Antigua and Barbuda

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

Civil air

10 major transport aircraft

Highways

240 km

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

Ports

Saint John's

Railroads

64 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge and 13 km 0.610-meter gauge used almost exclusively for handling sugarcane

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

Branches

Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force (includes the Coast Guard)

Defense expenditures

$1.4 million, less than 1% of GDP (FY91)

Manpower availability

NA

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

Budget

revenues $92.8 million; expenditures $101 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1990 est.)

Currency

East Caribbean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Economic aid

US commitments, $10 million (1985-88); Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $45 million

Electricity

52,000 kW capacity; 95 million kWh produced, 1,490 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates

East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1--2.70 (fixed rate since 1976)

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%

External debt

$250 million (1990 est.)

Fiscal year

1 April-31 March

GDP

$350 million, per capita $5,470 (1989); real growth rate 3.0% (1991 est.)

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%

Industrial production

growth rate 3% (1989 est.); accounts for 9% of GDP

Industries

tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

7% (1990 est.)

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.

Unemployment rate

5.0% (1988 est.)

Climate

tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation

Coastline

153 km Contiguous zone: 24 nm; Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm

Comparative area

slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Environment

subject to hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); insufficient freshwater resources; deeply indented coastline provides many natural harbors

Land boundaries

none

Land use

arable land 18%; permanent crops 0%; meadows and pastures 7%; forest and woodland 16%; other 59%

Natural resources

negligible; pleasant climate fosters tourism

Note

420 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico

Terrain

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

Total area

440 km2; land area: 440 km2; includes Redonda

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

Saint John's

Communists

negligible

Constitution

1 November 1981

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

Executive branch

British monarch, governor general, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet

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

Independence

1 November 1981 (from UK)

Judicial branch

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court 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) Antigua Labor Party (ALP), Vere C. BIRD, Sr., Lester BIRD; United National Democratic Party (UNDP), Dr. Ivor HEATH

Legal system

based on English common law

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives

Long-form name

none

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

National holiday

Independence Day, 1 November (1981)

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

Suffrage

universal at age 18 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

Type

parliamentary democracy

Birth rate

18 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate

6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic divisions

almost entirely of black African origin; some of British, Portuguese, Lebanese, and Syrian origin

Infant mortality rate

22 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force

30,000; commerce and services 82%, agriculture 11%, industry 7% (1983)

Language

English (official), local dialects

Life expectancy at birth

70 years male, 74 years female (1991)

Literacy

89% (male 90%, female 88%) age 15 and over having completed 5 or more years of schooling (1960)

Nationality

noun--Antiguan(s); adjective--Antiguan

Net migration rate

- 9 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

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.)

Population

63,917 (July 1991), growth rate 0.4% (1991)

Religion

Anglican (predominant), other Protestant sects, some Roman Catholic

Total fertility rate

1.7 children born/woman (1991)