The 2001 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency
76,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .bb
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 19 (2000)
Internet users: 6,000 (2000)
Barbados Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 1,600 km
paved: 1,578 km
unpaved: 22 km (1998)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: Bridgetown, Speightstown (Port Charles Marina)
Merchant marine: total: 47 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 671,545 GRT/1,125,635 DWT
ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 28, combination bulk 1, container 2, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Canada 2, Hong Kong 1 (2000 est.)
Airports: 1 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.)
Barbados Military
Military branches: Royal Barbados Defense Force (includes Ground
Forces and Coast Guard), Royal Barbados Police Force
Military manpower - availability: males age 15–49: 78,069 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15–49: 53,576 (2001 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Barbados Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US
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@Bassas da India
Bassas da India Introduction
Background: This atoll is a volcanic rock surrounded by reefs and is awash at high tide. A French possession since 1897, it was placed under the administration of a commissioner residing in Reunion in 1968.
Bassas da India Geography
Location: Southern Africa, islands in the southern Mozambique
Channel, about one-half of the way from Madagascar to Mozambique
Geographic coordinates: 21 30 S, 39 50 E
Map references: Africa
Area: total: 0.2 sq km
land: 0.2 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: about one-third the size of The Mall in
Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 35.2 km
Maritime claims: exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: tropical
Terrain: volcanic rock
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 2.4 m
Natural resources: none
Land use: arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 100% (all rock)
Irrigated land: 0 sq km (1993)
Natural hazards: maritime hazard since it is usually under water during high tide and surrounded by reefs; subject to periodic cyclones
Environment - current issues: NA
Bassas da India People
Population: uninhabited (July 2001 est.)
Bassas da India Government
Country name: conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Bassas da India
Dependency status: possession of France; administered by a high commissioner of the Republic, resident in Reunion
Legal system: the laws of France, where applicable, apply
Flag description: the flag of France is used
Bassas da India Economy
Economy - overview: no economic activity
Bassas da India Transportation
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: none; offshore anchorage only
Bassas da India Military
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of France
Bassas da India Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: claimed by Madagascar
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@Belarus
Belarus Introduction
Background: After seven decades as a constituent republic of the USSR, Belarus attained its independence in 1991. It has retained closer political and economic ties to Russia than any of the other former Soviet republics. Belarus and Russia signed a treaty on a two-state union on 8 December 1999 envisioning greater political and economic integration but, to date, neither side has actively sought to implement the accord.
Belarus Geography
Location: Eastern Europe, east of Poland
Geographic coordinates: 53 00 N, 28 00 E
Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States
Area: total: 207,600 sq km
land: 207,600 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Kansas
Land boundaries: total: 3,098 km
border countries: Latvia 141 km, Lithuania 502 km, Poland 605 km, Russia 959 km, Ukraine 891 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: cold winters, cool and moist summers; transitional between continental and maritime
Terrain: generally flat and contains much marshland
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Nyoman River 90 m
highest point: Dzyarzhynskaya Hara 346 m
Natural resources: forests, peat deposits, small quantities of oil and natural gas
Land use: arable land: 29%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 15%
forests and woodland: 34%
other: 21% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environment - current issues: soil pollution from pesticide use; southern part of the country contaminated with fallout from 1986 nuclear reactor accident at Chornobyl' in northern Ukraine
Environment