Economy of Barbados

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Since achieving independence in 1966, the island nation of Barbados has transformed itself from a low-income economy dependent upon sugar production to a middle-income economy based on tourism. The economy went into a deep recession in 1990 after 3 years of steady decline brought on by fundamental macroeconomic imbalances. After a painful readjustment process, the economy began to grow again in 1993. Growth rates have averaged between 3%-5% since then.

The main factors responsible for the improvement in economic activity include an expansion in the number of tourist arrivals, an increase in manufacturing, and an increase in sugar production. Recently, offshore banking and financial services also have become an important source of foreign exchange and economic growth.

Economic growth has led to net increases in employment in the tourism sector, as well as in construction and other services sub-sectors of the economy. The public service remains Barbados' largest single employer. Total labor force has increased from 126,000 in 1993 to 140,0000 persons in 2000, and unemployment has dropped significantly from over 20% in the early 1990s to 9.3% at the end of 2000.

The start of the Port Charles Marina project in Speightstown helped the tourism industry continue to expand in 1996-99. Offshore finance and informatics are important foreign exchange earners, and there is also a light manufacturing sector. The government continues its efforts to reduce the unacceptably high unemployment rate, encourage direct foreign investment, and privatize remaining state-owned enterprises.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $2.9 billion (1998 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 4.4% (1998 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $11,200 (1998 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4.9%
industry: 15.6%
services: 79.5% (1997)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (1998)

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: 672 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 625 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products: sugarcane, vegetables, cotton

Exports: $211.2 million (1998)

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: $1.01 billion (1998)

Imports - commodities: consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components

Imports - partners: US 30.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 10.2%, Japan 8.3%, UK 7.7%, Canada 2.2% (1998)

Debt - external: $550 million (1998 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $9.1 million (1995)

Currency: 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1 - 2.0000 (fixed rate pegged to the US dollar)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Reference

Much of the material in this article is adapted from the CIA World Factbook 2000.

See also : Barbados