Socio / Demographic Profile

Barbados' population is approximately 286,705 (June 2011) made up predominately of people of African descent. There are also small minorities of British, Scottish and East Indian descendents.

The sole language of the country is English, having been colonised by the British. The adult literacy rate is approximately 99.7% as indicated in the 2010 Human Development Report, which ranks Barbados at number 42 out of 169 countries in its Human Development Index. Education in Barbados is based on the British model and is legally compulsory for children between 5 and 16 years of age.

A three-tier system of education is provided free for all nationals - at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. There are some 71 public primary schools, 4 nursery schools, 1 infant school, 2 special schools, 1 senior school, 5 units which cater for students with special needs and 23 public secondary schools, supplemented by a number of private schools for which tuition is paid. Four major institutions offer under-graduate and graduate qualifications at the tertiary level: (1) the Barbados Community College, (2) the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic and (3) the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies and the Barbados Institute of Management and Productivity (BIMAP).