Political system
Parliamentary system
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
Yes

About parliament

Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.

Parliament name
Parliament
Chamber name
Senate
Structure & status of parliament
Upper chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
5

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 1983 to 1996
from 2024
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC)

Speaker

Official title
President of the Senate
Speaker
Thomas Tavares-Finson (Male)
Date of birth: 07 Jul 1953
Term
10 Mar 2016
Additional information

Elected on 10 March 2016, re-elected on 15 Sep. 2020.

Speaker terms

No information available

Secretary general

Official title
Clerk to the Houses of Parliament
Secretary General
Colleen Lowe (Female)
Term
08 Apr 2024
Notes

Appointed on 8 April 2024.

Members

Statutory number of members
21

Notes: Appointed by the Governor General.

Principal mode of designation of members
Appointed
Appointed members
21
Current number of members
20
Men
12
Women
8
Percentage of women
40.0%
Statutory number of members per country
84
Population (in thousands)
2,840
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
33,810

Age

Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.

Average age of all members
49.9
(2020-09)
Youngest member
Gabriela Julaine Sabrine Morris (Female)
Youngest member (years)
23
Number of members, by age (2020-09)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 0 3 1 0 4 2 1 0 0 11
Female 0 1 1 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 6
Totals per age interval 0 1 4 2 2 4 3 1 0 0 17
Total <= 45: 7 Total >= 46: 10
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
5.9% 0.0% 5.9%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
29.4% 18% 11.8%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
41.2% 24% 17.6%
Members for whom data is available
17
(2020)
Members for whom age data is not available
4
(2020-09)

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
No
Youth quota
No

Links to additional information

Parliamentary website
List of members
No information available
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Constitution

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No