Overview
Barbados was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Enslaved Africans worked the sugar plantations established on the island, which initially dominated the Caribbean sugar industry. By 1720, Barbados was no longer a dominant force within the sugar industry, having been surpassed by the Leeward Islands and Jamaica. Slavery was abolished in 1834. The Barbadian 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 independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance. Barbados became a republic in 2021, with the former Governor-General Sandra MASON elected as the first president.
Geography
- Location
- Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
- Total Area
- 430 sq km
- Climate
- tropical; rainy season (June to October)
- Terrain
- relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region
- Natural Resources
- petroleum, fish, natural gas
- Coastline
- 97 km
- Land Borders
- 0 km
People & Society
- Population
- 304,139 (2024 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.)
- Ethnic Groups
- African descent 92.4%, mixed 3.1%, White 2.7%, East Indian 1.3%, other 0.2%, unspecified 0.3% (2010 est.)
- Life Expectancy
- 79 years (2024 est.)
- Urbanization
- 31.4% of total population (2023)
Government
- Government Type
- parliamentary republic; a Commonwealth realm
- Capital
- Bridgetown
- Independence
- 30 November 1966 (from the UK)
- Constitution
- adopted 22 November 1966, effective 30 November 1966; Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2021 establishes Barbados as a republic and revokes the earlier Order in Council
- Legal System
- English common law; no judicial review of legislative acts
- Executive Branch
- President Jeffrey Davidson BOSTIC (since 30 November 2025)
Economy
- Economic Overview
- high-income Eastern Caribbean economy; high standard of living among regional peers; key tourism, construction, and financial sectors driving recent GDP growth; declining but still very high public debt leading to IMF support programs; susceptible to natural disasters and reliance on import partners
- GDP (Official Rate)
- $7.165 billion (2024 est.)
- Major Industries
- tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export