Independence Year : 1966
Population : 270000
Life Expectancy : 73.0
Capital : 174
GNP : 2223.00
GNP Old : 2186.00
Local Name : Barbados
Government Form : Constitutional Monarchy
Location : Caribbean, island in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Terrain : Generally flat, hilly in the interior
Climate : Tropical; rainy season (July to November).
Ethnic Group : Black 90%, White 4%, Asian or mixed 6%.
Religions : Protestant 67%, Roman Catholic 4%, none 17%, other 12%
Official Website :
www.barbados.gov.bb/
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General Information - Barbados
Background
The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. 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.
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