   #copyright

Barbados

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Central & South American
Countries; Countries

                      Barbados

   Flag of Barbados Coat of arms of Barbados
   Flag             Coat of arms
   Motto: "Pride and Industry"
   Anthem: In Plenty and In Time of Need
   Location of Barbados
   Capital
   (and largest city)    Bridgetown
                         13°10′N 59°32′W
    Official languages   English
   Government            Parliamentary democracy
                         Constitutional monarchy
    - Monarch            Elizabeth II
    - Governor-General   Clifford Husbands
    - Prime Minister     Owen Arthur
       Independence
    - From the UK        30 November 1966
                        Area
    - Total              431 km² ( 199th)
                         167 sq mi
    - Water (%)          Negligible
                     Population
    - July 2005 estimate 279,254 ( 180th)
    - Density            647/km² ( 15th)
                         1,663/sq mi
        GDP ( PPP)       2006 estimate
    - Total              $4.9 billion ( 152nd)
    - Per capita         $17,610 ( 39th)
        HDI  (2003)      0.878 (High) ( 30th)
         Currency        Barbados dollar ($) ( BBD)
         Time zone       ( UTC-4)
       Internet TLD      .bb
       Calling code      + 1-246

   Barbados is an independent island nation located in the western
   Atlantic Ocean, just to the east of the Caribbean Sea, found at roughly
   13° north of the Equator and 59° west of the Prime Meridian. Located
   relatively close to South America the nation of Barbados is around
   434.5 kilometres (270 miles) northeast of the South American nation of
   Venezuela.

   The closest island neighbours to Barbados are Saint Lucia and Saint
   Vincent and the Grenadines both located to the west Trinidad and Tobago
   to the south and Grenada to the south-west. Barbados is part of Lesser
   Antilles.

   Barbados possesses a land area of around 430 square kilometres, (166
   sq. mi), and is primarily low-lying, with some higher regions in the
   island's interior. The organic composition of Barbados is thought to be
   of non-volcanic origin and is predominantly composed of limestone-
   coral. The island's atmosphere is sub-tropical with constant trade
   winds off the Atlantic Ocean and some undeveloped areas contain marshes
   and mangrove swamps. Other parts of the island's interior contributing
   the island's agricultural sector are dotted with large sugarcane
   estates and wide gently sloping pastures with many good views down to
   the sea.

   Barbados has one of the highest standards of living and literacy rates
   in the developing world and, according to the United Nations
   Development Programme (UNDP), Barbados is currently the No. 4 most
   developed of all developing countries in the world. Despite its small
   geographical size, Barbados constantly ranks in the top 30 (or 31)
   countries in the HDI (Human Development Index) rankings. The island is
   also a major tourist destination.

History

   The earliest inhabitants of Barbados were Amerindian nomads. Three
   waves of migrants moved north toward North America. The first wave was
   of the Saladoid- Barrancoid group, who were farmers, fishermen, and
   ceramists that arrived by canoe from South America (Venezuela's Orinoco
   Valley) around 350 CE. The Arawak people were the second wave of
   migrants, arriving from South America around 800 CE. Arawak settlements
   on the island include Stroud Point, Chandler Bay, Saint Luke's Gully,
   and Mapp's Cave. According to accounts by descendants of the aboriginal
   Arawak tribes on other local islands, the original name for Barbados
   was Ichirouganaim. In the 13th century, the Caribs arrived from South
   America in the third wave, displacing both the Arawak and the
   Salodoid-Barrancoid. For the next few centuries, the Caribs—like the
   Arawak and the Salodoid-Barrancoid—lived in isolation on the island.

   The name "Barbados" comes from a Portuguese explorer named Pedro Campos
   in 1536, who originally called the island Os Barbados ("The Bearded
   Ones") upon seeing the appearance of the island's fig trees whose long
   hanging aerial roots, he thought, resembled beards. Between Campos'
   sighting in 1536 and 1550, Spanish conquistadors seized many Caribs on
   Barbados and used them as slave labour on plantations. Other Caribs
   fled the island, moving elsewhere.

   British sailors who landed on Barbados in the 1620s at the site of
   present-day Holetown on the Caribbean coast found the island
   uninhabited. From the arrival of the first British settlers in 1627–
   1628 until independence in 1966, Barbados was under uninterrupted
   British control. Nevertheless, Barbados always enjoyed a large measure
   of local autonomy. Its House of Assembly began meeting in 1639. Among
   the initial important British figures was Sir William Courten.

   Starting in the 1620s an increasing number of black slaves were brought
   to the isle. 5000 locals died of fever in 1647, and hundreds of slaves
   were executed by Royalist planters during the English Civil War in the
   1640s, as they feared that the ideas of the Levellers might spread to
   the slave population if Parliament took control of Barbados.
   The Barbadoes Mulatto Girl, after Agostino Brunias, 1779
   Enlarge
   The Barbadoes Mulatto Girl, after Agostino Brunias, 1779

   Large numbers of Celtic people, mainly from Ireland and Scotland, went
   to Barbados as indentured servants. Over the next several centuries the
   Celtic population was used as a buffer between the Anglo-Saxon
   plantation owners and the larger African population, variously serving
   as members of the Colonial militia and playing a strong role as allies
   of the larger African slave population in a long string of colonial
   rebellions. As well, in 1659, the English shipped many Irishmen and
   Scots off to Barbados as slaves. With King James II, and other kings in
   his dynasty, also sending Scots, and English, off to the isle. For
   instance in 1685, after the crushing of the Monmouth Rebellion. The
   modern descendants of this original slave population are sometimes
   derisively referred to as Red Legs, or locally 'ecky becky' and are
   some of the poorest inhabitants of modern Barbados. There has also been
   large scale intermarriage between the African and Celtic populations on
   the islands. Because the Africans could withstand tropical diseases and
   the climate much better than the white slave population, and also
   because those poor whites who had or acquired the means to emigrate
   often did so, Barbados turned from mainly Celtic in the 17th century to
   overwhelmingly black by the 20th century.

   As the sugar industry developed into the main commercial enterprise,
   Barbados was divided into large plantation estates that replaced the
   small holdings of the early British settlers. Some of the displaced
   farmers relocated to British colonies in North America, most notably
   South Carolina. To work the plantations, West Africans were transported
   and enslaved on Barbados and other Caribbean islands. The slave trade
   ceased in 1804. Slaves though carried on being oppressed, causing, in
   1816, the major slave rebellion, in the isle's history. One thousand
   people died in the revolt for freedom, with 144 slaves executed, and
   123 deported, by the king's army. Eighteen years later slavery was
   abolished in the British Empire in 1834. In Barbados and the rest of
   the British West Indian colonies, full emancipation from slavery was
   preceded by an apprenticeship period that lasted six years.

   However, plantation owners and merchants of British descent still
   dominated local politics, due to the high income qualification required
   for voters. More than 70% of the population, many of them
   disenfranchised women, were excluded from the democratic process. It
   was not until the 1930s that the descendants of emancipated slaves
   began a movement for political rights. One of the leaders of this
   movement, Sir Grantley Adams, founded the Barbados Labour Party, then
   known as the Barbados Progressive League, in 1938. Though a staunch
   supporter of the monarchy, Adams and his party demanded more for the
   poor and for the people. Progress toward a more democratic government
   in Barbados was made in 1942, when the exclusive income qualification
   was lowered and women were given the right to vote. By 1949
   governmental control was wrestled from the planters and, in 1958, Adams
   became Premier of Barbados.

   From 1958 to 1962, Barbados was one of the ten members of the West
   Indies Federation, an organisation doomed by nationalistic attitude and
   by the fact that its members, as colonies of Britain, held limited
   legislative power. Adams' leadership of the Federation (he served as
   its first and only "Prime Minister"), his failed attempts to form
   similar unions, and his continued defence of the monarchy demonstrated
   that he was no longer in touch with the needs of his country. Errol
   Walton Barrow, a fervent reformer, was to become the new people's
   advocate. Barrow had left the BLP and formed the Democratic Labour
   Party as a liberal alternative to Adams' conservative government. To
   this day, Barrow remains a beloved hero in the eyes of Barbadians, as
   it was he who instituted many of the reforms and programs currently in
   place, including free education for all Barbadians, regardless of class
   or colour, and the School Meals system. By 1961, Barrow had replaced
   Adams as Premier and the DLP controlled the government.

   With the Federation dissolved, Barbados had reverted to its former
   status, that of a self-governing colony. The island negotiated its own
   independence at a constitutional conference with the United Kingdom in
   June 1966. After years of peaceful and democratic progress, Barbados
   finally became an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations
   on November 30, 1966, with Errol Barrow serving as its first Prime
   Minister.

Politics

   Barbados is a parliamentary democracy. Executive authority is vested in
   the Prime Minister and Cabinet, which is collectively responsible to
   the Parliament. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor General
   as the member of the House of Assembly best able to command the support
   of the majority of the members. The Prime Minister usually selects a
   cabinet from his party members in the legislature. The present
   government is proposing that Barbados become a republic within the
   Commonwealth of Nations, with a ceremonial president replacing the
   British Sovereign. This issue is still being hotly debated as the
   island has been governmentally autonomous for decades.

   Barbados has been an independent state in the Commonwealth since
   November 30, 1966, and as such functions as a parliamentary democracy
   modelled after the British Westminster system. Control of the
   government is held by the Cabinet and is responsible to the Parliament,
   which comrpises a 30-seat House of Assembly and a 21-seat Senate.
   Barbados is one of the most secure democracies in the Caribbean.
   Executive power is in the hands of the prime minister and his cabinet.
   The prime minister is usually the leader of the winning party in the
   elections for the House of Assembly, whose members are elected every
   five years. The Senate has 21 members, and its members are appointed by
   the governor general.

   Barbados is a full and participating member of the Caribbean Community
   (CARICOM), the Caribbean (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy (CSME),
   the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) [which currently only pertains to
   Barbados and Guyana, and is expected to replace the UK Privy Council
   for the entire English speaking Caribbean eventually], and the
   Association of Caribbean States (ACS).

Geography

   Map of Barbados
   Beach near Bridgetown, Barbados
   Enlarge
   Beach near Bridgetown, Barbados

   Barbados is a relatively flat island, rising gently to the central
   highland region, the highest point being Mount Hillaby, in the Scotland
   district, at 336 metres (1,100 ft) above sea level. The island is
   located in a slightly eccentric position in the Atlantic Ocean, to the
   east of the other Caribbean islands. The climate is tropical, with a
   rainy season from June to October.

   Barbados is often spared from the amount of tropical storms and
   hurricanes during the rainy season due to its far eastern location in
   the Atlantic Ocean pushing it just outside of the principal hurricane
   belt. The island does get brushed or hit about every 3 years and the
   average number of years between direct hurricane hits is about once
   every 26.6 years.

   In the parish of Saint Michael lies Barbados' capital and chief city
   Bridgetown. Locally Bridgetown is sometimes referred to as "The City,"
   but the most common reference is simply "Town". Other towns scattered
   across the island include Holetown, in the parish of Saint James;
   Oistins, in the parish of Christ Church; and Speightstown, in the
   parish of Saint Peter.

   The island is 23 kilometres (14 mi) at its widest point, and about 34
   kilometres (21 mi) long.

Parishes

   Barbados is currently divided into eleven administrative parishes:

Economy

   Historically, the economy of Barbados had been dependent on sugarcane
   cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has
   been diversified into the manufacturing and tourism sectors. Offshore
   finance and information services have become increasingly important
   foreign exchange earners, and there is also a healthy interest into the
   island's light manufacturing sector. In the last ten years the
   Government has been seen as business-friendly and economically sound.
   Since the late 1990s the island has seen an increasing construction
   boom, the island began to see new hotels, redevelopments, new homes,
   office complexes, condominiums, and mansions being developed across the
   island.

   The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, encourage
   direct foreign investment, and privatize remaining state-owned
   enterprises. Unemployment has been reduced from high levels of around
   14 percent in the past to under 10 percent currently.

   The economy contracted in 2001 and 2002 due to slowdowns in tourism,
   consumer spending and the impact of the September 11, 2001 attacks, but
   rebounded in 2003 and has showed growth since 2004. Traditional trading
   partners include Canada, the Caribbean Community (especially Trinidad
   and Tobago), the United Kingdom, and the United States.

   Business links and investment flows have become substantial, as of 2003
   the island saw from Canada CAN$25 billion in investment holdings,
   placing it as one of Canada's top five destinations of Canadian Foreign
   Direct Investment (FDI). Businessman Eugene Melnyk of Toronto in
   Ontario, Canada, is said to be Barbados' richest permanent resident.

   In 2004 it was announced that Barbados' Kensington Oval will be one of
   the final venues hosting the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

   It is thought the year 2006 will be one of the busiest years for
   building construction ever in Barbados, as the building-boom on the
   island has entered a final stage for several multi-million dollar
   projects across the island. .

Characteristics and tourist information

   The island of Barbados has a single major airport, the Sir Grantley
   Adams International Airport (GAIA) ( IATA identifier BGI). The Grantley
   Adams Airport receives daily flights by several major airlines, from
   points around the globe, as well as several smaller regional commercial
   airlines and charters. The airport serves as the main
   air-transportation hub for the Eastern Caribbean. The airport is
   currently under-going a US$100 million upgrade and expansion.

   The island is well developed and there are many local quality-hotels
   known internationally which offer world-class accommodations.
   Timeshares are available, and many of the smaller local hotels and
   private villas which dot the island have space available if booked
   months in advance. The southern and western coasts of Barbados are
   popular, with its calm light blue Caribbean sea and fine white and
   pinkish sandy beaches. Along the island's east coast the Atlantic Ocean
   side are tumbling waves which are perfect for light surfing, but a
   little bit risky due to under-tow currents. The 'Soup Bowl' near to
   Bathsheba is a very popular spot with surfers all year round.

   Shopping districts are another treat in Barbados, with ample duty-free
   shopping. There is also a festive nightlife available in mainly tourist
   areas like the Saint Lawrence Gap. Other attractions include wildlife
   reserves, jewelry stores, scuba diving, helicopter rides, golf,
   festivals (the largest being the annual crop over festival July/Aug),
   sight seeing, cave exploration, exotic drinks and fine clothes
   shopping.

Attractions, landmarks and points of interest

   Name / Parish Location:

   - Christ Church
     * Graeme Hall Swamp
     * St. Lawrence Gap

   - St. Andrew
     * Cherry Tree Hill
     * Morgan Lewis Windmill
     * Chalky Mount potteries

   - St. George
     * Gun Hill Signal Station
     * Francia Great House
     * Orchid World

   - St. James
     * Folkestone Marine Park

   - St. John
     * Codrington College
     * St. John Parish Church

   - St. Joseph
     * Andromeda Gardens
     * Flower Forest
     * Hackleton's Cliff

   - St. Lucy
     * Animal Flower Cave
     * Mount Gay Rum Distilleries

   - St. Michael
     * Barbados Historical Museum
     * Bridgetown Synagogue and Cemetery
     * Bussa Emancipation Statue
     * Garrison Savannah
     * Kensington Oval
     * Sharon Moravian Church

   - St. Peter
     * Barbados Wildlife Reserve
     * Farley Hill National Park

   - St. Philip
     * Sunbury Plantation

   - St. Thomas
     * Harrison's Cave
     * Welchman Hall Gully

   List of: Cities, towns and villages in Barbados.

Transport

   Transport on the island is good, with 'route taxis', called "ZR's"
   (pronounced "Zed-Rs"), travelling to most points on the island. These
   small buses can at times be crowded, but will usually take the more
   scenic routes to destinations. These buses generally depart from the
   capital Bridgetown or from Speightstown in the northern part of the
   island.

   Buses are abundant in Barbados. There are three bus systems running
   seven days a week (though less frequently on Sundays), and a ride on
   any of them costs $1.50 BDS. The smaller buses from the two privately
   owned systems ("ZR's" and "minibuses") can make change; the larger blue
   buses from the government-operated Barbados Transport Board system
   cannot. Most routes require a connection in Bridgetown. However, if you
   wait long enough, you might find a bus that bypasses the capital and
   takes you right to your destination. Drivers are generally happy to
   help you get where you're going; however, some drivers within the
   competitive privately owned systems are reluctant to instruct you to
   use competing services, even if those would be preferable.

   Competition for patrons extends to the bus terminals (sometimes just a
   parking lot full of buses); it is normal for the 'ZR' bus conductors to
   attempt to escort you to his vehicle and engage in loud altercations
   with other drivers and conductors, in competition for your patronage.
   These altercations, though sometimes dramatic, are less problematic
   than they usually seem to the unaccustomed.

   Some hotels also provide visitors with shuttles to points of interest
   on the island. Hotel shuttles generally leave right outside of the
   hotel's lobby. The island also has an abundance of taxis-for-hire,
   although visitors staying on the island may find this an expensive
   option. Visitors also have the option of transport by car, presuming
   that they have a valid driver's license (issued in their native
   country.) There are several locally owned and operated vehicle rental
   agencies in Barbados, however there are no multi-national car rental
   agencies (e.g. Avis, Europcar, Hertz, etc.).

Demographics

   Barbados has a population of about 279,000 and a growth rate of 0.33%
   (Mid-2005 estimates). Close to 90 percent of all Barbadians (also known
   colloquially as Bajan) are of African descent ("Afro-Bajans"), mostly
   descendants of the slave labourers on the sugar plantations. The
   remainder of the population includes groups of Europeans
   ("Anglo-Bajans" / "Euro-Bajans"), Chinese locally known as
   Bajan-Chiney, Bajan Hindus and Muslims, and an influential Middle
   Eastern ("Arab-Bajans") group mainly of Syrian and Lebanese descent.

   Other groups in Barbados include people from the United States, Canada,
   United Kingdom and expatriates from Latin America. Barbadians who
   return after years of residence in the U.S. are called "Bajan Yankees";
   this term is considered derogatory by some.

   The country's official language is English, the local dialect of which
   is referred to as Bajan. While most Barbadians are Protestant
   Christians (67%), chiefly of the Anglican Church, there are other
   Protestant, Roman Catholic, Hindu and Muslim minorities. Barbados is
   currently a chief emigration location from the South American nation of
   Guyana.

Culture

   The influence of the English on Barbados is more noticeable than on
   other islands in the West Indies. A good example of this is the
   island's national sport: cricket. Barbados has brought forth several
   great cricket players, including Garfield Sobers and Frank Worrell.

   Citizens are officially called Barbadian, however residents of Barbados
   colloquially refer to themselves or the products of the country as
   "Bajan". The term "Bajan", may have come from a localized pronunciation
   of the word Barbadian which at times can sound more like "Bar-bajan".
   The term Barbadian is used less frequently than is "Bajan".

   The largest Carnival cultural event which takes place in Barbados is
   the Crop Over Festival as known internationally.

   As is the case in many of the other Caribbean and Latin American
   countries, Crop Over is an important event for many people on the
   island, as well as the thousands of tourists that flock to the island
   to participate in the annual events.

   The Crop Over festival which includes various musical competitions, and
   other traditional activities usually kicks into high gear from the
   beginning of July, and ends in its entirety with the costumed parade on
   Kadooment Day, held on the first Monday of August.:See also: Music of
   Barbados

Sport

   There are several sports played in Barbados of which cricket is
   arguably the favourite (like many other Caribbean countries). Barbados
   will be playing host to the 2007 Cricket World Cup final, as well as
   six "Super Eight" matches and several warm-up matches. The final is
   scheduled to take place on Saturday 28 April, 2007. In golf the
   Barbados Open is an annual stop on the European Seniors Tour. The 2006
   WGC-World Cup will take place at the country's Sandy Lane resort.

Trivia

     * The island of Barbados was first recorded with the spelling
       Barbadoes, it also has the nickname of 'Little England', and the
       British colloquial nickname of 'Bimshire' ("Bim-shur").
     * One of the signatures on the original United States constitution
       was a Barbadian, as was the printer of the document. .
     * 7 of the first 21 Governors in the U.S. states known as the
       Carolinas were Barbadians.
     * The 1652, Treaty of Oistins guaranteed that Barbadians were granted
       'No Taxation Without Representation' under the British Government.
     * During the 1800s Barbados was said to be one of the healthiest
       countries in the World.
     * Rum and Grapefruit are said to have been first recorded in
       Barbados.
     * Brazilian Jews in exile, were the source of the first introduction
       of the crop sugarcane to Barbados.
     * The British system of Longitude was discovered by charting the
       distance between Portsmouth, England and Bridgetown, Barbados using
       the position of the sun in relation to both locations.
     * In 1884, through the Barbados Agricultural Society, Barbados
       attempted to become one of the earliest, albeit most distant
       provinces of Canada. This proposal of political association with
       Canada was later mooted yet again by several politicians of the
       Senate of Barbados in the 1950s and 1960s.
     * Barbados had attempted a political union along with Guyana, and
       Trinidad and Tobago at the suggestion of Trinidad and Tobago's
       Patrick Manning in the 1990s. The political union was stalled after
       the then-Prime Minister of Barbados Lloyd Erskine Sandiford became
       ill and subsequently the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) lost in the
       general government elections. ,
     * Barbados had a United States military base based in the Parish of
       Saint Lucy at Harrisons Point, under which secret projects were
       carried out in Barbados such as Project HARP on Paragon Beach near
       the airport. It was said the loud explosions could be heard
       throughout much of the country and it broke many windows .
     * Barbados has one of the most dense road networks in the world, in
       addition to being one of the most densely populated countries in
       the world.
     * Barbados has half as many registered cars as citizens in the
       country.
     * Barbados and Japan have the highest per capita occurrences of
       centenarians in the world.
     * R&B/ Pop singer Rihanna is from Barbados
     * Singer Nina Simone had an affair with a wellknown Prime Minister of
       Barbados during her stay on the island in the late 70's. She
       describes this in her autobiography I Put A Spell On You (1992),
       and dedicates a song to him on A Single Woman (1993).

National symbols

   A yellow and red Poinciana
   Enlarge
   A yellow and red Poinciana

   The national flower is the Pride of Barbados Caesalpinia pulcherrima
   (L.) Sw. which grows across the island of Barbados.

Golden Shield

   The Golden Shield in the Coat of Arms carries two " Pride of Barbados"
   flowers and the "bearded" fig tree ( Ficus citrifolia or Ficus barbata)
   which was common on the island at the time of its settlement by the
   British and contributed to Barbados being so named.

Coat of arms

   The coat of arms depicts two animals which are supporting the shield.
   On the left is a dolphin, symbolic of the fishing industry and
   sea-going past of Barbados. On the right is a pelican, symbolic of a
   small island named Pelican Island that once existed off the coast of
   Bridgetown. Above the shield is the helmet of Barbados with an extended
   arm clutching two sugar-cane stalks. The "cross" formation made by the
   cane stalks represents the cross upon which Saint Andrew was crucified.
   On the base of the Coat of Arms reads "Pride and Industry" in reference
   to the country's motto.

National Heroes

   There are 10 Barbados national heroes.
     * Errol Barrow
     * Sir Grantley Adams ( )
     * Bussa
     * Sarah Ann Gill
     * Samuel Jackson Prescod
     * Sir Frank Worrell
     * Charles Duncan O'Neal
     * Sir Garfield Sobers
     * Clement Payne
     * Sir Hugh Springer

International rankings

     * - GDP - ( PPP) per capita:
          + 2004: ranked 59 of 232 countries & territories -- $ 15,700
            59th
     * Economist, The, Worldwide quality-of-life index:
          + 2005 ranked 33 out of 111 countries 33rd
     * Heritage Foundation/The Wall Street Journal, Index of Economic
       Freedom countries:
          + 2005 ranked 32 of 155 countries 32nd
     * International Telecommunication Union, Digital Access Index (Top 10
       in Americas):
          + 2002: ranked 45 of 178 countries 45th
     * Literacy rate, countries by literacy rate - by UNDP
          + 2005: ranked 23rd of 177 countries -- 99.7%
     * Reporters without borders:
          + 2004: N/A
     * Save the Children, State of the World’s Mothers:
          + 2004: N/A
     * Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index:
          + 2004: ranked 21 out of 146 countries surveyed 21st
     * UN, Human Development Index (HDI):
          + 2005: ranked 30th out of 177 countries 30th (3rd in the
            Americas, after Canada and the United States
          + 2004: ranked 29th out of 177 countries 29th
          + 2003: ranked 27th out of 175 countries 27th
          + 2002: ranked 31st out of 173 countries 31st
          + 2001: ranked 31st out of 162 countries 31st
          + 2000: ranked 30th out of 174 countries 30th
          + 1999: ranked 29th out of 174 countries 29th
          + 1998: N/A
     * World Economic Forum, Global Competitiveness Report/Growth
       Competitiveness Index:
          + 2006- 2007: ranked 31st out of 125 countries 31st (Barbados'
            debute to the list)
     * World Bank:
          + Total GDP per capita
               o 2003 (World Bank): ranked 38 -- $ 15,712
          + Total GDP (nominal)
               o 2003: ranked 138 -- $ 2,628

   Some information in this article has been taken from the CIA World
   Factbook, 2000 edition.

   This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook (2003
   edition) which, as a US government publication, is in the public
   domain.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbados"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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