Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor-general. Prime minister : Freundel Stuart
President: Faure Gnassingbe Eyadema
Population
287,733
6,961,049
Life Expectancy
74.520 years
63.170 years
Capital City
Bridgetown
Largest city
Bridgetown (population: 98,511)
Lome (population: 749,700)
Human Development Index
0.889
0.479
GDP per capita
$23,700 US
Literacy Rate
99.7%
60.9%
Corruption Perception Index
7
2.7
Percentage of Women in Parliament
13.7%
11.1%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
12.000%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished in practice
Political System
parliamentary democracy
republic under transition to multiparty democratic rule
Independence date
30 November 1966 (from UK)
Religions
Protestant 63.4% (Anglican 28.3%, Pentecostal 18.7%, Methodist 5.1%, other 11.3%), Roman Catholic 4.2%, other Christian 7%, other 4.8%, none or unspecified 20.6% (2008 est.)
Christian 29%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 51%
Languages
English
French (official and the language of commerce), Ewe and Mina (the two major African languages in the south), Kabye (sometimes spelled Kabiye) and Dagomba (the two major African languages in the north)
Exports
manufactures, sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components
External Debt
$668,000,000 $
Exchange Rate
Barbadian dollars (BBD) per US dollar - NA (2007), 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.800%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
1
Location
Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Benin and Ghana
