(2002)

Ports and harbors:
Bridgetown

Merchant marine:
total: 58 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 427,465 GRT/668,195 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 14, cargo 31, chemical tanker 6,
passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3, roll on/roll off 2,
specialized tanker 1
foreign-owned: 53 (Bahamas 1, Bangladesh 1, Canada 12, Greece 11,
Lebanon 2, Netherlands 1, Norway 17, UAE 1, United Kingdom 7)
registered in other countries: 1 (2005)

Airports:
1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Military Barbados

Military branches:
Royal Barbados Defense Force: Troops Command and Coast Guard (2005)

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service; volunteers at
earlier age with parental consent; no conscription (2001)

Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 71,330 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 51,298 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Military - note:
the Royal Barbados Defense Force includes a land-based Troop
Command and a small Coast Guard; the primary role of the land
element is to defend the island against external aggression; the
Command consists of a single, part-time battalion with a small
regular cadre that is deployed throughout the island; it
increasingly supports the police in patrolling the coastline to
prevent smuggling and other illicit activities (2005)

Transnational Issues Barbados

Disputes - international:
in 2005, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to compulsory
international arbitration that will result in a binding award
challenging whether the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's and
Venezuela's maritime boundary extends into Barbadian waters and the
southern limit of Barbadian traditional fishing; joins other
Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island
sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits
Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion
of the Caribbean Sea

Illicit drugs:
one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for
Europe and the US; offshore financial center

This page was last updated on 20 October, 2005

======================================================================

@Bassas da India

Introducti