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Background

The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. African 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. BARBADOS SUMMARY: PDF

Location

Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela

Area Comparative

2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Maritime Claims

Territorial sea: 12 nm

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate

Tropical; rainy season (June to October)

Natural Hazards

Infrequent hurricanes; periodic landslides

Environment Current Issues

Pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers

Environment International Agreements

Party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

Signed, but not ratified: None of the selected agreements

Geography Note

Easternmost Caribbean island

Year	2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

Map Reference

Central America and the Caribbean

Irrigated Land

50 sq km

Area 2018

Total

430 sq km
Land

430 sq km
Water

0 sq km

Coastline

97 km;

Geographical Coordinates

13 10 N, 59 32 W

Land use 2018

Agricultural Land
32.6%
Arable Land
25.6%
Forest
19.4%
Other
48%

Terrain

Relatively flat; rises gently to central highland region

Land Boundaries

0 km;

Natural Resources

Petroleum
Fish

Natural gas

Barbados