Barbados Society
Demography
Barbados has a population of around 281,968 and a population growth rate of 0.33%
(mid-2005 estimates). About 90% of all Barbadians (also known colloquially as Bajan) are of African descent (“Afro-Bajans”). The rest of the population includes groups of Europeans (“Anglo-Bajans” / “Euro-Bajans”), mainly from the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, China, Bajan Muslims from India. Other groups include people in Barbados from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.. Barbadians who return after years of residence in the US and children born in the United States to Bajan parents are called “Bajan Yankees”, this term is considered derogatory by some. Barbados is a prime destination for emigrants from the South American nation of Guyana.
Transport
Transportation on the island is relatively convenient, with ‘route taxis’, called “ZRS” (pronounced “Zed-R”), which travel to most points on the island. These small buses can at times be crowded, as passengers are generally never turned away, regardless of number. However, the routes to the more picturesque destinations generally depart from the capital, Bridgetown, or from Speightstown in the northern part of the island.
Including the ZRS there are three bus systems that run seven days a week (although less frequently on Sundays). There are ZRS, yellow minibuses and blue transport buses. A ride in any of them costs $ 1.50 BBD. The smaller buses from the two privately owned systems (“ZRS” and “microbuses”) can give the change, the larger blue buses from the Barbados government-operated Transport Board system cannot. Children in school uniform ride for free on Government buses and for $ 1.00 on minibuses and ZRS. Some controllers of competitor systems within private property are reluctant to advise people to use the services of the competition, even if they are more suitable.
Some hotels also provide visitors with shuttles to the island’s points of interest from outside the hotel lobby. There are several locally owned and operated car rental agencies in Barbados, but there are no multi-national companies.
The only airport on the island of Barbados is Lord Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) (IATA identifier BGI). It receives daily flights from several major airlines from points around the world, as well as several small regional airlines and commercial letters.
The airport serves as the main air transportation hub for the eastern Caribbean. It is going through a US $ 100 million upgrade and expansion.
There is also a helicopter shuttle service, which offers air taxi services to a number of sites around the island, primarily in the West Coast tourism belt. Air and water traffic is regulated by the Barbados Port Authority.
Health
Like other nations within the Commonwealth of Nations all citizens of Barbados are covered by National Health. Barbados has more than twenty polyclinics across the country, in addition to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (General Hospital), located in Bridgetown.
Education
According to andyeducation, education in Barbados is fashionable after the British model. The Barbados government spends approximately 20% of its annual national budget on education. All young people in the country have to attend school until the age of sixteen. Barbados literacy rate stands near 100%, with the Minister of Education saying that Barbados was in the top 5 countries in the world for the literacy rate. which places the country alongside many of the world’s industrialized nations. Barbados has more than 70 primary schools, and more than 20 secondary schools across the island. There are also a number of private schools that cater to different teaching models such as Montessori and the International Baccalaureate.
Sports
As in other Caribbean countries of British colonial heritage, cricket is very popular on the island. In addition to several warm-up matches and six “Super Eight” matches, and the host country of the 2007 Cricket World Cup final. They have had many cricketers the likes of Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Frank Worrell, Garner Joel and Sir Clyde Walcott.
Obadele Thompson is a world-class sprinter from Barbados, she won a bronze medal at the Olympics over 100m in 2000 as Ryan Brathwaite, a hurdler, reached the 2008 Olympic semi-final in Beijing. Barbados also won its first medal at the world championships in Berlin, Germany on August 20, 2009, when it won the men’s 110-meter hurdles. The 21-year-old national record time of 13.14 seconds to win the Gold medal.
Polo is very popular with the wealthy ‘elite’ of the island and the ‘high goal’ Apes Hill team is at St James’s Club. [37] He also performed at the Private Soil Festival Holders.
In golf, the Barbados Open is an annual stop on the European Seniors Tour. In December 2006, the WGC-World Cup took place in the country, Sandy Lane Resort, at the Country Club of course, an eighteen hole course, designed by Tom Fazio. The Barbados Golf Club is the other main course on the island. Sanctioned by the European PGA Tour for hosting a PGA Seniors tournament in 2003 and has also hosted the Barbados Open on several occasions.
Basketball is a popular sport played in school or college and is increasing in popularity, as is volleyball, although volleyball is played primarily indoors. Motorsports also play a role, with the Barbados Rally occurring every summer and currently featured on the FIA NACAM calendar. Basketball is also popular with women in Barbados.
The presence of the favorable trade winds, together with favorable swells the southern tip of the Island an ideal place for wave sailing (an extreme form of the sport of windsurfing).