The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. African 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.
Location: Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Border Countries: 0 km
Total Area: 430 sq km Land: 430 sq km Water: 0 sq km
Climate: Tropical; rainy season (June to October)
Terrain: Relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region
Natural resources: Petroleum, fish, natural gas
Land use: Agricultural land: 32.6% arable land 25.6%; permanent crops 2.3%; permanent pasture 4.7% Forest: 19.4% Other: 48% (2011 est.)
Ethnic groups: Black 92.4%, White 2.7%, Mixed 3.1%, East Indian 1.3%, Other 0.2%, Unspecified 0.2% (2010 est.)
Languages: English (official), Bajan (English-based creole language, widely spoken in informal settings)
Religions: Protestant 66.4% (includes Anglican 23.9%, other Pentecostal 19.5%, Adventist 5.9%, Methodist 4.2%, Wesleyan 3.4%, Nazarene 3.2%, Church of God 2.4%, Baptist 1.8%, Moravian 1.2%, other Protestant 0.9%), Roman Catholic 3.8%, other Christian 5.4% (includes Jehovah's Witness 2.0%, Other 3.4%), Rastafarian 1%, Other 1.5%, None 20.6%, Unspecified 1.2% (2010 est.)
Population: 291,495 (July 2016 est.)
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
Economy: Barbados is the wealthiest and one of the most developed countries in the Eastern Caribbean and enjoys one of the highest per capita incomes in the region. 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. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners, boosted by being in the same time zone as eastern US financial centers and by a relatively highly educated workforce. Following the 2008-09 recession, external vulnerabilities such as fluctuations in international oil prices have hurt economic growth, raised Barbados’ already high public debt to GDP ratio - which stood at 105% of GDP in 2016 - and cut into its international reserves.
Agriculture - products: Sugarcane, vegetables, cotton
Industries: Tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export
IntroductionAre you passionate about sports but don't see yourself as an athlete? Do you find the business side of sports fascinating? A career in sports management could be your winning ticket! This field combines business, sports, and management, offering dynamic roles that go far beyond the field →
Foundation Date: December 8, 1991 Headquarters: The Republic of Belarus Executive Secretaries: Sergei Lebedev Member Countries: 12 Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was established on December 8, 1991, and the leaders of the Republic of Belarus, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine signed an a →
In 2009, an unknown programmer by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto put forward a whitepaper that proposed a creation of new form of digital currency - cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency functions the same way as regular currencies do in that its used as a means of exchange, unit of account and a store of va →
Headquarter: New Delhi Function and Objective of the Organization: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)has been established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which consolidates various acts & orders that have hitherto handled food-related issues in various Ministries →
If you contribute your content to our site. Please mail us your content to editor@onlinegk.net