Читать книгу The 1997 CIA World Factbook - United States. Central Intelligence Agency - Страница 36

@Barbados:Geography

Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North

Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela

Geographic coordinates: 13 10 N, 59 32 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area: total: 430 sq km land: 430 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: exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea : 12 nm

Climate: tropical; rainy season (June to October)

Terrain: relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m

Natural resources: petroleum, fish, natural gas

Land use: arable land: 37% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland : 12% other: 46% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides

Environment - current issues: pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers

Environment - international agreements: party to: Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity

Geography - note: easternmost Caribbean island

@Barbados:People

Population: 258,756 (July 1997 est.)

Age structure: 0–14 years: 24% (male 31,025; female 30,197) 15–64 years: 66% (male 83,977; female 87,208) 65 years and over : 10% (male 10,002; female 16,347) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.12% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 15.35 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 8.25 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: −5.87 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth : 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15–64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 17.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.6 years male : 71.84 years female: 77.43 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.88 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Nationality: noun: Barbadian(s) adjective: Barbadian

Ethnic groups: black 80%, white 4%, other 16%

Religions: Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, unknown 3%, other 9% (1980)

Languages: English

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 97.4% male: 98% female: 96.8% (1995 est.)

@Barbados:Government

Country name: conventional long form : none conventional short form: Barbados

Data code: BB

Government type: parliamentary democracy

National capital: Bridgetown

Administrative 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 of the UK (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 Billie MILLER (since 6 September 1994) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the queen is a hereditary monarch; governor general appointed by the queen; prime minister appointed by the governor general

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (28 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections : House of Assembly - last held 6 September 1994 (next to be held by January 1999) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - BLP 19, DLP 8, NDP 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature, judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Service

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Labor Party or DLP [David

THOMPSON]; Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen ARTHUR]; National

Democratic Party or NDP [Richard HAYNES]

Political pressure groups and leaders: Barbados Workers Union [Leroy

TROTMAN]; People's Progressive Movement [Eric SEALY]; Workers' Party

of Barbados [Dr. George BELLE]; Clement Payne Labor Union [David

COMMISSIONG]

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC,

FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,

IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, NAM,

OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,

WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Courtney N. BLACKMAN chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939–9218, 9219 FAX: [1] (202) 332–7467 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York consulate(s): Los Angeles

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Jeanette W. HYDE embassy : Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; FPO AA 34055 telephone : [1] (246) 436–4950 FAX: [1] (246) 429–5246

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)

Economy

Economy - overview: Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but in recent years the production has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. The start of the Port Charles Marina project in Speightstown helped the tourism industry continue to expand in 1996. The industry generated $331.8 million by the end of June and was expected to double by the end of the year. Prime Minister Owen ARTHUR called for "prudent" financial management to ensure that economic growth would continue. As part of his plan, the Prime Minister introduced a controversial Value Added Tax (VAT) in an effort to reform the tax administration process. The VAT will be administered at 15% for most industries and 7% for the tourism industry. The government has also continued its efforts to promote regional integration initiatives, to reduce the unacceptably high unemployment rate, and to encourage direct foreign investment.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.65 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 3.5% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $10,300 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 6.4% industry: 39.3% services: 54.3% (1994)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 1.8% (1995)

Labor force: total: 126,000 (1993) by occupation: services and government 41%, commerce 15%, manufacturing and construction 18%, transportation, storage, communications, and financial institutions 8%, agriculture 6%, utilities 2% (1992 est.)

Unemployment rate: 16.2% (1996)

Budget: revenues: $550 million expenditures: $710 million, including capital expenditures of $86 million (FY95/96 est.)

Industries: tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export

Industrial production growth rate: 7.7% (1995)

Electricity - capacity: 153,000 kW (1995)

Electricity - production: 644 million kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 2,208 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products: sugarcane, vegetables, cotton

Exports: total value: $235 million (f.o.b., 1995) commodities: sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components, clothing partners: US 13%, UK 10%, Trinidad and Tobago 9%, Windward Islands 8%

Imports: total value: $763 million (c.i.f., 1995) commodities: consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components partners: US 36%, UK 11%, Trinidad and Tobago 11%, Japan 3%

Debt - external: $359 million (December 1996)

Economic aid: $NA

Currency: 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1 - 2.0113 (fixed rate)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

@Barbados:Communications

Telephones: 87,343 (1991 est.)

Telephone system: domestic: island wide automatic telephone system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia

Radio broadcast stations: AM 3, FM 2, shortwave 0

Radios: NA

Television broadcast stations: 2 (1 pay)

Televisions: 69,350 (1993 est.)

@Barbados:Transportation

Railways: 0 km

Highways: total: 1,610 km paved : 1,542 km unpaved: 68 km (1995 est.)

Ports and harbors: Bridgetown

Merchant marine: total: 51 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 453,828 GRT/684,470 DWT ships by type : bulk 16, cargo 27, combination bulk 4, oil tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 1 (1996 est.)

Airports: 1 (1996 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (1996 est.)

Military

Military branches: Royal Barbados Defense Force (includes Ground

Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force

Military manpower - availability: males age 15–49: 71,547 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service: males: 49,446 (1997 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: none

Illicit drugs: one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for the US and Europe ______________________________________________________________________