Barbados Economy - 2004

Economy - overview:
Historically, the Barbadian economy had been dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but production in recent years has diversified into light industry and tourism. Offshore finance and information services are important foreign exchange earners. The government continues its efforts to reduce unemployment, to encourage direct foreign investment, and to privatize remaining state-owned enterprises. The economy contracted in 2002-03 mainly due to a decline in tourism. Growth should be positive in 2004, the precise level largely dependent on economic conditions in the US and Europe.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $4.496 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
-0.6% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $16,200 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 6%
industry: 16%
services: 78% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
-0.5% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
128,500 (2001 est.)

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

Unemployment rate:
10.7% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $847 million (including grants)
expenditures: $886 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate:
-3.2% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:
780 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:
725.4 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
1,271 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
10,900 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Oil - proved reserves:
1.254 million bbl (1 January 2002)

Natural gas - production:
29.17 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
29.17 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
70.79 million cu m (1 January 2002)

Agriculture - products:
sugarcane, vegetables, cotton

Exports:
$206 million (2002)

Exports - commodities:
sugar and molasses, rum, other foods and beverages, chemicals, electrical components

Exports - partners:
US 14.9%, Trinidad and Tobago 12%, UK 10.8%, Jamaica 6.2%, Saint Lucia 4.6% (2002)

Imports:
$1.039 billion (2002)

Imports - commodities:
consumer goods, machinery, foodstuffs, construction materials, chemicals, fuel, electrical components

Imports - partners:
US 41.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 17%, UK 7.4%, Japan 4.2% (2002)

Debt - external:
$668 million (2003)

Economic aid - recipient:
$9.1 million (1995)

Currency:
Barbadian dollar (BBD)

Currency code:
BBD

Exchange rates:
Barbadian dollars per US dollar - 2 (2003), 2 (2002), 2 (2001), 2 (2000), 2 (1999)