Region: Caribbean

Capital: Bridgetown

Population: 278,289 (July 2004 est.)

Surface area: 430 sq km

Currency: dollar

GDP per capita: purchasing power parity - $16,200 (2003 est.)

Background:
The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island until 1834 when slavery was abolished. The 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 complete independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance.

Economy – Overview:
Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into light industry and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2002-03 mainly due to a decline in tourism. Growth should be positive in 2004, the precise level largely dependent on economic conditions in the US and Europe.

United Nations membership date: 9 December 1966

New York Mission:
Permanent Mission of Barbados to the United Nations
800 Second Avenue, 2nd Floor
New York, N.Y. 10017 USA
Telephone: 212-867-8431, 8432, 8433, 8434, 8435
Fax: 212-986-1030