have emigrated to the United Kingdom in order to find better working conditions. At present, it is estimated that around 110,000 people, or around 38 percent of the total population has emigrated.

Immigration

As mentioned earlier, Barbados has taken in refugees from the middle east. Other immigrants come from French Guiana in order to get better working opportunities within the region. In total around seven percent of the population, which corresponds to 20,000 people, have immigrated to Barbados.

Literacy

The Barbadian governments is largely focused on education. This has led to a full funding of primary secondary and tertiary education. As a result of this, Barbados has the 22nd highest literacy rate in the world which stands at 99.3 percent.

Health

Around 80 percent of deaths occur as a result non-communicable diseases which are mainly related to lifestyle choices. It is expected that the death rate within the coming years will increase due to the aging of the population. Other health problems are the rise of communicable diseases such as Zika virus and dengue fever. In order to combat this, the Barbadian governments is investing heavily in the healthcare infrastructure. At present, Barbados is the 50th state with the highest life expectancy in the world with an average life expectancy of 79.6 years with women averaging at 80.9 years and man averaging at 78.4 years

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

The government of Barbados provides freedom of religion towards all religions. However, the practice of religion has been restrained towards Rastafari’s due to the illegality of cannabis. Other religions, such as Islam have been required to show their passports to the government at certain occasions. It is estimated that Barbados is ranked as the 153rd most multi religious state in the world.

Christianity arrived to Barbados with the arrival of Europeans. The African slaves converted Christianity as well. It is the 13th most Christian state in the world. At present, around 91.6 percent of the population of Barbados adheres to the Christian faith. The largest denominations within Christianity are Anglicanism and Catholicism.

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Around 1.16 percent of the population of Barbados adheres to the Islamic faith. There are more than two mosques as well as other Islamic religious institutions present in Barbados. This gives Barbados the 121st highest share of Muslims worldwide.

It is estimated that around 0.06 percent of the population is Buddhist. The International Kadampa Buddhist Union has been able to reach Barbados and has created the Tara Kadampa Buddhist Centre.

Buddhism (share of the total population)

The amount of people adhering to Hinduism has been on the rise in Barbados. At present, it is estimated that around 0.42 percent of the population adheres to the Hindu faith. These Hindus are mainly of Indian descent and follow the Maharaj Charan Singhji.

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

As a result of the Spanish Inquisition, a small Jewish population had fled Spain around the 1650s in order to seek refuge in Barbados. The Jews left Barbados for a short period in 1929 but returned in 1931. Around 0.03 percent of the population of Barbados is Jewish. These are mainly situated in the capital where a synagogue is built.

Other religions (share of the total population)

Around one percent of the population adheres to other religions. These are mainly followers of the Baha’i faith which established itself in 1963, and Rastafarianism.

Non-religious (share of the total population)

The percentage of nonbelievers in Barbados is estimated to be around 1.3 percent of the total population.

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

The Barbadian Armed Forces are officially known as the Barbadian defense force. Their main task is to defend Barbados. However, it is mainly active in disaster relief through its navy as well as youth involvement.

Military membership

In total, Barbados is a member of three international military organizations. Due to the low number of memberships, Barbados is ranked as the 145th most militarily connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
International Atomic Energy Agency
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Barbados has not been involved in any international wars.

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Barbados is a member of four international political organizations. These are:

Member states of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
Organization of American States
Association of Caribbean States
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
International Criminal Court
Interpol
Alliance of Small Island States
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
South Centre (organization)
World Organization for Animal Health

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Known to have democratic characteristics for nearly half a century, Barbados is ranked as the 38th most democratic state in the world. This is mainly due to the stable transition of power as well as elections that are held on a regular basis.

Democracy/Dictatorship

As an independent member of the British Commonwealth, it has the British monarch as head of state. There are movements that seek to remove the British monarch as head of state and move further away from British influence.