PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Antigua and Barbuda

Geography
Area: Antigua--281 sq. km. (108 sq. mi.); Barbuda--161 sq. km. (62 sq. mi.).
Cities: Capital--St. John's (pop. 30,000).
Terrain: Generally low-lying, with highest elevation 405 m. (1,330 ft.).
Climate: Tropical maritime.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s).
Population (2004 estimate): 80,039.
Annual population growth rate (2004): 1.9%.
Ethnic groups: Almost entirely of African origin; some of British, Portuguese, and Levantine Arab origin.
Religions: Principally Anglican, with evangelical Protestant and Roman Catholic minorities.
Language: English.
Education: Years compulsory--9. Literacy--about 90%.
Health: Life expectancy--71 yrs. male; 75 yrs. female. Infant mortality rate--18/1,000.
Work force (31,300): Commerce and services, agriculture, other industry.
Unemployment (Labor Commission est. 2002): 11-13%.

Government
Type: Constitutional monarchy with Westminster-style Parliament.
Constitution: 1981.
Independence: November 1, 1981.
Branches: Executive--governor general (representing Queen Elizabeth II, head of state), prime minister (head of government), and cabinet. Legislative--a 17-member Senate appointed by the governor general (mainly on the advice of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition) and a 17-member popularly elected House of Representatives. Judicial--magistrate's courts, Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (High Court and Court of Appeals, Privy Council in London).
Administrative subdivisions: Six parishes and two dependencies (Barbuda and Redonda).
Political parties: Antigua Labor Party (ALP, incumbent), United Progressive Party (UPP), Barbuda People's Movement (BPM).
Suffrage: Universal at 18.

Economy
GDP (2004): $815.2 million.
GDP growth rate (2004): 5.2%.
Per capita GDP (est. 2004): $10,185
Natural resources: Negligible.
Agriculture (2004, 3.2% of GDP): Products-- fish, cotton, livestock, vegetables, and pineapples.
Services: Tourism, banking, and other financial services.
Trade: Exports (2004)--$20 million. Trade partners (2000)--OECS (24%), U.S. (10%), Trinidad and Tobago (7%), Barbados (21%). Imports (2004)--$369 million. Trade partners (2000)--U.S. (27%), U.K. (10%), OECS (1%).

HISTORY
Antigua was first inhabited by the Siboney ("stone people"), whose settlements date at least to 2400 BC. The Arawaks--who originated in Venezuela and gradually migrated up the chain of islands now called the Lesser Antilles--succeeded the Siboney. The warlike Carib people drove the Arawaks from neighboring islands but apparently did not settle on either Antigua or Barbuda.

Christopher Columbus landed on the islands in 1493, naming the larger one "Santa Maria de la Antigua." The English colonized the islands in 1632. Sir Christopher Codrington established the first large sugar estate in Antigua in 1674, and leased Barbuda to raise provisions for his plantations. Barbuda's only town is named after him. Codrington and others brought slaves from Africa's west coast to work the plantations.

Antiguan slaves were emancipated in 1834 but remained economically dependent on the plantation owners. Economic opportunities for the new freedmen were limited by a lack of surplus farming land, no access to credit, and an economy built on agriculture rather than manufacturing. Poor labor conditions persisted until 1939 when a member of a royal commission urged the formation of a trade union movement.

The Antigua Trades and Labor Union, formed shortly afterward, became the political vehicle for Vere Cornwall Bird, who became the union's president in 1943. The Antigua Labor Party (ALP), formed by Bird and other trade unionists, first ran candidates in the 1946 elections and became the majority party in 1951, beginning a long history of electoral victories.

Voted out of office in the 1971 general elections that swept the progressive labor movement into power, Bird and the ALP returned to office in 1976, winning renewed mandates in every subsequent election under Vere Bird’s leadership until 1994 and also under the leadership of his son, Lester Bird, up until March 2004, when the ALP lost power in national elections.

In the last elections on March 23, 2004, the United Progressive Party (UPP) gained a 13-seat majority, while the opposition, now led by Robin Yearwood, retained four seats.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
As head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is represented in Antigua and Barbuda by a governor general who acts on the advice of the prime minister and the cabinet. Antigua and Barbuda has a bicameral legislature: a 17-member Senate appointed by the governor general--mainly on the advice of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition--and a 17-member popularly elected House of Representatives. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the House and conducts affairs of state with the cabinet. The prime minister and the cabinet are responsible to the Parliament. Elections must be held at least every 5 years but may be called by the prime minister at any time. National elections were last held on March 23, 2004. Antigua and Barbuda has a multiparty political system with a long history of hard-fought elections, three of which have resulted in peaceful changes of government.

Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association. Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the eastern Caribbean court system. Jurisprudence is based on English common law.

Principal Government Officials
Chief of State--Queen Elizabeth II
Governor General--Sir James Carlisle
Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs--Winston Baldwin Spencer
Ambassador to the U.S. and the OAS--Deborah Mae Lowell
Ambassador to the United Nations--Dr. John Ashe

Antigua and Barbuda maintains an embassy in the United States at 3216 New Mexico Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016 (tel. 202-362-5122).

ECONOMY
Antigua and Barbuda's service-based economy grew by 5.2% in 2004, with tourism, financial services, and government services as the key sources of employment and income. Although the tourism sector faced setbacks from a series of violent hurricanes since 1995 and a drop off in tourism after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, it has largely recovered and had a strong performance in 2004. More than three-quarters of a million people visited Antigua and Barbuda in 2004, the majority from Europe and the U.S., including over 500,000 cruise ship visitors.

To lessen its vulnerability to natural disasters and economic shocks, Antigua has sought to diversify its economy by encouraging growth in transportation, communications, Internet gambling, and financial services.

Antigua and Barbuda's currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar (EC$), a regional currency shared among members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) issues the EC$, manages monetary policy, and regulates and supervises commercial banking activities in its member countries. The ECCB's primary monetary policy goal is to maintain the long-standing currency peg of US$1=EC$2.7.

Antigua and Barbuda is a beneficiary of the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative that grants duty-free entry into the U.S. for many goods. In 2001, 22% of its total exports of $17 million went to the U.S. and 28.5% of its $335 million total imports came from the U.S. Antigua and Barbuda also belongs to the predominantly English-speaking Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

FOREIGN RELATIONS
Antigua and Barbuda maintains diplomatic relations with the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the People's Republic of China, as well as with many Latin American countries and neighboring Eastern Caribbean states. It is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Organization of American States, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, and the Eastern Caribbean's Regional Security System (RSS).

As a member of CARICOM, Antigua and Barbuda supported efforts by the United States to implement UN Security Council Resolution 940, designed to facilitate the departure of Haiti's de facto authorities from power. The country agreed to contribute personnel to the multinational force, which restored the democratically elected government of Haiti in October 1994.

U.S.-ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA RELATIONS
The United States has maintained friendly relations with Antigua and Barbuda since its independence. The United States has supported the Government of Antigua and Barbuda's effort to expand its economic base and to improve its citizens' standard of living. However, concerns over the lack of adequate regulation of the financial services sector prompted the U.S. Government to issue a financial advisory for Antigua and Barbuda in 1999. The advisory was lifted in 2001, but the U.S. Government continues to monitor the Government of Antigua and Barbuda's regulation of financial services. The U.S. also has been active in supporting post-hurricane disaster assistance and rehabilitation through the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance and the Peace Corps. U.S. assistance is primarily channeled through multilateral agencies such as the World Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), and through the newly opened USAID satellite office in Bridgetown, Barbados. In addition, Antigua and Barbuda receives counter-narcotics assistance and benefits from U.S. military exercise-related and humanitarian civic assistance construction projects.

Antigua and Barbuda is strategically situated in the Leeward Islands near maritime transport lanes of major importance to the United States. Antigua has long hosted a U.S. military presence. The former U.S. Navy support facility, turned over to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda in 1995, is now being developed as a regional Coast Guard training facility. The U.S. Space Command continues to maintain a space-tracking facility on Antigua. The U.S. Embassy in Antigua closed on June 30, 1994.

Antigua and Barbuda's location close to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico makes it an attractive transshipment point for narcotics traffickers. To address these problems, the U.S. and Antigua and Barbuda have signed a series of counter-narcotic and counter-crime treaties and agreements, including a maritime law enforcement agreement (1995), subsequently amended to include overflight and order-to-land provisions (1996); a bilateral extradition treaty (1996); and a mutual legal assistance treaty (1996).

In 2004, Antigua and Barbuda had 245,456 stay-over visitors, with around one-third from the United States. It is estimated that 4,500 Americans reside in the country.

Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--Mary E. Kramer
Deputy Chief of Mission--Mary Ellen T. Gilroy
Political/Economic Counselor--Sheila Peters
Consul General--Clyde Howard Jr.
Regional Labor Attaché--Alfred Anzaldua
Economic-Commercial Affairs--John Ashworth
Public Affairs Officer--Julie O'Reagan
Peace Corps Director--Terry Armstrong

The United States maintains no official presence in Antigua. The Ambassador and Embassy officers are resident in Barbados and travel to Antigua frequently. However, a U.S. consular agent resident in Antigua assists U.S. citizens in Antigua and Barbuda.

The U.S. Embassy in Barbados is located in the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown (tel: 246-436-4950; fax: 246-429-5246). Consular Agent Juliet Ryder is located at Hospital Hill, English Harbor, Antigua, tel: (268) 463-6531.

Other Contact Information
U.S. Department of Commerce
International Trade Administration
Office of Latin America and the Caribbean
14th & Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20230
Tel: 202-482-1658, 800-USA-Trade
Fax: 202-482-0464