]! ^! The Siboney were the first to inhabit the islands of Antigua and Barbuda in 2400 B.C., but Arawak and Carib 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 note: includes Redonda, 1.6 sq km ^& 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 153 km ^) `$ 12 nm `H 24 nm `I 200 nm `J 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% (2001) ^/ 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 _J `K 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, Whaling `L 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 68,722 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 27.9% (male 9,767/female 9,427) `+ 68% (male 23,466/female 23,250) `, 4.1% (male 1,085/female 1,727) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 29.67 years `- 29.19 years `. 30.15 years (2005 est.) ^6 0.57% (2005 est.) ^7 17.26 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 5.44 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 -6.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.05 male(s)/female `0 1.04 male(s)/female `+ 1.01 male(s)/female `, 0.63 male(s)/female `1 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 19.46 deaths/1,000 live births `- 23.43 deaths/1,000 live births `. 15.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 71.9 years `- 69.53 years `. 74.38 years (2005 est.) ^= 2.26 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s) `3 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 `M age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling `1 89% `- 90% `. 88% (1960 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 none `5 Antigua and Barbuda ^H constitutional monarchy with UK-style parliament ^I Saint John's (Antigua) ^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 `6 Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir James B. CARLISLE (since 10 June 1993) `7 Prime Minister Winston Baldwin SPENCER (since 24 March 2004) `8 Council of Ministers appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister `9 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) `9 House of Representatives - last held 23 March 2004 (next to be held NA 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) ^S 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) ^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, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `N Ambassador Lionel A. HURST `O 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 `P [1] (202) 362-5122 `Q [1] (202) 362-5225 `R Miami ^W the US does not have an embassy in Antigua and Barbuda (embassy closed 30 June 1994); 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, however, 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.) ^[ 3% (2002 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $11,000 (2002 est.) ^] `; 3.9% `< 19.2% `= 76.8% (2002) ^^ 30,000 ^_ agriculture 7%, industry 11%, services 82% (1983) ^` 11% (2001 est.) ^a NA _! `> NA `? NA _" 0.4% (2000 est.) _# `@ $123.7 million `A $145.9 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) _$ cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock _% tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances) _& 6% (1997 est.) _' 110.8 million kWh (2002) _( 103 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 3,600 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ $689 million (2002) _0 petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live animals 4%, other 8% _1 Poland 47.8%, UK 24.6%, Germany 8.7% (2004) _2 $692 million (2002 est.) _3 food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil _4 China 19.5%, US 18.7%, Singapore 14.8%, Poland 8.5%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.7% (2004) _5 $231 million (1999) _6 $2.3 million (1995) _7 East Caribbean dollar (XCD) _8 East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000) note: fixed rate since 1976 _9 1 April - 31 March 
]& _: 38,000 (2002) _; 38,200 (2002) _< `B NA `C good automatic telephone system `D country code - 1-268; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Saba (Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe _= AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) _> 2 (1997) _? .ag _@ 1,665 (2003) _A 10,000 (2002) 
]' _B `! 250 km (1999 est.) _C Saint John's _K `! 980 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,873,626 GRT/7,683,143 DWT by type: bulk carrier 33, cargo 630, chemical tanker 9, container 272, liquefied gas 9, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 8, roll on/roll off 17, vehicle carrier 1 `S 923 (Australia 2, Bangladesh 4, Belgium 4, Colombia 2, Denmark 8, Estonia 2, Germany 849, Iceland 5, Latvia 5, Lebanon 2, Lithuania 1, Netherlands 11, Norway 3, Philippines 1, Russia 1, Slovenia 5, Sweden 1, Switzerland 5, Turkey 4, United Kingdom 1, United States 7) (2005) _D 3 (2004 est.) _E `! 2 `G 1 `T 1 (2004 est.) _L `! 1 `T 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force: Infantry, Coast Guard (2004) _M 18 years of age (est.); no conscript military service (2001) _N NA _O NA 
]) _H none _I considered a minor transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; more significant as an offshore financial center 