BARBADOS
Capital: Bridgetown.
Official Language: English.
Area: 166 sq. mi. (430 sq. km). Greatest distances--north-south, 21
mi. (34 km); east-west, 14 mi. (23 km). Coastline--56 mi. (90 km).
Population: Estimated 1996 population--262,000; density, 1,578
persons per sq. mi. (609 per sq. km); distribution, 52 per cent
rural, 48 per cent urban. 1990 census--257,082. Estimated 2001
population--269,000.
Chief Products: Agriculture--carrots, corn, milk, pork, sugar cane,
sweet potatoes, yams. Fishing--flyingfish. Manufacturing and
processing--chemicals, clothing, electronic products, sugar.
Flag: The two outer stripes are blue (for the sea and sky) and the
center stripe is orange (for the sand of the beaches). A black
trident head with a broken shaft is in the center. It stands for
Neptune, the sea god, and for the change from dependence to
independence.
Money: Basic unit--Barbados dollar. See MONEY (Table).
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