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Guide
Introduction
| |
| Background: |
The islands of Antigua and
Barbuda became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of
Nations in 1981. Some 3,000 refugees fleeing a volcanic eruption on
nearby Montserrat have settled in Antigua and Barbuda since 1995. |
| Location: |
Caribbean, islands between
the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto
Rico |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
17 03 N, 61 48 W |
| Map
references: |
Central America and the
Caribbean |
| Area: |
total: 442 sq km
(Antigua 281 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km)
land: 442 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Redonda |
| Area
- comparative: |
2.5 times the size of
Washington, DC |
| Maritime
claims: |
contiguous zone:
24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental
margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
tropical marine; little
seasonal temperature variation |
| Terrain: |
mostly low-lying limestone
and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Boggy Peak 402 m |
| Natural
resources: |
NEGL; pleasant climate
fosters tourism |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 18%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 9%
forests and woodland: 11%
other: 62% (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
hurricanes and tropical
storms (July to October); periodic droughts |
| Environment
- current issues: |
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 |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Population: |
66,970 (July 2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
27.97% (male 9,527; female 9,203)
15-64 years: 67.15% (male 22,450; female 22,519)
65 years and over: 4.88% (male 1,360; female 1,911) (2001
est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
0.74% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
19.5 births/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
5.87 deaths/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-6.27 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.05
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
22.33 deaths/1,000 live
births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
70.74 years
male: 68.45 years
female: 73.14 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
2.31 children born/woman
(2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Nationality: |
noun: Antiguan(s),
Barbudan(s)
adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan |
| Ethnic
groups: |
black, British, Portuguese,
Lebanese, Syrian |
| Religions: |
Anglican (predominant), other
Protestant, some Roman Catholic |
| Languages: |
English (official), local
dialects |
| Literacy: |
definition: age
15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling
total population: 89%
male: 90%
female: 88% (1960 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional long form:
none
conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda |
| Government
type: |
constitutional monarchy with
UK-style parliament |
| Administrative
divisions: |
6 parishes and 2
dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary,
Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip |
| Independence: |
1 November 1981 (from UK) |
| National
holiday: |
Independence Day, 1 November
(1981) |
| Constitution: |
1 November 1981 |
| Legal
system: |
based on English common law |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor
General James B. CARLISLE (since NA 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Lester Bryant BIRD
(since 8 March 1994)
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; prime
minister appointed by the governor general |
| Legislative
branch: |
bicameral Parliament consists
of the Senate (17-member body 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 9 March
1999 (next to be held NA March 2004)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by
party - ALP 12, UPP 4, independent 1 |
| Judicial
branch: |
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) |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Antigua Labor Party or ALP
[Lester Bryant BIRD]; Barbuda People's Movement or BPM [Thomas H.
FRANK]; United Progressive Party or UPP [Baldwin SPENCER] (a coalition
of three opposition parties - United National Democratic Party or UNDP,
Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement or ACLM, and Progressive Labor
Movement or PLM) |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
Antigua Trades and Labor
Union or ATLU [William ROBINSON]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM
[Hugh MARSHALL] |
| International
organization participation: |
ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC,
FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS,
OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Lionel Alexander HURST
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
telephone: [1] (202) 362-5211
FAX: [1] (202) 362-5225
consulate(s) general: Miami |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
the US does not have an
embassy in Antigua and Barbuda (embassy closed 30 June 1994); the US
Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and Barbuda |
| Flag
description: |
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 |
| Economy
- overview: |
Tourism continues to be the
dominant activity in the economy accounting directly or indirectly for
more than half of GDP. The budding offshore financial sector has been
seriously hurt by financial sanctions imposed by the US and UK as a
result of the loosening of its money-laundering controls. The government
has made efforts to comply with international demands in order to get
the sanctions lifted. Antigua and Barbuda was listed as a tax haven by
the OECD in 2000. The dual island nation's agricultural production is
mainly directed to the domestic market; the sector is constrained by the
limited water supply and labor shortages that reflect the pull 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 about one-third of all tourist
arrivals. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity -
$533 million (1999 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
4.6% (1999 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$8,200 (1999 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 12.5%
services: 83.5% (1996 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
1.6% (1999 est.) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
commerce and services 82%,
agriculture 11%, industry 7% (1983) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
7% (1999 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $122.6
million
expenditures: $141.2 million, including capital
expenditures of $17.3 million (1997 est.) |
| Industries: |
tourism, construction, light
manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances) |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
6% (1997 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
95 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
88.4 million kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
cotton, fruits, vegetables,
bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock |
| Exports: |
$38 million (1998) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
petroleum products 48%,
manufactures 23%, machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live
animals 4%, other 8% |
| Exports
- partners: |
OECS 26%, Barbados 15%,
Guyana 4%, Trinidad and Tobago 2%, US 0.3% |
| Imports: |
$330 million (1998) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
food and live animals,
machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil |
| Imports
- partners: |
US 27%, UK 16%, Canada 4%,
OECS 3% |
| Debt
- external: |
$357 million (1998) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$2.3 million (1995) |
| Currency: |
East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
| Exchange
rates: |
East Caribbean dollars per US
dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) |
| Fiscal
year: |
1 April - 31 March |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
28,000 (1996) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
1,300 (1996) |
| Telephone
system: |
general assessment:
NA
domestic: good automatic telephone system
international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth
station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Saba
(Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 0
(1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
2 (1997) |
| Televisions: |
31,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.ag |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
16 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
8,000 (2000) |
| Railways: |
total: 77 km
narrow gauge: 64 km 0.760-m gauge; 13 km 0.610-m gauge
(used almost exclusively for handling sugarcane) |
| Highways: |
total: 1,165 km
paved: 384 km
unpaved: 781 km (1999 est.) |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Saint John's |
| Merchant
marine: |
total: 681 ships
(1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,070,390 GRT/5,289,904 DWT
ships by type: bulk 15, cargo 424, chemical tanker 10,
combination bulk 4, container 176, liquefied gas 4, multi-functional
large-load carrier 6, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 11, roll
on/roll off 29
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as
a flag of convenience: Cyprus 2, Germany 4, Slovenia 2 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Royal Antigua and Barbuda
Defense Force, Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force (includes Coast
Guard) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$NA |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
NA% |
| Disputes
- international: |
none |
| Illicit
drugs: |
considered a minor
transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; more
significant as a drug-money-laundering center |
|
