The Siboney were the first to inhabit the islands of Antigua and Barbuda in 2400 B.C., but Arawak Indians populated the islands when COLUMBUS landed on his second voyage in 1493. Early settlements by the Spanish and French were succeeded by the English who formed a colony in 1667. Slavery, established to run the sugar plantations on Antigua, was abolished in 1834. The islands became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981.

Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico
17 03 N, 61 48 W
Central America and the Caribbean
total: 442.6 sq km (Antigua 280 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km) ; land: 442.6 sq km ; water: 0 sq km ; note: includes Redonda, 1.6 sq km
2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
0 km
153 km
territorial sea: 12 nm ; contiguous zone: 24 nm ; exclusive economic zone: 200 nm ; continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation
mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m ; highest point: Boggy Peak 402 m
NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism
arable land: 18.18% ; permanent crops: 4.55% ; other: 77.27% (2005)
NA
0.1 cu km (2000)
Total: 0.005 cu km/yr (60%/20%/20%) ; Per capita: 63 cu m/yr (1990)
hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts
water management - a major concern because of limited natural fresh water resources - is further hampered by the clearing of trees to increase crop production, causing rainfall to run off quickly
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling ; signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Antigua has a deeply indented shoreline with many natural harbors and beaches; Barbuda has a very large western harbor
69,481 (July 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 27.3% (male 9,647/female 9,306) ; 15-64 years: 69% (male 24,137/female 23,801) ; 65 years and over: 3.7% (male 965/female 1,625) (2007 est.)
total: 30.3 years ; male: 29.8 years ; female: 30.8 years (2007 est.)
0.527% (2007 est.)
16.62 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
5.31 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
-6.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.037 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 1.014 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 0.594 male(s)/female ; total population: 1 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 18.26 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 21.99 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 14.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 72.42 years ; male: 70.03 years ; female: 74.94 years (2007 est.)
2.23 children born/woman (2007 est.)
NA
NA
NA
noun: Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s) ; adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan
black 91%, mixed 4.4%, white 1.7%, other 2.9% (2001 census)
Anglican 25.7%, Seventh Day Adventist 12.3%, Pentecostal 10.6%, Moravian 10.5%, Roman Catholic 10.4%, Methodist 7.9%, Baptist 4.9%, Church of God 4.5%, other Christian 5.4%, other 2%, none or unspecified 5.8% (2001 census)
English (official), local dialects
definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling ; total population: 85.8% ; male: NA% ; female: NA% (2003 est.)


conventional long form: none ; conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda
constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government
name: Saint John's ; geographic coordinates: 17 07 N, 61 51 W ; time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip

1 November 1981 (from UK)
Independence Day (National Day), 1 November (1981)
1 November 1981
based on English common law
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Louisse LAKE-TACK (since 17 July 2007) ; head of government: Prime Minister Winston Baldwin SPENCER (since 24 March 2004) ; cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister ; elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general chosen by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (17 seats; members appointed by the governor general) and the House of Representatives (17 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms) ; elections: House of Representatives - last held 23 March 2004 (next to be held in 2009) ; election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ALP 4, UPP 13
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction); member Caribbean Court of Justice
Antigua Labor Party or ALP [Lester Bryant BIRD]; Barbudans for a Better Barbuda [Ordrick SAMUEL]; Barbuda People's Movement or BPM [Thomas H. FRANK]; Barbuda People's Movement for Change [Arthur NIBBS]; United Progressive Party or UPP [Baldwin SPENCER] (a coalition of three parties - Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement or ACLM, Progressive Labor Movement or PLM, United National Democratic Party or UNDP)
Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU [William ROBINSON]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Hugh MARSHALL]
ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
red, with an inverted isosceles triangle based on the top edge of the flag; the triangle contains three horizontal bands of black (top), light blue, and white, with a yellow rising sun in the black band
chief of mission: Ambassador Deborah Mae LOVELL ; chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 ; telephone: [1] (202) 362-5122 ; FAX: [1] (202) 362-5225 ; consulate(s) general: Miami
the US does not have an embassy in Antigua and Barbuda; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and Barbuda





Antigua has a relatively high GDP per capita in comparison to most other Caribbean nations. It has experienced solid growth since 2003, driven by a construction boom in hotels and housing that which should wind down in 2008. Tourism continues to dominate the economy, accounting for more than half of GDP. The dual-island nation's agricultural production is focused on the domestic market and constrained by a limited water supply and a labor shortage stemming from the lure of higher wages in tourism and construction. Manufacturing comprises enclave-type assembly for export with major products being bedding, handicrafts, and electronic components. Prospects for economic growth in the medium term will continue to depend on income growth in the industrialized world, especially in the US, which accounts for slightly more than one-third of tourist arrivals. Since taking office in 2004, the SPENCER government has adopted an ambitious fiscal reform program, but will continue to be saddled by its debt burden with a debt-to-GDP ratio exceeding 100%.
$1.189 billion (2007 est.)
$905 million (2005 est.)
3.8% (2007 est.)
$10,900 (2005 est.)
agriculture: 3.8% ; industry: 22% ; services: 74.3% (2002 est.)
30,000 (1991)
agriculture: 7% ; industry: 11% ; services: 82% (1983)
11% (2001 est.)
NA%
lowest 10%: NA% ; highest 10%: NA%

2.8% (2007 est.)

revenues: $123.7 million ; expenditures: $145.9 million (2000 est.)

cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock
tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances)
NA%
105 million kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 100% ; hydro: 0% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0% (2001)
97.65 million kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 bbl/day (2005)
4,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
177.7 bbl/day (2004)
4,215 bbl/day (2004)
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
-$83.4 million (2004)
$84.3 million (2007 est.)
petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live animals 4%, other 8%
Spain 34%, Germany 20.7%, Italy 7.7%, Singapore 5.8%, UK 4.9% (2006)
$522.8 million (2007 est.)
US 21.1%, China 16.4%, Germany 13.3%, Singapore 12.7%, Spain 6.5% (2006)


$359.8 million (June 2006)



East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
XCD
East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003) ; note: fixed rate since 1976
1 April - 31 March
$7.23 million (2005)
40,000 (2006)
102,000 (2006)
general assessment: NA ; domestic: good automatic telephone system ; international: country code - 1-268; landing point for the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable with links to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad; satellite earth station - 2; tropospheric scatter to Saba (Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe (2007)
AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
36,000 (1997)
2 (1997)
31,000 (1997)
.ag
2,133 (2007)
16 (2000)
32,000 (2006)

3 (2007)
total: 2 ; 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 ; under 914 m: 1 (2007)
total: 1 ; under 914 m: 1 (2007)



total: 1,165 km ; paved: 384 km ; unpaved: 781 km (2002)

total: 1,059 ships (1000 GRT or over) 8,158,597 GRT/10,757,767 DWT ; by type: bulk carrier 46, cargo 612, carrier 4, chemical tanker 6, container 350, liquefied gas 11, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 20 ; foreign-owned: 1,021 (Australia 1, Colombia 1, Cyprus 2, Denmark 15, Estonia 15, France 1, Germany 891, Greece 3, Iceland 9, Latvia 9, Lebanon 1, Lithuania 6, Netherlands 19, Norway 7, NZ 2, Poland 2, Russia 5, Slovenia 6, Sweden 1, Switzerland 5, Turkey 7, UK 4, US 8, Vietnam 1) (2007)
Saint John's

Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force (2006)
18 years of age (est.); no conscript military service (2001)
males age 18-49: 18,952 ; females age 18-49: 18,360 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 14,859 ; females age 18-49: 14,947 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 507 ; females age 18-49: 494 (2005 est.)
NA (2006)

none

considered a minor transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; more significant as an offshore financial center

