Barbados13.16° N, 59.57° W
No land border at all — every neighbor is across water, along 97 km of coast, the 159th longest on Earth.
land borders 0 km · 164th/230 · coastline 97 km · 159th/229
CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · ranks computed across the countries in this atlas that carry the value
geometry: Natural Earth 1:50m · EPSG:6933 equal-area
Each line is every country in this atlas that carries the value, ordered smallest to largest. The line down the middle is the world median; the mark on each line is this country.
The name comes from the plural Spanish word "barbado," meaning "the bearded ones," which could refer either to fig-tree leaves or Carib inhabitants' beards.
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person
When the British first settled the island in 1627, Barbados was uninhabited. Enslaved Africans worked the sugar plantations established there, which initially dominated the Caribbean sugar industry. By 1720, the Leeward Islands and Jamaica had surpassed Barbados, which was no longer dominant within the sugar industry. Slavery was abolished in 1834.
Through most of the 20th century, the Barbadian economy remained heavily dependent on sugar, rum, and molasses production. Social and political reforms introduced gradually in the 1940s and 1950s led to independence from the UK in 1966. In the 1990s, tourism and manufacturing surpassed the sugar industry in economic importance. In 2021, Barbados became a republic, and former Governor-General Sandra Mason was elected its first president.
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person
The easternmost Caribbean island is Barbados. It lies in the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela. Its terrain is relatively flat and rises gently to a central highland region.
Barbados's natural resources include petroleum, fish, and natural gas. Mount Hillaby is the highest point. The Atlantic Ocean is the lowest point.
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person
Three equal vertical bands—ultramarine blue at left, gold at center, and ultramarine blue at right—carry a black trident head centered on the gold band. Blue stands for the sea and sky, gold for the beaches, and the trident head represents independence and a break with the past. National symbols include Neptune's trident, pelican, and the red bird of paradise flower, also known as 'Pride of Barbados'.
Source: CIA World Factbook · 2026-02-01 · text generated from this source, approved by a person
CIA World Factbook
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