Data at glance of Barbados - average on period

History

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.

Environment

Area: 430 km2

Climate: tropical; rainy season (June to October)

Natural resources: petroleum, fish, natural gas

Ethnic characteristics

Groups: African descent 92.4%, mixed 3.1%, White 2.7%, East Indian 1.3%, other 0.2%, unspecified 0.3% (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.)

Government

Capital: Bridgetown

Government type: parliamentary republic; a Commonwealth realm

Executive branch

Chief of state: President Sandra MASON (since 30 November 2021)

Head of government: Prime Minister Mia MOTTLEY (since 25 May 2018)cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime ministerelection/appointment process: president elected by an electoral college of both Houses of Parliament for a 4-year renewable term; following legislative elections, the president usually appoints the leader of the majority party or leader of the majority coalition as prime minister; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime ministermost recent election date: 7 October 2025election results: Jeffrey Davidson BOSTIC elected as the country's second president; note - BOSTIC will take office 30 November 2025expected date of next election: NA

Legislative branch

Description: legislature name: Parlement de Barbade (Parliament of Barbados)legislative structure: bicameralnote: tradition dictates that the next election is held within 5 years of the last election, but constitutionally it is 5 years from the first seating of Parliament plus a 90-day grace period