Area and Geography:

430 sq km. Of coral origin. The most easterly of the Caribbean islands.

Brief history:

settled by the British in 1627, remained a British colony until 1966 when it became independent.

Population:

250 000, half of which live in or around Bridgetown; rate of growth 0.6%; overall density approximately 600 persons per sq km; literacy rate 98 %.

Capital:

Bridgetown.

Government:

Multiparty democracy, the second oldest Parliament outside of England. Parliament is made up of an elected Lower House of 27 persons and Senate of 21 appointed persons. The Head of State is the Queen represented by a Governor-General

Mainstay of the

economy:

tourism, sugar and manufacturing.

Currency:

Barbados dollar (BD$ = US 50 cents.

Exports:

Mainly sugar, molasses and syrup, rum, food and beverages, clothing, chemicals.

Import:

Manufactured goods, machines and equipment.

Main trading

partners:

CARICOM, United States, Canada and The European Community (particularly the UK and West Germany).

Balance of

visible trade (1989):

- BD $ 979.9 million.

Overall balance

of payments (1989):

- BD $ 70 million.

Gross Domestic Product: BD$ 2.9 billion; rate of growth (1989) 3.5%.

GDP per capita (1989):

BD $ 11 270 or US $ 5 636.

Foreign debt:

BD $ 817.1 m (as at end December 1989). Total foreign debt servicing in 1989, BD $ 210.9 m.