| Economy - overview: Historically, the Barbadian economy had been
dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production
in recent years has diversified into manufacturing and tourism. The start
of the Port Charles Marina project in Speightstown helped the tourism
industry continue to expand in 1996-2000. Offshore finance and information
services are important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a light
manufacturing sector. The government continues its efforts to reduce
unemployment, encourage direct foreign investment, and privatize remaining
state-owned enterprises. Growth should remain steady in 2001, with new
tourist facilities a plus factor.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $4 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.8% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $14,500 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4%
industry: 16%
services: 80% (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 136,000 (1998 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996
est.)
Unemployment rate: 12% (1998 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $725.5 million
expenditures: $750.6 million, including capital expenditures of $126.3 million
(FY97/98 est.)
Industries: tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export
Industrial production growth rate: 0.8% (1996)
Electricity - production: 718 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999)
Electricity - consumption: 667.7 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products: sugarcane, vegetables, cotton
Exports: $260 million (2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages,
chemicals, electrical components, clothing
Exports - partners: UK 14.8%, US 11.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 7.6%, Venezuela
6.1%, Jamaica 5.8% (1998)
Imports: $800.3 million (2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction
materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components
Imports - partners: United
States 30.7%, Trinidad 10.2%,
Japan 8.3%, United
Kingdom 7.7%,
Canada 2.2% (1998)
Debt - external: $425 million (2000 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $9.1 million (1995)
Currency: 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents
SOURCE: The World Factbook |