Barbados – country information

Country name	Barbados
Official name	Barbados
Capital	Bridgetown
Continent	North America
Area	430 km2
Population	285,000 (2013)
Foundation of a state	30/11/1966
The highest mountains	Hillaby 340 m
State system	constitutional monarchy with a bicameral parliament
The biggest cities	Bridgetown (Capital) 7,600 (Agglomeration 105,000)
Official language	English
Ethnicity/National Composition	blacks 80%, mixed race 16%, whites 4%
Religious affiliation	Anglicans 41%, other Protestants 26%, Roman Catholics 4%, other 29%
Currency	1 Barbadian dollar (BDS$) = 100 cents
gross domestic product (GDP)	US$25,043 (2012)
Average life expectancy of the population	72.79 years (2006)
Structure of GDP	agriculture, forestry and fishing 5%, mining and industry 11%, construction 3.5%, services 80.5%

Country overview

According to Abbreviationfinder, Barbados is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea that lies outside the Lesser Antilles arc east of St. Vincent.

Country data

Location: Caribbean

Time zone: CET – 5 (during summer time: CET – 6)

Total area: 430 km²

Land area: 430 km²

Water area: 0 km²

Length of the state border: 0 km

Coastline: 97 km

Capital: Bridgetown

Parishes: 12
Bridgetown, Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas

Electric current: 110 V / 50 Hz

Telephone code: 00 1246 (Source: Allcitycodes)

Highest point: Mount Hillaby 336 m

Population

Population: approx. 290,000 residents (Countryaah, 2021)

Population growth: 0.3% per year

Population density (residents per km²): 674

Life expectancy: 73 (male), 77 (female)

Official language: English

Religions:

• 66% Protestants
• 4% Roman Catholic
• 30% other

Climate

There is a tropical climate which is very pleasant due to the constantly blowing winds.

All year round, daytime temperatures range between 24 ° C and 30 ° C. Even at night it doesn’t get colder than 20 ° C.

There are frequent short rains in the period from July to October.

The water temperature is also always an average of 25 ° C due to the climatically favorable location.

Currency / finance

Currency unit: Barbados dollar (BBD)

Division: 1 dollar = 100 cents

ATMs: In banks in Bridgetown, Hastings, Worthing, Holetown and Speightstown.

International credit cards: These are accepted by many hotels and shops in the holiday areas.

Regulations: The import of the local currency is allowed in unlimited amounts. However, their export is prohibited.

An unlimited amount of foreign currencies can be imported and exported. There is an obligation to declare from an equivalent value of 10,000 BBD.

Customs regulations

The following may be carried duty-free:

• 200 cigarettes or 200 g tobacco
• 0.7 liters of alcoholic beverages
• small amounts of perfume

(Information applies to people aged 18 and over)

Tourists and people in transit can bring items of personal use with them duty-free.

There is an import ban for:

• Drugs of all kinds
• Meat and meat products
• Fruit Vegetable
• rum
• Goods made from camouflage material

Travel advice

An increase in Zika virus infections is currently being observed in the region. The Zika virus is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes.

The Federal Foreign Office recommends that pregnant women refrain from avoidable trips to ZIKA virus outbreak areas, as the risk of early childhood malformations if the woman is infected cannot currently be ruled out.

In some regions of the Eastern Caribbean, there are occasional robberies on ships near the coast. Do not take unknown guests on board and pay attention to your own safety, especially at night.

Behavioral advice

Barbados taxis rarely have a meter. You should therefore absolutely negotiate the fare with the driver before starting your journey.

Economy

As the easternmost island in the Lesser Antilles, Barbados was a British colony until 1966.

Agriculture was already an important branch of industry at that time.

This has been overtaken in recent years by the tourism industry, which can boast a steadily increasing number of visitors.

Industries: light engineering, tourism, sugar

Natural resources: natural gas, oil, fish

Land use:

• Land: 37%
• Grain cultivation: 0%
• Pasture area: 5%
• Forests: 12%
• other: 46%

Plants

There is almost no vegetation when there is little rainfall.

During the rainy season, many tropical plants and grass species bloom.

Animals

In order to preserve the natural habitat of the animal world, several protected areas have now been established.

Here you can find monkeys, crocodiles, snakes and many native bird species.