Barbados
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Introduction: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.
GEOGRAPHY
Country name: conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Barbados
Capital: Bridgetown
Location: Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Geographic Coordinates: 13 10 N, 59 32 W
Area: total: 431 sq km
land: 431 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area Comparative: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
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
Elavation Extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m
Natural Resources: petroleum, fish, natural gas
GOVERNEMENT
Governement Type: parliamentary democracy; independent sovereign state within the Commonwealth
Administratives Divisions: 11 parishes; Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas; note - the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status
Independence 30 November 1966 (from UK)
National Holiday: Independence Day, 30 November (1966)
Constitution: 30 November 1966
Legal System; English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal
Executive Branch: chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn HUSBANDS (since 1 June 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Owen Seymour ARTHUR (since 6 September 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Mia MOTTLEY (since 26 May 2003)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister
Legislative Branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (30 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 21 May 2003 (next to be held by May 2008)
election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - BLP 23, DLP 7
Judicial Branch: Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Services)
Political parties and Leaders: Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP [Clyde Mascoll]
PEOPLE
Population: 278,289 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 21% (male 29,294; female 29,020)
15-64 years: 70.3% (male 95,675; female 99,864)
65 years and over: 8.8% (male 9,370; female 15,066) (2004 est.)
Median age: total: 33.7 years
male: 32.6 years
female: 34.9 years (2004 est.)
Nationality: noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial)
Ethnic groups: black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6%
Religions: Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12%
Languages: English
COMUNICATIONS
Telephones - main lines in use: 134,000 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 140,000 (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment: NA
domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system
international: country code - 1-246; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998)
Television broadcast stations: 1 (plus two cable channels) (1997)
Internet country code: .bb
Internet hosts: 204 (2003)
Internet users: 100,000 (2003)
TRANSPORT
Railways:  
Highways: total: 1,793 km
paved: 1,719 km
unpaved: 74 km (1999)
Waterways:  
Pipelines:  
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
foreign-owned: Australia 1, Bahamas 1, Bangladesh 1, Canada 5, Greece 7, Hong Kong 7, Italy 2, Lebanon 1, Norway 9, United Kingdom 10
registered in other countries: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports: 1 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:  
Heliports:  
 
 
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