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 1996-97. 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 - $2.8 billion (1997 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 3% (1997 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $10,900 (1997 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 7%
industry: 17%
services: 76% (1996 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 2.4% (1996)

Labor force
total: 68,900 (1996)
by occupation: services 75%, industry 15%, agriculture 10% (1996 est.)

Unemployment rate 16.2% (1996)

Budget
revenues: $600 million
expenditures: $645 million, including capital expenditures of $80 million (FY96/97 est.)

Industries tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export

Industrial production growth rate 0.8% (1996)

Electricity - capacity 140,000 kW (1995)

Electricity - production 591.5 million kWh (1996)

Electricity - consumption per capita 2,145 kWh (1995)

Agriculture - products sugarcane, vegetables, cotton

Exports
total value: $235 million (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components, clothing
partners: US 15%, UK 15%, Trinidad and Tobago 9%, Windward Islands 8%

Imports
total value: $763 million (c.i.f., 1995)
commodities: consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components
partners: US 37%, Trinidad and Tobago 11%, UK 10%, Japan 7%

Debt - external $359 million (December 1996)

Economic aid $NA

Currency 1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents

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

Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March

NOTE: The information regarding Barbados on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Barbados Economy 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Barbados Economy 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.