Barbados 🇧🇧
Barbados is a country in North America with a population of 281,635. Its capital is Bridgetown. The official currency is BBD, and the main languages are English.
Quick facts
- Capital: Bridgetown
- Continent: North America
- Population: 281,635
- Area: 430 km²
- Density: 655 people per km²
- Currency: BBD
- Languages: English
- ISO code: BB
Where Barbados sits
Barbados 🇧🇧 is one of 23 countries in North America, with its capital at Bridgetown. It covers 430 square kilometres — 185th in the world — and is home to about 281,635 people, 176th globally.
The countries it shares a continent with include United States, Mexico, Canada, Guatemala and Haiti. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.
How Barbados compares
Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Barbados sits closest to Vanuatu and São Tomé and Príncipe. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Antigua and Barbuda and Seychelles.
At 655 people per square kilometre it is about 11 times the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.
English is an official language in 58 countries here, among them Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas and Belize, and 53 others. The BBD is used by Barbados and no one else.
To see Barbados next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.
How to remember Barbados
Bridgetown takes its name from a bridge the first settlers found over the river there. For the flag, picture the sea god Neptune's trident standing on a golden beach between two blue seas.
The flag of Barbados: blue, gold and black
🇧🇧 The flag is three vertical bands of blue, gold and blue, with a black trident head in the centre. The blue bands stand for the sea and sky and the gold for the sandy beaches. The trident's broken shaft stands for the break from the island's colonial past.
Region and neighbours
Barbados is an island country in the Caribbean, the easternmost of the Caribbean islands, out in the Atlantic beyond the Windward Islands. As an island country it has no land neighbours.
Three facts about Barbados
- Barbados became a republic on 30 November 2021, replacing the British monarch with its own president.
- Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
- Unlike most nearby islands, which are volcanic, Barbados is made mostly of coral limestone.
Sources: Wikipedia: Barbados, Wikipedia: Flag of Barbados, Wikipedia: Bridgetown, CIA World Factbook.
Quiz yourself on Barbados
- North American capitals quiz — match Barbados to Bridgetown
- North American flags quiz — spot the Barbados flag among its neighbours
- Island nations quiz — Barbados is an island country
Quizzes that include Barbados
Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Barbados those are:
- North America map quiz — place it on a blank map
- North America flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
- North America capitals quiz — match it to Bridgetown
- Barbados capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Barbados
- Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day
Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.
Read more about Barbados
- Capital of Barbados: Bridgetown — the capital in detail, with size and density rankings
- All 23 countries of North America
Nearby countries
- Antigua and Barbuda 🇦🇬 — capital Saint John's
- Bahamas 🇧🇸 — capital Nassau
- Belize 🇧🇿 — capital Belmopan
- Canada 🇨🇦 — capital Ottawa
- Costa Rica 🇨🇷 — capital San José
- Cuba 🇨🇺 — capital Havana
- Dominica 🇩🇲 — capital Roseau
- Dominican Republic 🇩🇴 — capital Santo Domingo
- El Salvador 🇸🇻 — capital San Salvador
- Grenada 🇬🇩 — capital Saint George's
- Guatemala 🇬🇹 — capital Guatemala City
- Haiti 🇭🇹 — capital Port-au-Prince
Frequently asked questions
What are the colours of the Barbados flag?
The flag of Barbados is three vertical bands of blue, gold and blue, with a black trident head in the centre. The blue bands stand for the sea and sky and the gold for the sandy beaches. The trident's broken shaft stands for the break from the island's colonial past.
Which countries border Barbados?
None. Barbados is an island country in the Caribbean, the easternmost of the Caribbean islands, out in the Atlantic beyond the Windward Islands, so it has no land borders with other countries.
How can I remember the capital of Barbados?
Bridgetown takes its name from a bridge the first settlers found over the river there. For the flag, picture the sea god Neptune's trident standing on a golden beach between two blue seas.