Barbados is one of the world’s most densely populated countries. Nearly 300,000 people live on an area equivalent to just under a third of Ă–land. Most residents are wholly or partly of African origin.
The Africans were brought to Barbados as slaves to work on sugar plantations that European colonizers built in the 17th century. At the time of the British colonization, the island was uninhabited, but people had lived there before (see Older History).
- COUNTRYAAH.COM: Key populations estimated size and data of Barbados, including population density of how many people per square mile. Also included are facts for population and language.
A small number of today’s residents are descendants of Europeans or Asians. Many Americans have also settled in the country. Population growth is low, birth rates are lower than in the USA, for example, and there is some emigration to especially North America.
Unlike in many other islands in the Caribbean, only English is spoken in Barbados, since the English were the only colonizers. English is an official language, but in everyday life the local bajan is often used, a mixture of English and African languages. The word bajan is a simplified form of the English Barbadian and is used as both adjectives and nouns, even if the residents of the country.
FACTS – POPULATION AND LANGUAGE
Population
the majority of the residents are black, the others mainly of mixed origin
Number of residents
285 719 (2017)
Number of residents per square kilometer
664 (2017)
Percentage of residents in the cities
31.2 percent (2017)
Nativity / birth
11.9 per 1000 residents (2016)
Mortality / mortality
10.7 per 1000 residents (2016)
pOPULATION GROWTH
0.3 percent (2017)
fertility rate
1.8 number of births per woman (2016)
Percentage of women
52.1 percent (2017)
Life expectancy
76 years (2016)
Life expectancy for women
78 years (2016)
Life expectancy for men
73 years (2016)
Language
English is the official language, the Creole Bajan is also spoken