Barbados Population
"Demographics, Statistics, Density and Growth!"

As of 2008, the Barbados population is around 282,000 with 52% of the island's people living in urban areas. 

With this population size and a total area of just 14 x 21 miles (431 km²), this island has a high population density of approximately 654 persons per square kilometre or 1663 per square mile. This gives my island one of the highest population densities in the world.

However the Barbados population growth rate has remained extremely low (0.36%), lower than 1% since the 1960s, with the 2008 birth rate and death rate at 12.48 per 1000 and 8.58 per 1000 respectively. The life expectancy in Barbados is also currently around 73 years of age. 

Bridgetown is the capital of Barbados and is situated on the south-western coast of the island. The population of Bridgetown Barbados is approximately 140,000. This means that almost half of the population lives in and around the capital. 

How about the other cities in Barbados?

Well, the next largest is the city of Speightstown with a population of approximately 3600. Other Barbados cities of note include Oistins with a population of 2300, Bathsheba with a population of 1800 and Holetown which has 1400 residents.

The Barbados population demographics based on age structure is 20% of residents between the ages of  0 - 14 years of age, 71% of residents between 15 and 64 years of age and 9% being 65 years or older.

The overall median age of people in Barbados is 35 years of age and the sex ratio is 0.94 males for every female on the island.

The ethnic break down of the population of Barbados is heavily one sided with approximately 80% of African descent.  The remaining 20% of the population is broken down in to 4% of European descent and 16% of mixed descent. This mixed group of Bajans includes ethnic groups such as Chinese, Indians and people of Syrian or Lebanese descent. 

There is a sizeable immigrant population in Barbados, with a large proportion coming from Guyana and have introduced a number of Indian influences to the culture of Barbados. 

The main language spoken is English, however a large proportion of the population prefer to speak Barbadian Creole English or Bajan Dialect.

We are very proud of our high level of literacy throughout the island. The last assessment as of 2008 showed that the literarcy rate was 99.7% and has remained this high since its increase from 96.8% in 2004. This is most likely due to the fact that Barbadians are subject to 11 years of compulsory education, starting at the age of 4. Around 38% of students go on to tertiary education, with a university campus situated at Cave Hill. Other educational institutions include the Barbados Community College, the Samuel Jackson Prescod Polytechnic and Erdiston College, which offers teacher training.