"text":"The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. African slaves worked the sugar plantations established on the island, which initially dominated the Caribbean sugar industry. By 1720 Barbados was no longer a dominant force within the sugar industry, having been surpassed by the Leeward Islands and Jamaica. Slavery was abolished in 1834. The Barbadian 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. Barbados became a republic on 30 November 2021, with the former Governor-General Sandra MASON elected as the first president. Barbados plans to create a new constitution in 2022."
"text":"Protestant 66.4% (includes Anglican 23.9%, other Pentecostal 19.5%, Adventist 5.9%, Methodist 4.2%, Wesleyan 3.4%, Nazarene 3.2%, Church of God 2.4%, Baptist 1.8%, Moravian 1.2%, other Protestant 0.9%), Roman Catholic 3.8%, other Christian 5.4% (includes Jehovah's Witness 2.0%, other 3.4%), Rastafarian 1%, other 1.5%, none 20.6%, unspecified 1.2% (2010 est.)"
"text":"the name derives from the Portuguese \"as barbadas,\" which means \"the bearded ones\" and can refer either to the long, hanging roots of the island's bearded fig trees or to the alleged beards of the native Carib inhabitants"
"text":"named after a bridge constructed over the swampy area (known as the Careenage) around the Constitution River that flows through the center of Bridgetown"
"text":"11 parishes and 1 city*; Bridgetown*, Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas"
"text":"adopted 22 November 1966, effective 30 November 1966; Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2021 establishes Barbados as a republic and revokes the earlier Order in Council"
"text":"proposed by Parliament; passage of amendments to constitutional sections such as citizenship, fundamental rights and freedoms, and the organization and authorities of the branches of government requires two-thirds majority vote by the membership of both houses of Parliament; passage of other amendments only requires a majority vote of both houses; amended several times, last in 2021"
},
"note":"<strong>note </strong>- following the transition to a republic on 30 November 2021, the Government of Barbados plans a consultation on drafting a new constitution"
"text":"the president is elected by an electoral college of both Houses of Parliament for a four year renewable term; election last held 20 October 2021; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of the majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister"
},
"election results":{
"text":"Sandra MASON elected as first president on 20 October 2021 to take office on 30 November 2021"
"text":"bicameral Parliament consists of:<br>Senate (21 seats; members appointed by the president - 12 on the advice of the Prime Minister, 2 on the advice of the opposition leader, and 7 at the discretion of the president) <br>House of Assembly (30 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)"
"text":"<br>Senate - last appointments on 5 June 2018 (next appointments NA)<br>House of Assembly - last held on 19 January 2022 (next to be held in 2027)"
"text":"<br>Senate - appointed; composition - men 16, women 5, percent of women 23.8% <br>House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - BLP 69%, DLP 26.5%, other 4.5%; seats by party - BLP 30; composition - men 24, women 6, percent of women 20%; note - total Parliament percent of women 21.6%"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> tradition dictates that the election is held within 5 years of the last election, but constitutionally it is 5 years from the first seating of Parliament plus a 90-day grace period"
"text":"Supreme Court (consists of the High Court with 8 justices) and the Court of Appeal (consists of the High Court chief justice and president of the court and 4 justices; note - in 2005, Barbados acceded to the Caribbean Court of Justice as the final court of appeal, replacing that of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London)"
"text":"Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister and opposition leader of Parliament; other justices appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, a 5-member independent body consisting of the Supreme Court chief justice, the commission head, and presidential appointees recommended by the prime minister; justices serve until mandatory retirement at age 65"
"text":"Alliance Party for Progress or APP [Joseph ATHERLEY]<br>Bajan Free Party [Alex MITCHELL]<br>Barbados Integrity Movement [Neil HOLDER]<br>Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Mia MOTTLEY]<br>Democratic Labor Party or DLP [Freundel STUART]<br>People’s Democratic Congress [Mark ADAMSON]<br>People's Empowerment Party or PEP [David COMISSIONG]<br>Solutions Barbados [Grenville PHILLIPS II]<br>United Progressive Party or UPP [Everton HOLLIGAN]"
"text":"Ambassador Linda S. TAGLIALATELA (since 1 February 2016) note - also accredited to Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines"
"text":"three equal vertical bands of ultramarine blue (hoist side), gold, and ultramarine blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the band colors represent the blue of the sea and sky and the gold of the beaches; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)"
},
"National symbol(s)":{
"text":"Neptune's trident, pelican, Red Bird of Paradise flower (also known as Pride of Barbados); national colors: blue, yellow, black"
"text":"Barbados is the wealthiest and one of the most developed countries in the Eastern Caribbean and enjoys one of the highest per capita incomes in the region. Historically, the Barbadian economy was dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities. However, in recent years the economy has diversified into light industry and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners, boosted by being in the same time zone as eastern US financial centers and by a relatively highly educated workforce. Following the 2008-09 recession, external vulnerabilities such as fluctuations in international oil prices have hurt economic growth, raised Barbados' already high public debt to GDP ratio - which stood at 105% of GDP in 2016 - and cut into its international reserves."
"text":"island-wide automatic telephone system; telecom sector across the Caribbean region remains one of the key growth areas and contributors to the overall GDP; numerous competitors licensed, but small and localized (2020)"
"text":"country code - 1-246; landing points for the ECFS and Southern Caribbean Fiber submarine cable with links to 15 other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad and Puerto Ricco; satellite earth stations - 1 (Intelsat - Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia (2019)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments"
"text":"government-owned Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) operates the lone terrestrial TV station; CBC also operates a multi-channel cable TV subscription service; roughly a dozen radio stations, consisting of a CBC-operated network operating alongside privately owned radio stations"
"text":"voluntary service only (men and women); 17 years, 9 months to 17 years, 11 months with letter of consent from a parent or guardian, or be in the age range of 18-25 years at the start of recruit training; citizens of Barbados by descent or naturalization (2021)"
"text":"<p>Barbados has been a member of the Caribbean Regional Security System (RSS) since its creation in 1982; RSS signatories (Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) agreed to prepare contingency plans and assist one another, on request, in national emergencies, prevention of smuggling, search and rescue, immigration control, fishery protection, customs and excise control, maritime policing duties, protection of off-shore installations, pollution control, national and other disasters, and threats to national security; the RSS is headquartered in Barbados</p>"
"text":"<p>Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago abide by the April 2006 Permanent Court of Arbitration decision delimiting a maritime boundary and limiting catches of flying fish in Trinidad and Tobago's exclusive economic zone; joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which permits Venezuela to extend its Economic Exclusion Zone/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea</p>"
"text":"human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Barbados; foreign women are subject to sex trafficking; children are exploited in sex trafficking by parents and caregivers, according to anecdotal reports; documented and undocumented migrants from Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, and Venezuela are at high risk for trafficking, while migrants from other nearby countries are increasingly vulnerable"
},
"tier rating":{
"text":"Tier 2 Watch List — Barbados does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; the government completed an anti-trafficking manual on assisting and interviewing victims, reinstated the anti-trafficking task force, and increased training for law enforcement and child care officials; however, authorities again did not identify any trafficking victims, reported no new prosecutions, and have never convicted anyone of trafficking; the national action plan has yet to be completed (2020)"
