Barbados is well known for its well educated population, a situation that's probably linked to the fact that schooling at all levels, from primary to university, is free.
The majority of Barbadians (about 93%) are of African descent. The European or white community makes up only 3 or 4%. Individuals of Indian, Asian, Chinese and Mixed descent make up the other 3-4%.
» Total Population - 274,000 (December 2006)
» Population Density - High 85% living in rural areas
» Annual Growth Rate - 0.37% (2006 est.)
» Status - Independent (November 30th 1966)
» Capital - Bridgetown
» Nationality - Barbadian
» Official Language - English
» Land Area - 431Km / 166sq.miles
» Time Zone - EST +1/0; GMT -4/-5
» Country Phone Code - 246
» Currency - Barbadian Dollar (BDS$)
» Exchange Rate - Exchange rate to US$: US$1 = BDS$1.98
» Per Capita Income (2007) - US$19,700
» Unemployment (Nov. 2007) - 7.1
» Literacy (2007) - 97.6%
» Life Expectancy at birth (2007) - 76.4 years
» Infant Mortality Rate (2007) - 11 per 10,000
» Labour Force (skilled and unskilled) (Sept 2007) - 144,700
» Major Industries - Tourism, Financial Services, Agriculture, Light Manufacturing
» Principal Exports - Tourism, Financial Services, Sugar, Rum, Chemicals, Electrical Components
» Principal Imports - Machinery, Food and Beverages, Construction Materials
» Major Trading Partners - USA, Canada, Caricom*, Japan, UK
*Barbados is a founding member of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM). Other member States are Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and, most recently, Haiti (July 2002).
Barbados is in the same time zone as East Coast North America and four hours behind the U.K. when there is no observance of Daylight Savings Time.
Sources: Barbados Statistical Service; CIA World Factbook, Barbados Central Bank.
History of Barbados Population & Demographics
During the sixteen hundreds Barbados was predominately populated by white people and held a ratio of approximately 97% white and 3% black (1800 white and 50 black).
By 1643 the population had grown and there were approximately 37,200 whites (86%) and 6,000 blacks (14%). However the shift of black people dominating the population is most noted during the period 1684 to 1786 - a period in which the white population dwindled initially to 34% and then 21% respectively, while the black population increased from 66% in 1684 to 79% by 1786.
This change produced significant social and cultural adjustments. It became necessary for a greater emphasis to be placed on a legal policing system to control the majority of the population who, at the time, held the status of slaves seeking ways to break away from white oppression and live lives of equality and freedom.
Each of these racial groups comprised of more women than men and made the island quite unique in this regard. With the birth rate exceeding that of the mortality rate, the black population was easily maintained without the introduction of new slaves from Africa.
Once again, Barbados was considered different, as other English speaking islands in the Caribbean were unable to sustain this sector of the population and thus their economy would have been negatively affected unless they continued to import new slaves i.e. the slave population would simply have died out.
The last two decades of the seventeenth century provide figures demonstrating that the black population superseded that of the white by a margin of two to one. In the eighteenth century this grew to reflect a margin of three to one. While lower than that of neighbouring Caribbean islands, the whites continued to dominate the island both socially and politically.
Emancipation came in 1834 and some historians state that the abolitionist movement was largely motivated by economics. As stated above, neighbouring islands were forced to constantly import new slaves as the mortality exceeded that of the birth rate.
Abolitionism would have severely impacted on their industry and was abhorred. This was not the case in Barbados as the island had a growing population amongst the slave community, providing more than enough blacks to sustain the continued development of the sugarcane industry.
The return generated by the sugar industry made the island wealthy and it quickly became known as a key link in the English Atlantic world. By the mid eighteenth century, Jamaica and other islands had surpassed Barbados economically. The island however was still considered one of England's leading colonies in the Caribbean.
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