The most interesting facts about Barbados, from the world’s oldest rum to the home of pop star Rihanna and some of the world’s best cricketers.
Fast facts
Official name: Barbados
Capital city: Bridgetown
Population: 304,139
Area: 430 sq km
Major languages: English, Bajan
Time zone: UTC-4 (Atlantic Time Zone)
Interesting facts about Barbados
1. Barbados is an island nation located in the southeastern Caribbean Sea of North America.
2. From around 500 to 1500 CE, Arawak and Carib Indians likely lived on Barbados, which they called Ichirouganaim.
3. The name Barbados derives from Portuguese and means “the bearded ones”. This either refers to the long, hanging roots of the island’s fig trees or to the alleged beards of the native Carib inhabitants.
4. Barbados was depopulated because of repeated slave raids by the Spanish during the 16th century. It is thought that any Indians who evaded enslavement likely migrated to elsewhere in the region.
5. British settlers developed Barbados as a major sugar plantation economy employing slaves transported from Africa. Slavery was finally abolished in 1834 following a revolt in 1816.
6. Barbados was a huge sugar producer as the plantations flourished. Landowners imported huge numbers of African slaves. It is estimated that around 500,000 slaves worked in Barbados and the wider Caribbean. Even after the abolition of slavery, emancipated slaves had little choice but to continue working on the plantations for meager wages.
7. In 1966, Barbados gained complete independence.
8. Singer Rihanna is from Barbados. The artist, whose full name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, is an ambassador for the country and has even had a street named in her honor: Rihanna Drive.
9. Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison is Barbados’ only UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in the country’s capital, the site is identified “an outstanding example of British colonial architecture consisting of a well-preserved old town built in the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries”.
10. Today, Barbados is a major tourist destination, receiving over 539,700 tourists in 2022.
11. Barbados is the most densely populated country in North America and the Caribbean, with around 657 people per square kilometer.
12. In 2021, Barbados became the world’s newest republic after ending the tenure of British Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state.
13. One of the surviving Concorde planes is located in Barbados. Of the 20 supersonic airliners built, 18 are still in existence, with one parked in Barbados. There used to be a weekly Concorde flight to Barbados from London.
14. People from Barbados are officially known as Barbadian(s) but are also commonly referred to as Bajan.
15. Barbados is home to the world’s oldest rum, Mount Gay, established in 1703 by English businessman Sir John Gay.
16. Rum is an integral part of Bajan culture and history. As such, there are believed to be over 1,500 rum bars located on the island.
17. Cricket is the country’s national sport with Barbados producing some of the West Indies’ and the world’s most celebrated cricketers. Stars include Garry Sobers, Gordon Greenidge, Malcolm Marshall and West Indies’ current captain Jason Holder.
18. In 2018, Barbados elected its first female prime minister, Mia Mottley.
19. Every few years, Barbados has been deluged by waves of sargassum – a type of seaweed – that washes up on its eastern shores. The island has been hit by severe volumes in 2011, 2015 and 2018. The smelly algae attracts insects, discourages tourism, prevents fishing and entangles sea turtles and dolphins.
20. In 2020, Barbados was also blanketed by an enormous cloud of Saharan dust that had moved from Africa across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Sea.
21. Despite occasional dust events that can temporarily spike PM₂.₅ levels, Barbados remains one of just seven countries worldwide to meet the WHO’s annual clean-air guideline, keeping average PM₂.₅ at or below 5 µg/m³.
22. Music plays a big role in Barbados, and the country is home to several major music festivals, including the Barbados Reggae Festival, the Barbados Gospelfest, and the Barbados Celtic Festival, which celebrates the island’s connection with Ireland, Wales, and Nova Scotia.
23. The Crop Over Festival is a three-week-long traditional festival that initially marked the end of the annual sugarcane harvest. Today, the festival is a lively collection of parties, calypso competitions and street markets. The festival finishes with a Carnival-style parade and firework display.
24. The flag of Barbados is vertically striped blue-yellow-blue which represents the sea, sand and sky. The central broken trident represents the island’s break from colonial rule.
See how Barbados’ flag compares to other North American flags.
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Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. With seven years of teaching experience and a background in educational content, she specialises in creating clear reference resources about countries, geography and global topics.