| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long
form: none
conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda |
| Capital: |
Saint John's (Antigua) |
| Location: |
|
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
17 03 N, 61 48
W |
| Area: |
total: 443
sq km (Antigua 280 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km)
land: 443 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Redonda, 1.6 sq km |
| Area
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; little
seasonal temperature variation |
| Terrain: |
mostly low-lying
limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Caribbean
Sea 0 m
highest point: Boggy Peak 402 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
NEGL; pleasant
climate fosters tourism |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
Constitutional
monarchy with UK-style parliament |
| Administratives
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
(National 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 10 June 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Baldwin SPENCER (since 24 March
2004)
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; following legislative elections,
the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually
appointed prime minister 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 23 March 2004 (next
to be held NA 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ALP
4, UPP 12, contested 1; note - new election will decide the contested seat |
| 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) |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
68,320 (July 2004 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 28.1%
(male 9,761; female 9,429)
15-64 years: 67.6% (male 23,179; female 23,023)
65 years and over: 4.3% (male 1,151; female 1,777) (2004
est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 29.4
years
male: 28.9 years
female: 29.9 years (2004 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Antiguan(s),
Barbudan(s)
adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan |
| Ethnic groups: |
black, British,
Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian |
| Religions: |
Christian, (predominantly
Anglican with other Protestant, and some Roman Catholic) |
| Languages: |
English (official),
local dialects |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
38,000 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
38,200 (2002) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: NA
domestic: good automatic telephone system
international: country code - 1-268; 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) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
2 (1997) |
| Internet country
code: |
.ag |
| Internet hosts: |
1,665 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
10,000 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
0 |
| Highways: |
total: 250
km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
0 |
| Pipelines: |
0 |
| Ports and harbors: |
Saint John's |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 867
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,873,626 GRT/7,683,143 DWT
by type: bulk 25, cargo 477, chemical tanker 13, container
284, liquefied gas 10, multi-functional large load carrier 15, refrigerated
cargo 10, roll on/roll off 32, vehicle carrier 1
foreign-owned: Australia 1, Bahamas 1, Bangladesh 2, Belgium 3, Colombia
1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 1, Estonia 3, France 1, Germany 818, Greece 2, Iceland 5, Latvia
1, Lebanon 1, Lithuania 2, Malaysia 1, Netherlands 19, New Zealand 1, Norway
2, Portugal 1, Slovenia 5, Sweden 2, Switzerland 5, Turkey 3, United States 10
registered in other countries: 2 (2003 est.) |
| Airports: |
3 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
0 |
