ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 440 km2; land area: 440 km2; includes Redonda
Comparative area: slightly less than 2.5 times the size of
Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 153 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
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
Natural resources: negligible; pleasant climate fosters
tourism
Land use: arable land 18%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and
pastures 7%; forest and woodland 16%; other 59%
Environment: subject to hurricanes and tropical storms (July to
October); insufficient freshwater resources; deeply indented coastline
provides many natural harbors
Note: 420 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico
PEOPLE
Population: 63,917 (July 1991), growth rate 0.4% (1991)
Birth rate: 18 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: - 9 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 22 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 70 years male, 74 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (1991)
Ethnic divisions: almost entirely of black African origin; some of
British, Portuguese, Lebanese, and Syrian origin
Religion: Anglican (predominant), other Protestant sects, some
Roman Catholic
Language: English (official), local dialects
Literacy: 89% (male 90%, female 88%) age 15 and over having
completed 5 or more years of schooling (1960)
Labor force: 30,000; commerce and services 82%, agriculture 11%,
industry 7% (1983)
Organized labor: Antigua and Barbuda Public Service Association
(ABPSA), membership 500; Antigua Trades and Labor Union (ATLU), 10,000
members; Antigua Workers Union (AWU), 10,000 members (1986 est.)
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: none
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Saint John's
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)
Constitution: 1 November 1981
Legal system: based on English common law
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 November (1981)
Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime
minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house
or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Sir Wilfred Ebenezer JACOBS (since 1
November 1981, previously Governor since 1976);
Head of Government--Prime Minister Vere Cornwall BIRD, Sr. (since
NA 1976)
Political parties and leaders:
Antigua Labor Party (ALP), Vere C. BIRD, Sr., Lester BIRD;
United National Democratic Party (UNDP), Dr. Ivor HEATH
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
House of Representatives--last held 9 March 1989 (next to be
held 1994);
results--percentage of vote by party NA;
seats--(17 total) ALP 15, UNDP 1, independent 1
Communists: negligible
Other political or pressure groups: Antigua Caribbean Liberation
Movement (ACLM), a small leftist nationalist group led by Leonard (Tim)
HECTOR; Antigua Trades and Labor Union (ATLU), headed by Noel THOMAS
Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD,
ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, NAM
(observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WCL, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Edmund Hawkins LAKE;
Chancery at Suite 2H, 3400 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 362-5211 or 5166, 5122, 5225; there is an Antiguan
Consulate in Miami;
US--the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and
Barbuda, and in his absence, the Embassy is headed by Charge d'Affaires
Bryant SALTER; Embassy at Queen Elizabeth Highway, Saint John's
(mailing address is FPO Miami 34054); telephone (809) 462-3505 or 3506
Flag: 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: The economy is primarily service oriented, with tourism
the most important determinant of economic performance. During the period
1983-89, real GDP expanded at an annual average rate of about 7%.
Tourism's contribution to GDP, as measured by value added tax in hotels
and restaurants, rose from about 14% in 1983 to 16% in 1989, and
stimulated growth in other sectors--particularly in construction,
communications, and public utilities. Antigua and Barbuda is one of the
few areas in the Caribbean experiencing a labor shortage in some sectors
of the economy.
GDP: $350 million, per capita $5,470 (1989); real growth rate 3.0%
(1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate: 5.0% (1988 est.)
Budget: revenues $92.8 million; expenditures $101 million,
including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.)
Exports: $33.2 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.);
commodities--petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, food and
live animals 4%, machinery and transport equipment 17%;
partners--OECS 26%, Barbados 15%, Guyana 4%, Trinidad and Tobago
2%, US 0.3%
Imports: $358.2 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.);
commodities--food and live animals, machinery and transport
equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil;
partners--US 27%, UK 16%, Canada 4%, OECS 3%, other 50%
External debt: $250 million (1990 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 3% (1989 est.); accounts
for 9% of GDP
Electricity: 52,000 kW capacity; 95 million kWh produced, 1,490 kWh
per capita (1990)
Agriculture: accounts for 4% of GDP; expanding output of cotton,
fruits, vegetables, and livestock sector; other crops--bananas, coconuts,
cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; not self-sufficient in food
Economic aid: US commitments, $10 million (1985-88); Western
(non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $45
million
Currency: East Caribbean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 EC dollar
(EC$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1--2.70 (fixed
rate since 1976)
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: 64 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge and 13 km 0.610-meter
gauge used almost exclusively for handling sugarcane
Highways: 240 km
Ports: Saint John's
Merchant marine: 86 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 319,477
GRT/497,194 DWT; includes 61 cargo, 5 refrigerated cargo, 6 container,
4 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 multifunction large load carrier, 3
petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 6 chemical tanker; note--a
flag of convenience registry
Civil air: 10 major transport aircraft
Airports: 3 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with runways less than 1,220 m
Telecommunications: good automatic telephone system; 6,700
telephones; tropospheric scatter links with Saba and Guadeloupe;
stations--4 AM, 2 FM, 2 TV, 2 shortwave; 1 coaxial submarine cable;
1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal Antigua
and Barbuda Police Force (includes the Coast Guard)
Manpower availability: NA
Defense expenditures: $1.4 million, less than 1% of GDP (FY91)
