Barbados Country Overview
Where is Barbados located? The State of Barbados is an island that is part of the Commonwealth of Nations. Barbados is located in the far east of the Lesser Antilles chain of islands found in the Atlantic Ocean. On the time zone map, the countries along the degrees of longitude are assigned to different world time zones. The classification provides information about how big the time difference between the respective country and the world time (also called UTC) is. Barbados is on Atlantic Standard Time (AST). The time difference is 4 hours, which puts Barbados behind the world clock (UTC – 4). There is no changeover to daylight saving time.
Bordering Countries of Barbados
According to abbreviationfinder, Barbados is an island nation located in the Caribbean Sea, just east of the countries of Venezuela and Guyana. The country has a total area of 430 square kilometers (166 square miles) and is the most easterly island in the West Indies region. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and east, as well as by a number of other Caribbean islands, such as Saint Lucia to the southwest, Grenada to the west, and Trinidad and Tobago to the south.
Barbados shares maritime borders with several other Caribbean nations, including Saint Vincent and The Grenadines to its northwest; Dominica to its southwest; Martinique to its southeast; and Saint Kitts & Nevis to its east. This small island nation is also located close to two major international shipping lanes – one running from Europe towards South America (the so-called “NAFTA lane”) and another running from Europe towards North America (the so-called “Panama Canal lane”).
The closest mainland countries to Barbados are Venezuela in South America (just over 400 kilometers away) and Guyana (just over 200 kilometers away). Barbados also lies close to two other major island nations – Haiti (around 500 kilometers away) and Jamaica (around 600 kilometers away). These two countries have had strong cultural influences on Barbados throughout its history due mainly to their shared colonial past under British rule.
Barbados has strong historical ties with Britain; it was first settled by English colonists in 1627 who went on to establish a British colony on this small Caribbean island which lasted until 1966 when Barbados gained independence. Since then, Barbados has maintained strong diplomatic relations with Britain while also developing closer ties with other Caribbean nations through organizations such as CARICOM.
In conclusion, Barbados is located in a strategic position within the Caribbean region, being surrounded by both mainland countries such as Venezuela and Guyana as well as numerous nearby islands which have had strong influences on its culture over time. Furthermore, this small island nation has maintained strong diplomatic relations with Britain since gaining independence in 1966 while also developing closer ties with other regional countries through CARICOM.
Population Distribution
As of 2023, the latest population of Barbados is 294,560, based on our calculation of the current data from UN (United Nations).
| Total population | 294,560 |
| Population growth rate | 0.23% |
| Birth rate | 11.70 births per 1,000 people |
| Life expectancy | |
| Overall life expectancy | 74.75 years |
| Men life expectancy | 72.47 years |
| Women life expectancy | 77.05 years |
| Age structure | |
| 0-14 years | 17.80% |
| 15-64 years | 69.84% |
| 65 years and above | 12.36% |
| Median age | 38.00 years |
| Gender ratio (Male to Female) | 0.94 |
| Population density | 685.02 residents per km² |
| Urbanization | 51.70% |
| Ethnicities | |
| over 90% of African descent | |
| Religions | |
| Protestants 67% (Anglicans 40%, Pentecostal 8%, Methodists 7%, Others 12%), Catholics (Roman Catholic) 4%, no religion 17%, others 12% | |
| Human Development Index (HDI) | 0.813 |
| HDI ranking | 56th out of 194 |
People in Barbados
The people of Barbados are called Barbadians in German. They call themselves Bajans. Most of the population, namely 92 percent, are descendants of African slaves. Just under 3 percent are whites, mostly of British or Irish descent. Another minority are Asians, especially from India and China.
Languages in Barbados
English is spoken in Barbados. English is the official language and is spoken on television and radio, in government offices and in commerce. But many Barbadians also speak a Creole language that has developed from English. It is called Bajan, like the residents themselves. It is used on all less formal occasions in everyday life.
Typical of Bajan, for example, is that the English th is not pronounced: The word this is pronounced dis. The English r is also omitted from the pronunciation. An example of a sentence is: “I go to church on Sundays” means in Bajan: I does guh church punna Sunduh.
Religions in Barbados
90 percent of the residents are of the Christian faith. Most of them are Protestants from different churches such as Anglicans or Methodists. Only 3 percent are Catholic.