Yearbook 2005
Barbados. As part of its quest to make Barbados a republic, Prime Minister Owen Arthur announced in February that a referendum was planned on the issue before the end of the year. However, by the end of the year, no date for the referendum had been set. In the present proposal for a transition to a republic, a president is to assume the ceremonial duties of the current Governor-General while the government retains executive power. According to countryaah, Bridgetown is the capital and one of the major cities within the country of Barbados. Barbados became independent from the colonial power of Britain in 1966, but has retained the British monarch as head of state. This is represented on the island by a general governor.
Economy
| Inflation rate | 4.40% |
| Unemployment rate | 10.1% |
| Gross domestic product (GDP) | $ 5,218,000,000 |
| GDP growth rate | -0.20% |
| GDP per capita | $ 18,600 |
| GDP by sector | |
| Agriculture | 1.50% |
| Industry | 9.80% |
| Service | 88.70% |
| State budget | |
| Revenue | 847 million |
| Expenditure | 886 million |
| Proportion of the population below the national poverty line | – |
| Distribution of household income | |
| Top 10% | k. A. |
| Lower 10% | k. A. |
| Industrial production growth rate | -1.00% |
| Investment volume | |
| National debt | 157.30% of GDP |
| Foreign exchange reserves | $ 407,600,000 |
| Tourism | 2014 |
| Number of visitors | 521,000 |
| Revenue | $ 992,000,000 |
In March, the country’s only prison was burned and severely vandalized during a prison riot. The prison then had to be evacuated.