Barbados Fast Facts and Figures
CAPITAL: Bridgetown
POPULATION: Approximately 254,000
CLIMATE: Eight to nine hours of sunshine most days. Temperature between 75 degrees F and 90 degrees F all year round.
GEOGRAPHY: A 21 mile x 14 mile Caribbean island. West and South Coast have calm Caribbean Sea and endless beaches. Rugged cliffs and Atlantic Ocean on East Coast.
OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: English with a broad dialect.
CURRENCY: Barbados Dollar – US $1 = BDS $2 approx.
DRIVING: A temporary yearly Barbados license costs BDS$10 and is obtainable from car rental agencies and Police Stations. Full license must be shown. Drive on left.
TIME: GMT-4 hrs. There is no daylight saving time in Barbados
ACCOMMODATION: Caters for all tastes and budgets from luxury hotels and all-inclusive resorts to rooms in small hotels and self-catering apartments.
SPORTS: Snorkeling, diving, fishing, sailing, waterskiing, tennis, squash. Three 18-hole and three nine-hole golf courses are available.
ELECTRICITY: Electricity in Barbados is 110 volts/50 cycles
Did you know that Barbados…
- Is the only coral island in the region with all white sand beaches
- Has produced the world’s oldest rum under the Mount Gay label
- Is where singing sensation Rihanna was born and raised
- Is the island where golf great Tiger Woods got married
- Was the only vacation destination in this Hemisphere with a scheduled Concorde service… One of the retired British Airways Concords now resides at our international airport.
Has pure drinking water and was the first Caribbean island to have piped water. - Was ranked third by The United Nations Development Index (1996) in terms of quality of life among 160 developing countries worldwide (Hong Kong and Cyprus ranked first and second respectively). Barbados ranked ahead of countries such as Spain, Italy and Ireland.
- Has utilities available 100% island-wide.
- Has a history of long ingrained Christian principles, and a sound and free educational system
- Has a 98% literacy rate
- Has always flown only the British Flag, until achieving it’s independence in 1966.