Antigua and Barbuda

Find a country's flag, map or national anthem here. Click on a letter to find the country:

Antigua and Barbuda

General Information
Geography
Government
Economy
Population
Health
Communications and media
Chronology


GENERAL INFORMATION

Area 440 sq km/169 sq mi (Antigua 280 sq km/108 sq mi, Barbuda 161 sq km/62 sq mi, plus Redonda 1 sq km/0.4 sq mi) Capital St John's (on Antigua) (and chief port) Language English (official), local dialects Religion Christian (mostly Anglican) Time difference GMT -4 Major holidays 1 January, 1 July, 1 November, 25–26 December; variable: Good Friday, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, Labour Day (May), CARICOM (July), Carnival (August)


GEOGRAPHY

Major towns/cities Codrington (on Barbuda) Physical features low-lying tropical islands of limestone and coral with some higher volcanic outcrops; no rivers and low rainfall result in frequent droughts and deforestation. Antigua is the largest of the Leeward Islands; Redonda is an uninhabited island of volcanic rock rising to 305 m/1,000 ft Airports one international airport and one airstrip (on Barbuda); total passengers carried: 1.5 million (2003 est) Railways none Roads total road network: 250 km/155 mi (1999 est); passenger cars: 195 per 1,000 people (1994)


GOVERNMENT

Head of state Queen Elizabeth II from 1981, represented by Governor General James B Carlisle from 1993 Head of government Baldwin Spencer from 2004 Political system liberal democracy Political executive parliamentary Administrative divisions six parishes and two dependencies Political parties Antigua Labour Party (ALP), moderate left of centre; United Progressive Party (UPP), centrist; Barbuda People's Movement (BPM), left of centre Death penalty retained and used for ordinary crimes Armed forces 170 (2006 est); US government leases two military bases on Antigua Conscription military service is voluntary Defence spend (% GDP) 0.6 (2004 est) Education spend (% GDP) 3.8 (2003 est) Health spend (% GDP) 3.2 (2004)


ECONOMY

Currency East Caribbean dollar GDP (US$) 905 million (2005 est) Real GDP growth (% change on previous year) 7.1 (2006 est) GNI (US$) 885 million (2005 est) GNI per capita (PPP) (US$) 11,700 (2005 est) Consumer price inflation 3.5% (2006 est) Unemployment 10% (2005 est) Labour force 11% agriculture, 19.7% industry, 69.3% services (1991) Foreign debt (US$) 717 million (2001 est) Major trading partners Barbados, USA, UK, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana Industries oil refining, food and beverage products, paint, bedding, furniture, electrical components. Tourism is the main economic activity. Exports petroleum products, food, manufactures, machinery and transport equipment. Principal market: Spain 34% (2005 est) Imports petroleum, food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals. Principal source: USA 21.1% (2005) Arable land 18.2% (2006 est) Agricultural products cucumbers, pumpkins, mangoes, coconuts, limes, melons, pineapples, cotton; fishing


POPULATION

Population 71,800 (2006 est) Population growth rate 0.6% (2005–10) Population density (per sq km) 13 (2006 est) Urban population (% of total) 38 (2005 est) Age distribution (% of total population) 0–14 28%, 15–59 63%, 60+ 9% (2002 est) Ethnic groups population almost entirely of black African descent, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian Life expectancy 69 (men); 74 (women) (2000–05) Child mortality rate (under 5, per 1,000 live births) 12 (2004) Education (compulsory years) 12 Literacy rate 90% (men); 87% (women) (2001 est)


HEALTH

Physicians (per 10,000 people) 10.7 (2004 est) Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) 2.5 (2003 est) Access to drinking-water source (% of total population) 95 (urban); 89 (rural) (2002)


COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Landline telephones (per 100 people) 47.2 (2005 est) Mobile phone subscribers (per 100 people) 67.1 (2005 est) Radios (per 1,000 people) 537 (1997) TV sets (per 1,000 people) 465 (2004 est) Internet users (per 100 people) 24.8 (2005 est)


CHRONOLOGY

1493 Antigua, peopled by American Indian Caribs, was visited by Christopher Columbus. 1632 Antigua colonized by British settlers from St Kitts. 1667 Treaty of Breda ceded Antigua to Britain. 1674 Christopher Codrington, sugar planter from Barbados, established sugar plantations and acquired Barbuda island on lease from the British monarch in 1685; Africans brought in as slaves. 1834 Antigua's slaves freed. 1860 Barbuda annexed. 1871–1956 Antigua and Barbuda administered as part of Leeward Islands federation. 1946 Vere Bird formed Antigua Labour Party (ALP), which came into power. 1958–62 Antigua and Barbuda became part of West Indies Federation. 1967 Antigua and Barbuda became associated state within Commonwealth. 1969 Separatist movement developed on Barbuda. 1971–76 Progressive Labour Movement (PLM) leader George Walter replaced Bird as prime minister. 1976 ALP returned to power. 1981 Independence from Britain achieved. 1983 Antigua and Barbuda assisted in US invasion of Grenada. 1994 General elections won by ALP, with Lester Bird (son of Vere Bird) becoming prime minister. 1995 Hurricane Luis destroyed 75% of homes. 1998–99 Allegations of money laundering mounted. 2001 Multinational financial task force report claimed country fully cooperative in fight against money laundering. 2004 Lester Bird defeated in elections; Balwin Spencer, leader of United Progressive Party, became prime minister. 2007 World Trade Organization sided with Antigua, claiming USA failed to comply with ruling to relax its restrictions on Antigua's online betting industry.


© Research Machines plc 2008. All rights reserved. Helicon Publishing is a division of Research Machines plc.