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)

*Barbados, Economy

Overview:
A per capita income of $7,000 gives Barbados one of the highest standards of
living of all the small island states of the eastern Caribbean.
Historically, the economy was based on the cultivation of sugarcane and
related activities. In recent years, however, the economy has diversified
into manufacturing and tourism. The tourist industry is now a major employer
of the labor force and a primary source of foreign exchange. The economy
slowed in 1990-91, however, and Bridgetown's declining hard currency
reserves and inability to finance its deficits have caused it to adopt an
austere economic reform program.
National product:
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.8 billion ( 1991)
National product real growth rate:
-4% (1991)
National product per capita:
$7,000 (1991)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
8.1% (1991)
Unemployment rate:
23% (1992)
Budget:
revenues $547 million; expenditures $620 million (FY92-93), including
capital expenditures of $60 million
Exports:
$205.8 million (f.o.b., 1991)
commodities:
sugar and molasses, chemicals, electrical components, clothing, rum,
machinery and transport equipment
partners:
CARICOM 31%, US 16%, UK 13%
Imports:
$697 million (c.i.f., 1991)
commodities:
foodstuffs, consumer durables, raw materials, machinery, crude oil,
construction materials, chemicals
partners:
US 34%, CARICOM 16%, UK 11%, Canada 6%
External debt:
$750 million (1991 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate -1.3% (1991); accounts for 10% of GDP
Electricity:
152,100 kW capacity; 540 million kWh produced, 2,118 kWh per capita (1992)
Industries:
tourism, sugar, light manufacturing, component assembly for export,
petroleum
Agriculture:
accounts for 8% of GDP; major cash crop is sugarcane; other crops -
vegetables, cotton; not self-sufficient in food
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $15 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $171 million
Currency:
1 Barbadian dollar (Bds$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
Barbadian dollars (Bds$) per US$1 - 2.0113 (fixed rate)
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March

*Barbados, Communications

Highways:
1,570 km total; 1,475 km pav