Country Facts

Barbados measures 21 miles long by 14 miles wide, 166 square miles and is divided into 11 parishes. The geographic coordinates are: 13º 10 N, 59º 32 W. It is the most easterly of the Caribbean islands, standing in splendid isolation as a proud sentinel at the gateway to the West Indies. By air it is approximately 4.5 hours from New York, 3.5 hours from Miami, 5 hours from Toronto and 8 hours from London. The closest sister islands, St. Vincent and The Grenadines and St. Lucia, are only a half hour plane ride away.

The weather is generally consistently sunny and warm, over 3000 hours of sunshine, and constantly cooled by the north-east Atlantic trade winds.

This wonderful tropical combination of sun and sea breezes is probably the secret to Barbados' popularity with its 500,000+ international long stay visitors annually! Average daytime temperatures range between 24 - 29 °C (80 - 85 °F) with summer temperatures, from June - October, rarely exceeding 32 °C (90 °F). September and October tend to be the rainiest period in the year with the warmest temperatures. Comfortably cooler temperatures, especially in the evenings, are experienced from December - March.

For detailed weather information, see our weather page.

English is the official language, although you will often hear the Bajan dialect spoken island wide.

The population is approximately 286,705 (2011 est.). People of every hue and shade fill the streets. A short but open-eyed stroll through the streets of Bridgetown will readily reveal the wide variety of people who all co-exist peacefully and share a mutual desire for harmony in this "melting pot" known as Barbados. The ethnic mix consists of: 93% African descent, 3% European, 1% Indian and Asian and 3% mixed race.

Average life expectancy is 77 years for both males and females, however, a significant and interesting fact is that Barbados has the second highest number of centenarians in the world (per capita). This comes as no surprise as the locals living on an island where healthy existence is readily available to all- body warming sunshine, sufficient rainfall to supply pure drinking water and enrich the soil, a year round supply of local fresh fruits and vegetables, poultry, meats and fish; an outdoors, exercise-oriented lifestyle and a positive attitude towards leisure and play.

The Barbados dollar is tied to the US dollar at a fixed rate of US$1.00 = BB$1.98 include both buying and selling $2.02 and US currency is readily accepted everywhere on the island. The rate of exchange for all other currencies varies with the rates against the US dollar and is listed in the daily press and at BusinessBarbados.com. Or try our online currency converter.

Barbados' coins come in 1, 5, 10 and 25-cent pieces as well as silver dollars. All denominations of Barbados banknotes are the same size and each has its own colour: $2 (blue), $5 (green), $10 (brown), $20 (mauve), $50 (orange) and $100 (grey, red and blue). Each denomination also features a different outstanding Barbadian on the upper face of the bank note: $2 (John Redman Bovell), $5 (Sir Frank Worrell), $10 (Charles Duncan O'Neal), $20 (Samual Jackman Prescod), $50 (Errol Barrow) and $100 (Sir Grantley Adams).

Most hotels, restaurants and large stores accept major credit cards and travellers' cheques (some may require your passport as ID). Smaller businesses may not have credit card facilities so do have cash on hand either local, US dollars or pound sterling. Buses and taxis do not accept credit cards, and if using these transport methods you may wish to read more about fares here.

Barbados is four hours behind GMT. When the UK and Europe have Summer time, Barbados is five hours behind.

The International direct distance dialing code for Barbados is the same as North America, i.e. +1. The area code is (246) which is followed by a seven digit local number.

The World Economic Forum's 2009-10 Global Information Technology Report ranked Barbados 1st in the Latin America and the Caribbean for its network readiness. The telecommunications infrastructure is robust enough to ensure uninterrupted connection between parties across the globe. Barbados also ranked 2^nd in the hemisphere for availability of latest technologies in the 2009-10 Global Competitiveness Report. Thus the latest in fibre optic systems, digital technologies, international direct dialing, facsimile transfer, satellite telecommunications, internet and e-mail services, as well as express mail and courier delivery are all available.

Visitors who bring their cell phones with them on holiday must remember to ensure the roaming feature is activated prior to arriving in the island. Please note that receiving and making international calls on your mobile phone can be quite costly and you may wish to explore the alternative of renting a cell phone locally - contact either Digicel www.digicelbarbados.com or LIME www.time4lime.com

Directory assistance can be reached by dialling 411.

In1627, Barbados was settled by the British who created a House of Assembly in 1639, thus establishing the 3rd oldest parliament in the world and building a strong foundation for a long future of political stability. Barbados has remained a British colony until its independence on November 30th, 1966. A new Barbados constitution was drawn up in agreement with the British Crown and this was approved and accepted by the Parliament of Barbados. Part of that constitution decrees that Her Majesty, the Queen of England, shall be deemed the titular Head of State of Barbados and be represented here by a Governor General. As such the island remains a member of the British Commonwealth.
Barbados retains the Westminster-style parliament, with executive authority being vested in the Prime Minister and Cabinet, who are collectively responsible to Parliament. The Parliament consists of a Senate, House of Assembly, with the members of the latter being elected by the people on the basis of universal adult suffrage.

On October 23, 2010, Freundel Stuart was sworn in as the current and 7th Prime Minister of Barbados.  

Click here to download the complete Barbados country factsheet.