Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a governor-general. Prime minister : Freundel Stuart
President: Barack Obama
Population
287,733
313,847,465
Life Expectancy
74.520 years
78.490 years
Capital City
Bridgetown
Washington, DC
Largest city
Bridgetown (population: 98,511)
New York City (population: 8,008,280)
Human Development Index
0.889
0.95
GDP per capita
$23,700 US
$49,000 US
Literacy Rate
99.7%
99%
Corruption Perception Index
7
7.3
Percentage of Women in Parliament
13.7%
16.6%
Wealthiest Citizens
NA
William Gates III ($40.0bn US)
Unemployment Rate
12.000%
9.000%
Death Penalty
Legal
Legal
Political System
parliamentary democracy
Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
Independence date
30 November 1966 (from UK)
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
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.)
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
Languages
English
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
Exports
manufactures, sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components
Barbadian dollars (BBD) per US dollar - NA (2007), 2 (2006), 2 (2005), 2 (2004), 2 (2003)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
0.800%
4.060%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
0
110
Location
Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Area
430 km sq
9,826,675 km sq
Coastline
97 km
19,924 km
Climate
tropical; rainy season (June to October)
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
