Distillers Barbados
A one-page guide to Barbados for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Bridgetown
- Official languages
- English
- Currency
- Barbadian dollar (BBD)
- Time zone
- UTC-4
- Area
- 431 km²
People
- Population
- 282,623 (2025)
- Population growth
- 0.1% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 59.7%
- Aged under 15
- 17.1%
- Aged 65 and over
- 17.1%
- Life expectancy
- 76.3 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$8.0 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$28,365 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 2.7% (2025)
- Inflation
- 0.85% (2025)
Climate
Mostly tropical monsoon (Am). Wet season June-December, dry December-May; averages 21-31 C; rainfall about 1,000-2,300 mm a year. Outside the main Atlantic hurricane development region; last severely damaging hurricane was Janet in 1955.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal
- Legal drinking age
- Purchase age 18 (previously 16)
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 10.07 litres of pure alcohol (2024)
- Traditional drinks
- Rum
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); World Bank API (population, area, GDP, growth, inflation); WHO GHO OData (SA_0000001688); UN Comtrade public preview API (HS 2208); Wikipedia: Barbados; Wikipedia: Legal drinking age; Wikipedia: Mount Gay Rum; PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries: Barbados - other taxes; Visit Barbados: important information. Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.