Map of Antigua and Barbuda | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: The Siboney were the first people to inhabit the islands of Antigua and Barbuda in 2,400 B.C. but Arawak Indians populated the islands when COLUMBUS landed on his second voyage in 1493. Early Spanish and French settlements were succeeded by an English 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. On 6 September 2017 Hurricane Irma passed over the island of Barbuda devastating the island and forcing the evacuation of the population to Antigua. Almost all the structures on Barbuda were destroyed and the vegetation stripped but Antigua was spared the worst.


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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 reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 442.6 km²
Land: 442.6 km²
Water: 0 km²
Note: includes Redonda 1.6 km²
Rank: 201
Comparative: 2.5 times the size of Washington DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 153 km

Maritime claims
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

Climate: tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain: mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands with some higher volcanic areas

Elevation
Mean elevation: NA
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m: highest point: Mount Obama 402 m

Natural resources: NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism

Land use
Agricultural land: 20.5%
Forest: 22.3%
Other: 57.2%

Irrigated land: 1.3 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts

Geography
Note: Antigua has a deeply indented shoreline with many natural harbors and beaches; Barbuda has a large western harbor


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Population
Distribution: the island of Antigua is home to approximately 97% of the population; nearly the entire population of Barbuda lives in Codrington: 94,731 (July 2017 est.)
Rank: 197
Growth rate: 1.21% (2017 est.)
Growth rate rank: 100
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Antiguan Barbudan
Adjective: Antiguan Barbudan

Ethnic groups: black 87.3% mixed 4.7% hispanic 2.7% white 1.6% other 2.7% unspecified 0.9% (2011 est.)

Languages: English (official) Antiguan creole

Religions: Protestant 68.3% (Anglican 17.6% Seventh Day Adventist 12.4% Pentecostal 12.2% Moravian 8.3% Methodist 5.6% Wesleyan Holiness 4.5% Church of God 4.1% Baptist 3.6%) Roman Catholic 8.2% other 12.2% unspecified 5.5% none 5.9% (2011 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 23.09%
15-24 years: 16.83%
25-54 years: 42.19%
55-64 years: 9.83%
65 years and over: 8.06% (2017 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 45.2
Youth dependency ratio: 35.7
Elderly dependency ratio: 9.6
Potential support ratio: 10.5

Median age
Total: 31.9 years
Male: 30 years
Female: 33.5 years
Rank: 103

Population growth rate: 1.21% (2017 est.)
Rank: 100

Birth rate: 15.7 births/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 118

Death rate: 5.7 deaths/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 175

Net migration rate: 2.2 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 45

Population distribution: the island of Antigua is home to approximately 97% of the population; nearly the entire population of Barbuda lives in Codrington

Urbanization
Urban population: 23% of total population
Rate of urbanization: -0.38% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: SAINT JOHN'S (capital) 22,000 (2014)

Environment
Current issues: water management - a major concern because of limited natural freshwater resources - is further hampered by the clearing of trees to increase crop production causing rainfall to run off quickly
International agreements 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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
0-14 years: 1.03 male/female
15-24 years: 0.99 male/female
25-54 years: 0.84 male/female
55-64 years: 0.82 male/female
65 years and over: 0.76 male/female
Total population: 0.9 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 12.1 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 13.9 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 10.2 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 118

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.7 years
Male: 74.6 years
Female: 79 years
Rank: 84

Total fertility rate: 2 children born/woman (2017 est.)
Rank: 119

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density: 2.1 beds/1000 population (2011)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases
Note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country ; it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex via blood transfusion or during pregnancy in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus (2016)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 18.9% (2016)
Rank: 113

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 2.6% of GDP (2009)
Rank: 159

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling
Total population: 99%
Male: 98.4%
Female: 99.4%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 14 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 15 years

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda
Etymology: 'antiguo' is Spanish for 'ancient' or 'old'; the island was discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 and according to tradition named by him after the church of Santa Maria la Antigua in Seville; 'barbuda' is Spanish for 'bearded' and the adjective may refer to the alleged beards of the indigenous people or to the island's bearded fig trees

Government type: parliamentary democracy (Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

Capital
Name: Saint John's
Geographic coordinates: 17 07 N 61 51 W
Time difference: UTC-4

Administrative divisions: 6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda* Redonda* Saint George Saint John Saint Mary Saint Paul Saint Peter Saint Philip

Dependent areas

Independence: 1 November 1981 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day 1 November (1981)

Constitution: several previous; latest presented 31 July 1981 effective 31 October 1981 (Antigua and Barbuda Constitutional Order 1981); amended 2009 2011 (2016)

Legal system: common law based on the English model

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: yes
Citizenship by descent: yes
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II ; represented by Governor General Rodney WILLIAMS (since 14 August 2014)
Head of government: Prime Minister Gaston BROWNE
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
Electionsappointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; following legislative elections the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor general

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives (17 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)
Elections: House of Representatives - last held on 12 June 2014
Election results: percent of vote by party - ALP 56.5% UPP 42% other 1.5%; seats by party - ALP 14 UPP 3

Judicial branch
Highest court: the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court is the superior court of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States; the ECSC - headquartered on St. Lucia - consists of the Court of Appeal - headed by the chief justice and 4 judges - and the High Court with 18 judges; the Court of Appeal is itinerant travelling to member states on a schedule to hear appeals from the High Court and subordinate courts; High Court judges reside at the member states with 2 assigned to Antigua and Barbuda
Judge selection and term of office: chief justice of Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court appointed by the Her Majesty Queen ELIZABETH II; other justices and judges appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission; Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 65; High Court judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 62
Subordinate courts: Industrial Court; Magistrates' Courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ACP AOSIS C Caricom CDB CELAC FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICC (NGOs) ICCt ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM ISO (subscriber) ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA NAM (observer) OAS OECS OPANAL OPCW Petrocaribe UN UNCTAD UNESCO UPU WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Sir Ronald SANDERS
In the us chancery: 3,216 New Mexico Avenue NW Washington DC 20,016
In the us telephone: [1] 362-5,122
In the us FAX: [1] 362-5,525
In the us consulate general: Miami New York
From the us: the US does not have an embassy in Antigua and Barbuda; 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; the sun symbolizes the dawn of a new era black represents the African heritage of most of the population blue is for hope and red is for the dynamism of the people; the 'V' stands for victory; the successive yellow blue and white coloring is also meant to evoke the country's tourist attractions of sun sea and sand

National symbols: fallow deer; national colors: red white blue black yellow

National anthem
Name: 'Fair Antigua We Salute Thee'
Lyrics and music: Novelle Hamilton RICHARDS/Walter Garnet Picart CHAMBERS
Note: adopted 1967; as a Commonwealth country in addition to the national anthem 'God Save the Queen' serves as the royal anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview:

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2016 dollars
Rank: 192

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 74

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2016 dollars
Rank: 76

Gross national saving:
Rank: 109

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 69.2%
Government consumption: 16.3%
Investment in fixed capital: 21.9%
Investment in inventories: 0.1%
Exports of goods and services: 32.9%
Imports of goods and services: -40.4%

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 2.3%
Industry: 20.2%
Services: 77.5%

Agriculture products: cotton fruits vegetables bananas coconuts cucumbers mangoes sugarcane; livestock

Industries: tourism construction light manufacturing (clothing alcohol household appliances)

Industrial production growth rate: 3.2% (2016 est.)
Rank: 74

Labor force: 30,000 (1991)
Rank: 205
By occupation agriculture: 7%
By occupation industry: 11%
By occupation services: 82%

Unemployment rate: 11% (2014 est.)
Rank: 138

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $279.1 million
Expenditures: $301.7 million
Surplus or deficit: -1.6% of GDP (2016 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 76

Taxes and other revenues: 20% of GDP (2016 est.)
Rank: 156

Public debt:
Rank: 22

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 29

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 60

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 87

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 180

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 170

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 168

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance:
Rank: 77

Exports:
Rank: 200
Commodities: petroleum products bedding handicrafts electronic components transport equipment food and live animals
Partners: Poland 53.2% UK 12.7% Cameroon 7.2% Germany 5.5% US 4.5% (2016)

Imports:
Rank: 194
Commodities: food and live animals machinery and transport equipment manufactures chemicals oil
Partners: US 44.3% Japan 4.7% China 4.1% (2016)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external:
Rank: 181

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access population without electricity: 9,358
Access electrification total population: 91%
Access electrification urban areas: 100%
Access electrification rural areas: 80%
Production: 330 million kWh (2015 est.)
Production rank: 178
Consumption: 306.9 million kWh (2015 est.)
Consumption rank: 183
Exports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 97
Imports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 117
Installed generating capacity: 87,000 kW (2015 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 180
Generation sources fossil fuels: 96.6% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 45
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 34
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 215
Generation sources other renewable sources: 4.6% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 99

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 103
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 85
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 88
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2017 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 103

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products production rank: 112
Products consumption: 5,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products consumption rank: 177
Products exports: 90.55 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products exports rank: 122
Products imports: 4,884 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products imports rank: 168

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Production rank: 102
Consumption: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Consumption rank: 153
Exports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 58
Imports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 80
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 es)
Proven reserves rank: 109

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 600,000 Mt (2013 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 177

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 22,504
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 24
Fixed lines rank: 172
Mobile cellular total: 126,000
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 136
Mobile cellular rank: 189

Telephone system
General assessment: good automatic telephone system
Domestic: fixed-line teledensity roughly 24 per 100 persons ; mobile-cellular teledensity is about 135 per 100 persons (2015)
International: country code - 1-268; landing points for the East Caribbean Fiber System and the Global Caribbean Network (GCN) submarine cable systems with links to other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad; satellite earth stations - 2; tropospheric scatter to Saba (Netherlands) and Guadeloupe (France) (2016)

Broadcast media: state-controlled Antigua and Barbuda Broadcasting Service (ABS) operates 1 TV station; multi-channel cable TV subscription services are available; ABS operates 1 radio station; roughly 15 radio stations some broadcasting on multiple frequencies (2009)

Internet
Country code: .ag
Users total: 60,000
Users percent of population: 65.2%
Users rank: 174

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription; Governor-General has powers to call up men for national service and set the age at which they could be called up (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 1
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 9
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 1,039,809
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 526,545 mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: V2 (2016)

Airports: 3 (2013)
Rank: 193
With paved runways total: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1
With unpaved runways total: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways
Total: 1170 km
Paved: 386 km
Unpaved: 784 km
Rank: 183

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 1257
By type: bulk carrier 49 cargo 753 carrier 6 chemical tanker 4 container 407 liquefied gas 12 refrigerated cargo 7 roll on/roll off 17 vehicle carrier 2
Foreign owned: 1215 (2010)
Rank: 9

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Saint John's


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

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