Country Fast Facts:Antigua & Barbuda

The Siboney were the first to inhabit the islands of Antigua and Barbuda in 2400 B.C., but Arawak Indians populated the islands when Columbus landed on his second voyage in 1493.

Early settlements by the Spanish and French were succeeded by the English who formed a 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.

English Harbour on the southeastern coast is famed as a "hurricane hole" (protected shelter during violent storms) and is the site of a restored British colonial naval station. The latter is called "Nelson's Dockyard".

Nelson was at the time a Captain and in correspondence made it clear he would prefer not to be there, but rather facing the French. Today English Harbour and the neighbouring village of Falmouth are an internationally famous yachting and sailing destination and provisioning center.

At the end of April and beginning of May Antigua Sailing Week, an annual world-class regatta started in 1967, brings many sailing vessels and sailors to the island to race and socialize.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population:
69,481 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure:
0-14 years: 27.3% (male 9,647/female 9,306)
15-64 years: 69% (male 24,137/female 23,801)
65 years and over: 3.7% (male 965/female 1,625) (2007 est.)

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Median age:
total: 30.3 years
male: 29.8 years
female: 30.8 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate:
0.527% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate:
16.62 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate:
5.31 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate:
-6.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.037 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.014 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.594 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate:
total: 18.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.99 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 14.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 72.42 years
male: 70.03 years
female: 74.94 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate:
2.23 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA

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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

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Nationality:
noun: Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s)
adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan

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Ethnic groups:
black 91%, mixed 4.4%, white 1.7%, other 2.9% (2001 census)

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Religions:
Anglican 25.7%, Seventh Day Adventist 12.3%, Pentecostal 10.6%, Moravian 10.5%, Roman Catholic 10.4%, Methodist 7.9%, Baptist 4.9%, Church of God 4.5%, other Christian 5.4%, other 2%, none or unspecified 5.8% (2001 census)

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Languages:
English (official), local dialects

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Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling
total population: 85.8%
male: NA%
female: NA% (2003 est.)

Tourism continues to dominate the economy, accounting for more than half of GDP. Weak tourist arrival numbers since early 2000 have slowed the economy and pressed the government into a tight fiscal corner. The dual-island nation's agricultural production is focused on the domestic market and constrained by a limited water supply and a labor shortage stemming from the lure 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 slightly more than one-third of tourist arrivals.

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GDP (purchasing power parity):
$1.145 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate):
$905 million (2005 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate:
3.8% (2005 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP):
$10,900 (2005 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 22%
services: 74.3% (2002 est.)

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Labor force:
30,000 (1991 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 7%
industry: 11%
services: 82% (1983)

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Unemployment rate:
11% (2001 est.)

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Population below poverty line:
NA%

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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
0.9% (2005 est.)

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Budget:
revenues: $123.7 million
expenditures: $145.9 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
Agriculture - products:
cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock

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

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Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

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Electricity - production:
105 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption:
97.65 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2004)

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Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2004)

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Oil - consumption:
3,800 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl

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Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Current account balance:
-$83.4 million (2004)

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Exports:
$46.81 million (2004 est.)

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Exports - commodities:
petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live animals 4%, other 8%

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Exports - partners:
Spain 34%, Germany 20.7%, Italy 7.7%, Singapore 5.8%, UK 4.9% (2006)

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Imports:
$378 million (2004 est.)

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Imports - commodities:
food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil

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Imports - partners:
US 21.1%, China 16.4%, Germany 13.3%, Singapore 12.7%, Spain 6.5% (2006)

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Debt - external:
$427.3 million; note - data are for public external debt, not total external debt (2000)

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Economic aid - recipient:
$1.65 million (2004)

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Currency (code):
East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

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Exchange rates:
East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002)
note: fixed rate since 1976

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Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March