|
Red
Sea Management provides Antigua and Barbuda offshore incorporation,
Antigua and Barbuda offshore asset protection and a full range of
services. |
|
Report on Antigua
and Barbuda
|
|
|
| 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
|
| Land
boundaries: total:
|
0 km
|
|
Coastline:
|
153 km
|
| 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.) |
| Irrigated
land:
|
NA sq km
|
| 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
|
| Geography
- note:
|
Antigua has a
deeply indented shoreline with many natural harbors and beaches;
Barbuda has a very large western harbor
|
|
|
|
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
|
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths:
|
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
|
| 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)
|
| 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: |
30,000
|
| Labor
force - by occupation:
|
commerce and
services 82%, agriculture 11%, industry 7% (1983)
|
|
Unemployment rate: |
7% (1999 est.)
|
| Budget:
revenues:
|
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)
|
| Currency
code: |
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)
|
| Radios: |
36,000 (1997)
|
|
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.)
|
|
Waterways: |
none
|
| 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: |
3 (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: |
Defense is
the responsibility of France and Spain
|
| 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 |
