quent hurricanes; periodic landslides

Environment - current issues:

pollution of coastal waters from waste disposal by ships; soil
erosion; illegal solid waste disposal threatens contamination of
aquifers

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law
of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:

easternmost Caribbean island

People
Barbados

Population:

281,968 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 19.3% (male 27,270/female 27,193)
15-64 years: 71.7% (male 99,357/female 102,683)
65 years and over: 9% (male 9,856/female 15,609) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 35.4 years
male: 34.2 years
female: 36.4 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

0.36% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

12.48 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

8.58 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

-0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 11.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.4 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 9.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 73.21 years
male: 71.2 years
female: 75.24 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.65 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

1.5% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

2,500 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

fewer than 200 (2003 est.)

Nationality:

noun: Barbadian(s) or Bajan (colloquial)
adjective: Barbadian or Bajan (colloquial)

Ethnic groups:

black 90%, white 4%, Asian and mixed 6%

Religions:

Protestant 63.4% (Anglican 28.3%, Pentecostal 18.7%, Methodist 5.1%,
other 11.3%), Roman Catholic 4.2%, other Christian 7%, other 4.8%,
none or unspecified 20.6% (2008 est.)

Languages:

English

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 99.7%
male: 99.7%
female: 99.7% (2002 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):

total: 13 ye