Tartu Secondary School of Business

 Barbados

 

Report

Timo Uustal
Form 10B

Tartu 2000

 Why did I choose Barbados?

I chose Barbados because once, when I was surfing on Internet, I found one very interesting site (for me). The site was about Barbados. And when I got a task to write about one English-speaking country, then I realized that Barbados is ideal for it.

 

Introduction

The island was uninhabited when first settled by the British in 1627. Its economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production through most of the 20th century. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance.

 

Geography

Barbados is an island located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, it is in northeast of Venezuela. Barbados's geographic coordinates are 13° 10' N, 59° 32' W. Barbados's area is 430 sq. km. Barbados has got 97 km sandy coastline. Barbados is in tropical climate zone, rainy season is from June to October. Terrain is relatively flat , rises gently to central highland region. The lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean (0m above sea level), the highest is Mount Hillaby ( 336m above sea level). Barbados's natural resources are petroleum, fish, natural gas. Natural hazards are infrequent hurricanes and periodic landslides. Current environment issues are pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships, soil erosion, illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of aquifers.

 

 

People

The population of Barbados is 274,540 (July 2000 est.). Children conceive 22%, workforce 69% and elder people 9 % of population. Population growth rate is 0,55%. Infant mortality rate is 12.37 deaths/1,000 live births. Ethnic groups are black 80%, white 4% and other 16%. Most people are Protestant 67% (Anglican 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodist 7%, other 12%), 4% are Roman Catholic. The official language is English. The literacy of total population is 97.4% (definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school)

 

 

The Economy of Barbados

In recent years the economic base has shifted from producing and exporting sugar to a more service-orientated economy, focusing on tourism, financial services and data processing. After three years of economic decline , the Barbadian economy expanded by an estimated 1% in 1993. Output rose in the tourism, distribution and construction sectors. The decline in manufacturing output continued, but at a slower rate in 1992. Real output in the agriculture sector declined by 5%. Nominal *GDP at factor cost, which was estimated at BD$2,770.6 in 1993, was 2.7% higher than in 1992. Per capita income increased by 1.9% to BD$10,500 from BD$10,300 in 1992. The unemployment rate for 1993 remained high, at an annual average of 24.5%.
Barbados is predominantly an agricultural country. Sugar has traditionally been the main crop. However, in recent years, problems experienced with sugar on the World Market, coupled with the need to reduce the island's high import bill, have led to large-scale efforts at crop diversification. Over the last decade, tourism has taken over from sugar as the main contributor to the Gross Domestic Product.

    1. Agriculture

      2. Sugar cane
      This remains the main crop, although sugar is no longer the chief foreign exchange earner. In 1992, 9,200 hectares of land under sugar cane cultivation yielded 54,000 tonnes of sugar. Of this, just over 52,000 tonnes were exported at a value of some $66.7 million.

      Vegetables and fruits
      In 1992 almost 700 hectares of land was under vegetable cultivation. Main crops included cabbage, beets, beans, carrots. cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and hot peppers. Barbados currently produces over 60% of local fruit requirements. The focus is on limes, guavas, cherries, grapefruit, mangoes and avocados. The Scotlancl District has been declared as "Fruit Tree Zone" and the export drive is in the hands of the Barbados Agricultural Development Marketing Corporation (BADMC). Over 213 hectares of land was devoted to fruit production.

      Cotton
      Cotton is still considered one of the major crops of the diversification thrust. Some 496 hectares of land was devoted to the production of cotton in 1992 yielding 101,206 kgs of processed lint.

      Cut Flowers
      In recent years, cut flowers and foliage targeted at the export market , have taken their place in the diversification thrust. Barbados exported approximately 242,985 blooms of cut flowers in 1992.

      Livestock and Dairy Industry
      Barbados produces enough whole chicken to meet local demand and is also virtually self-sufficient in the production of table eggs. The Pine Hill Dairy is responsible for local milk production. Close to 60% of the raw milk used by the Dairy is produced by local farmers. The importation of milk for commercial use is restricted to powdered milk.

    2. Tourism

      3. This vital sector continues to be the linch pin of the economy, being its main foreign exchange earner for a number of years. Close to 400,000 visitors came here In 1992 bringing just over $925M.

    3. Fisheries

      4. A great deal of attention is being paid to fishing and fisheries development. In recent years, significant improvements have been made in the areas of marketing and distribution of fish, upgrading of the fishing fleet, improving the facilities for servicing and shelter and enhancing the efficiency of the fishermen through the use of modern gear and new technology. The facilities Include a number of landing sites and fish markets.
      By 1992, there were three primary fish landing sites. The main ones are Spelghtstown, Oistins and Bridgetown. The Complex at Bridgetown is the largest, with Speightstown being the smallest.
      In addition, there are nine secondary landing sites equipped with sheds. Information shows that there are approximately 20 tertiary sites which are open beaches with no sheds or vendor stalls.
      Fish sheds are located at: Half Moon Fort, Read's Bay, Paynes Bay, Pile Bay, Tent Bay. Conset Bay, Skeete's Bay, Fergusson Yard and Martins Bay. Other landing sites can be found at: Strouds Boy, Shermans, Slx Men's, Burke's Beach, Worthings, St. Lawrence, Dover. Silver Sands, Foul Bay and Crane.
      A gradual increase in the tonnage of fish landed over the past five years has resulted in an increase In the number of ice boats and improved fishing techniques.
      The implementation of the Government's agricultural development strategy is in the hands of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries and the Barbados Agricultural Development Marketing Corporation (BADMC). The work of these organisations is supported by private sector groups, spearheaded by the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS).

    4. Mining and Quarrying

      5. Traditionally, mining and quarrying have been of limited economic importance, contributing less than one percent of the Gross Domestic Product. The main inputs have been sand and aggregates for the road and building construction industry, and raw material for small scale brick manufacturing and cottage-type pottery industries.
      In the early l980's the Government had investigations carried out to determine the island's mineral resource potential. The results indicated the presence of energy minerals - petroleum and natural gas; and industrial minerals, limestone. sand, sandstone, clay and oceanic clays.
      Limestone covers 370 km squared of the island and the total reserves were estimated to be 30.0109 metric tonnes, although not all is available for mining. Average thickness of the deposit is 65m, while the thickest deposits, located in St. George and St. Philip valley are up to 130m. The limestone shows few impurities and is suitable for cement manufacturing, production of slaked lime, or use in the iron and steel industry and chemical industry.
      Limestone has in some locations caused the formation, locally known as 'soft stone' which was traditionally used in the building industry to make blocks. Estimates indicate that there are 132.5 million tonnes of this soft stone in the Scotland District.
      These reserves included good quality silica sands and poorer quality building sands. The main deposits are in the Chalky Mount area, the Springfield-Cattlewash area, Sand Hill at Walker's and the Greenland sand quarry area. The sand is considered to be only marginally suitable for the production of high quality glass, but is suitable for the production of green and amber glass.
      Sand for the building industry is mined mainly at Walker's Sand Dune and to a lesser extent from Greenland sand quarry, both in St. Andrew. There is an estimated 16 million cubic meters in Walker's Quarry but it is recommended that to prevent serious ecological damage only 10 million cubic meters should be mined.
      The clay deposits are estimated at 111 million metric tonnes. All of this is located in the Scotland District with concentration at Morgan Lewis, Chalky Mount. Mount Hall, Turner's Hall and Foster Hall. The main deposit of 77.8 million tonnes is at Morgan Lewis.

      Government

      Country name is Barbados, its data code is BB. Government type is parliamentary democracy. Barbados is independent sovereign state within the Commonwealth. Barbados’s capital is Bridgetown. Barbados is administratively divided into 11 parishes, they are: Christ Church, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint James, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Lucy, Saint Michael, Saint Peter, Saint Philip, Saint Thomas (Note: the city of Bridgetown may be given parish status). Barbados’s national holiday is Independence Day, the 30th of November. Barbados’s legal system consist of English common law. Suffrage begins at 18 years of age. Flag description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band. The trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)

      Executive branch consists of chief of state (Queen Elizabeth II , represented by Governor General Sir Clifford Straughn Husbands) and ministers cabinet. The head of government is Prime Minister (Owen Seymour Arthur, since 6 September 1994). There are no elections. The monarch is hereditary, governor general is appointed by the monarch, prime minister is appointed by the governor general. Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21-member body appointed by the governor general) and the House of Assembly (28 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms). Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Service)

    5. Military

Military branches are Royal Barbados Defense Force (includes Ground Forces and Coast Guard) and Royal Barbados Police Force. Military manpower availability is 77,789 (males age 15-49; 2000 est.)

 

Communications

In 1995 there were 90,000 main telephone lines in use and also 4,614 mobile cellular lines in use in Barbados. Their domestic telephone system is island-wide automatic telephone system. Their international telephone system consist of satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia. There are two AM and three FM radio broadcast stations, one television broadcast station (plus two cable channels) in Barbados. In 1999 there were three ISPs* in Barbados.

 

Transportation

Barbados has got 1600km highways (1578km paved, 22km unpaved; 1998 est.). Ports and harbous are in Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina). Merchant marine: total 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over); totaling 654,580 GRT/1,103,780 DWT. Ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 29, combination bulk 1, container 1, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 2 (1999 est.; N ote: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships of 2 countries: Canada owns 2 ships, Hong Kong 1). Barbados has got only one airport with paved runways (over 3047 metres).

 

 

Conclusion

Barbados is an island located between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, it is in northeast of Venezuela. The population of Barbados is 274’540. In recent years the economic base has shifted from producing and exporting sugar to a more service-orientated economy, focusing on tourism, financial services and data processing. Government type is parliamentary democracy. Barbados is independent sovereign state within the Commonwealth. I think that Barbados is a little pleasant country and when I got richer and have spare time I will go there.

  

 Explanations

  • GDP - Gross Domestic Product - This is the total value of all goods & services produced in a country during a particular year.
  • Est. – estimated
  • ISP – Internet Service Provider

 

References:

    • Microsoft World Atlas 99
    • Estonian Soviet Encyclopedia No1
    • Internet links:

http://www.emulateme.com/content/barbados.htm
http://7metasearch.com/
http://www.axionspatial.com/~atlas/countries
http://www.prideofbarbados.com/info/economy.htm