]! ^! 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. 
]" ^" Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico ^# 17 03 N, 61 48 W ^$ Central America and the Caribbean ^% `! 442.6 sq km (Antigua 280 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km) `" 442.6 sq km `# 0 sq km `* includes Redonda, 1.6 sq km ^& 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 153 km ^) `$ 12 nm `M 24 nm `N 200 nm `O 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin ^* tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation ^+ mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas ^, `% Caribbean Sea 0 m `& Boggy Peak 402 m ^- NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism ^. `' 18.18% `( 4.55% `) 77.27% (2005) ^/ NA ^0 hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts ^1 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 _P `P Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 Antigua has a deeply indented shoreline with many natural harbors and beaches; Barbuda has a very large western harbor 
]# ^3 69,481 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 27.3% (male 9,647/female 9,306) `, 69% (male 24,137/female 23,801) `- 3.7% (male 965/female 1,625) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 30.3 years `. 29.8 years `/ 30.8 years (2007 est.) ^6 0.527% (2007 est.) ^7 16.62 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 5.31 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 -6.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.05 male(s)/female `1 1.037 male(s)/female `, 1.014 male(s)/female `- 0.594 male(s)/female `2 1 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 18.26 deaths/1,000 live births `. 21.99 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 14.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 72.42 years `. 70.03 years `/ 74.94 years (2007 est.) ^= 2.23 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `3 Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s) `4 Antiguan, Barbudan ^B black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian ^C Christian (predominantly Anglican with other Protestant, and some Roman Catholic) ^D English (official), local dialects ^E `5 age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling `2 85.8% `. NA% `/ NA% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 none `7 Antigua and Barbuda ^H constitutional parliamentary democracy ^I `8 Saint John's `9 17 06 N, 61 51 W `: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip ^K 1 November 1981 (from UK) ^L Independence Day (National Day), 1 November (1981) ^M 1 November 1981 ^N based on English common law ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Sir James B. CARLISLE (since 10 June 1993) `< Prime Minister Winston Baldwin SPENCER (since 24 March 2004) `= Council of Ministers appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister `> 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 ^Q 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) `> House of Representatives - last held 23 March 2004 (next to be held in 2009) `? percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ALP 4, UPP 13 ^R 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); member Caribbean Court of Justice ^S Antigua Labor Party or ALP [Lester Bryant BIRD]; Barbudans for a Better Barbuda [Ordrick SAMUEL]; Barbuda People's Movement or BPM [Thomas H. FRANK]; Barbuda People's Movement for Change [Arthur NIBBS]; United Progressive Party or UPP [Baldwin SPENCER] (a coalition of three parties - Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement or ACLM, Progressive Labor Movement or PLM, United National Democratic Party or UNDP) ^T Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU [William ROBINSON]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Hugh MARSHALL] ^U ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Deborah Mae LOVELL `S 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 `T [1] (202) 362-5122 `U [1] (202) 362-5225 `V Miami ^W the US does not have an embassy in Antigua and Barbuda; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Antigua and Barbuda ^X 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 
]% ^Y 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. ^Z $750 million (2002 est.) ^[ $905 million (2005 est.) ^\ 3.8% (2005 est.) ^] $10,900 (2005 est.) ^^ `@ 3.8% `A 22% `B 74.3% (2002 est.) ^_ 30,000 (1991 est.) ^` `@ 7% `A 11% `B 82% (1983) ^a 11% (2001 est.) _! NA% _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 0.9% (2005 est.) _$ `E $123.7 million `F $145.9 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) _& cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock _' tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances) _( NA% _) 105 million kWh (2004) _* 97.65 million kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 0 bbl/day (2004) _. 3,800 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Q $-83.4 million (2004) _3 $46.81 million (2004 est.) _4 petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live animals 4%, other 8% _5 Spain 34%, Germany 20.7%, Italy 7.7%, Singapore 5.8%, UK 4.9% (2005) _6 $378 million (2004 est.) _7 food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil _8 US 21.1%, China 16.4%, Germany 13.3%, Singapore 12.7%, Spain 6.5% (2005) _9 $427.3 million; note - data are for public external debt, not total external debt (2000) _: $1.65 million (2004) _; East Caribbean dollar (XCD) _< East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002) `* fixed rate since 1976 _= 1 April - 31 March 
]& _> 38,000 (2004) _? 54,000 (2004) _@ `G NA `H good automatic telephone system `I country code - 1-268; coaxial submarine cable - 1; satellite earth station - 2; tropospheric scatter to Saba (Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe _A AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) _B 2 (1997) _C .ag _D 2,231 (2006) _E 20,000 (2005) 
]' _F 3 (2006) _G `! 2 `J 1 `W 1 (2006) _R `! 1 `W 1 (2006) _H `! 1,165 km `K 384 km `L 781 km (2002) _S `! 1,011 ships (1000 GRT or over) 7,452,503 GRT/9,783,309 DWT by type: bulk carrier 40, cargo 596, chemical tanker 7, container 321, liquefied gas 11, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 12, roll on/roll off 21 `X 984 (Australia 1, Bangladesh 4, Belgium 4, Colombia 2, Denmark 14, Estonia 12, France 1, Germany 858, Iceland 8, Isle of Man 2, Latvia 5, Lebanon 1, Lithuania 3, Netherlands 14, Norway 11, NZ 1, Poland 3, Russia 6, Singapore 1, Slovenia 6, Switzerland 4, Turkey 8, UK 7, US 7, Vietnam 1) (2006) _I Saint John's 
]( _J Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force (2006) _T 18 years of age (est.); no conscript military service (2001) _K males age 18-49: 18,952 females age 18-49: 18,360 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 14,859 females age 18-49: 14,947 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 507 females age 18-49: 494 (2005 est.) _U 0.5% (2006 est.) 
]) _N none _O considered a minor transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; more significant as an offshore financial center 