d by direct popular vote to
serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 20 January 1999 (next to be
held by January 2004)
election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - BLP 26, DLP 2

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Judicature (judges are appointed by
the Service Commissions for the Judicial and Legal Service)

Political parties and leaders: Barbados Labor Party or BLP [Owen
ARTHUR]; Democratic Labor Party or DLP ; National
Democratic Party or NDP

Political pressure groups and leaders: Barbados Workers Union [Leroy
TROTMAN]; Clement Payne Labor Union ; People's
Progressive Movement ; Worker's Party of Barbados [Dr.
George BELLE]

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC,
FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, NAM,
OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Courtney N. BLACKMAN
chancery: 2144 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: (202) 939-9200
consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
consulate(s): Los Angeles

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d' Affairs Roland BULLEN
embassy: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street,
Bridgetown
mailing address: P. O. Box 302, Bridgetown; FPO AA 34055
telephone: (246) 436-4950
FAX: (246) 429-5246

Flag description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side),
gold, and blue with the head of 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

Economy - overview: Historically, the Barbadian economy had been
dependent on sugarcane cultivation and related activities, but
production in recent years has diversified into manufacturing and
tourism. The start of the Port Charles Marina project in Speightstown
helped the tourism industry continue to expand in 1996-99. Offshore
finance and informatics are important foreign exchange earners, and
there is also a light manufacturing sector. The government continues
its efforts to reduce the unacceptably high unemployment rate,
encourage direct foreign investment, and privatize remaining
state-owned enterprises.

GDP: purchasing power pa