Barbados
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Bridgetown
- Population
- 304,139 (2024 est.)
- Area
- 430 sq km
- Government
- parliamentary republic; a Commonwealth realm
- 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.)
- Currency
- Barbadian dollars (BBD)
- Life Expectancy
- 79 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .bb
- Climate
- tropical; rainy season (June to October)
- Terrain
- relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region
- Natural Resources
- petroleum, fish, natural gas
- Major Exports
- liquor, refined petroleum, packaged medicine, margarine, baked goods (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
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.