Antigua And Barbuda

 

Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs                                          
June 2007                                                                      
                                                                    
  Background Note: Antigua and Barbuda                                        
                                   
  Men participate in parade marking                                           
  25th anniversary of Antigua's                                               
  independence, St. John, Antigua.                                            
  November 1, 2006. [© AP Images]                                             
                                                                       
  Flag of Antigua and Barbuda is 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.                                                                       
                                                                       
  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 (2005): 82,786.                                                  
  Annual population growth rate (2005): 1.7%.                                 
  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 (2005): Adult literacy--85.8%.                                    
  Health (2004): Infant mortality rate--11.0/1,000. Life expectancy--men 70   
  years; women 74 years.                                                      
  Work force (2005): 30,000 (commerce and services, agriculture, other        
  industry).                                                                  
  Unemployment (2002): 13%.                                                   
                                                                       
  Government                                                                  
  Type: Parliamentary democracy; independent sovereign state within the       
  Commonwealth.                                                               
  Constitution: 1981.                                                         
  Independence: November 1, 1981.                                             
  Branches: Executive--governor general (representing Queen Elizabeth II, head
  of state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet.                    
  Legislative--bicameral Parliament. 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 Labour Party (ALP), United Progressive Party (UPP,
  majority), Barbuda People's Movement (BPM).                                 
  Suffrage: Universal at 18.                                                  
                                                                       
  Economy                                                                     
  GDP (2005): $875.8 million.                                                 
  GDP growth rate (2005): 3.2%.                                               
  Per capita GDP (2004): $12,586.                                             
  Inflation (2005): 0.9%.                                                     
  Natural resources: Negligible.                                              
  Agriculture: Fish, cotton, livestock, vegetables, and pineapples.           
  Services: Tourism, banking, and other financial services.                   
  Trade (2005): Exports--$58 million (merchandise) and $454 million (commercial
  services). Major markets--European Union (23.2%), United States (7.7%),     
  Anguilla (7.0%), St. Kitts and Nevis (10.3%), Netherlands Antilles (23.4%). 
  Imports--$497 million (merchandise) and $197 million (commercial services). 
  Major suppliers--United States (48.9%), Netherlands Antilles (10.2%),       
  European Union (11.6%), Trinidad and Tobago (10.9%), Canada (3.7%).         
  Official exchange rate: EC$2.70 = U.S. $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, which saw the birth of the trade union movement in    
  Antigua and Barbuda.                                                        
                                                                       
  The Antigua Trades and Labour Union became the political vehicle for Vere   
  Cornwall Bird, who was elected as the Labour Union's president in 1943. The 
  Antigua Labour 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) 
  won 12 of the 17 seats in Parliament. The main opposition ALP, now led by   
  Steadroy "Cutie" Benjamin, 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.                        
                                                                       
  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 Beethoven Carlisle                              
  Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs--Winston Baldwin Spencer     
  Ambassador to the United States and the OAS--Deborah Mae Lovell             
  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 3.2% in 2005, compared  
  with 5.2% in 2004. Construction, banking and insurance, communications, and 
  wholesale and retail trade sectors were the main contributors to economic   
  growth. The economy is experiencing its third consecutive year of high      
  growth, driven by a construction boom in hotels and housing, as well as     
  projects related to the 2007 Cricket World Cup. The tourism and hospitality 
  sector has largely recovered after the decrease in tourism following the    
  September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It posted a strong performance in 2004,
  and in 2005 the sector was estimated at 50% of GDP.                         
                                                                       
  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 has kept the EC$ pegged at     
  EC$2.7=U.S. $1.                                                             
                                                                       
  Antigua and Barbuda is a beneficiary of the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative 
  that grants duty-free entry into the United States for many goods. In 2005, 
  7.7% of its total exports went to the United States, and 48.9% of its total 
  imports came from the United States. 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).         
                                                                       
  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 United States
  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 and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), as well as through the 
  USAID 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.            
                                                                       
  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 United States 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 2005, Antigua and Barbuda had 239,804 stay-over visitors, with nearly 28%
  of Antigua and Barbuda's visitors coming from the United States. It is      
  estimated that 4,500 Americans reside in the country.                       
                                                                       
  Principal U.S. Embassy Officials                                            
  Ambassador--Mary M. Ourisman                                                
  Deputy Chief of Mission--Mary Ellen T. Gilroy                               
  Political/Economic Counselor--Martina Strong (acting)                       
  Consul General--Clyde Howard Jr.                                            
  Regional Labor Attaché--Martina Strong                                      
  Economic-Commercial Affairs--Anthony Eterno                                 
  Public Affairs Officer--Julie O'Reagan                                      
  Peace Corps Director--Kate Raftery                                          
                                                                       
  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 Wildey Business Park, Wildey,
  St. Michael. (tel: 246-436-4950; fax: 246-429-5246). Consular Agent Rebecca 
  Simon 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                                                           
                                                                       
  Caribbean/Latin American Action                                             
  1818 N Street, NW                                                           
  Suite 310                                                                   
  Washington, DC 20036                                                        
  Tel: 202-466-7464                                                           
  Fax: 202-822-0075                                                           
                                                                       
  TRAVEL AND BUSINESS INFORMATION                                             
  The U.S. Department of State's Consular Information Program advises Americans
  traveling and residing abroad through Consular Information Sheets, Public   
  Announcements, and Travel Warnings. Consular Information Sheets exist for all
  countries and include information on entry and exit requirements, currency  
  regulations, health conditions, safety and security, crime, political       
  disturbances, and the addresses of the U.S. embassies and consulates abroad.
  Public Announcements are issued to disseminate information quickly about    
  terrorist threats and other relatively short-term conditions overseas that  
  pose significant risks to the security of American travelers. Travel Warnings
  are issued when the State Department recommends that Americans avoid travel 
  to a certain country because the situation is dangerous or unstable.        
                                                                       
  For the latest security information, Americans living and traveling abroad  
  should regularly monitor the Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet
  web site at http://www.travel.state.gov, where the current Worldwide Caution,
  Public Announcements, and Travel Warnings can be found. Consular Affairs    
  Publications, which contain information on obtaining passports and planning a
  safe trip abroad, are also available at http://www.travel.state.gov. For    
  additional information on international travel, see http://www.usa.gov/     
  Citizen/Topics/Travel/International.shtml.                                  
                                                                       
  The Department of State encourages all U.S citizens who traveling or residing
  abroad to register via the State Department's travel registration website or
  at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate abroad. Registration will make your
  presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an 
  emergency and will enable you to receive up-to-date information on security 
  conditions.                                                                 
                                                                       
  Emergency information concerning Americans traveling abroad may be obtained 
  by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the U.S. and Canada or the regular   
  toll line 1-202-501-4444 for callers outside the U.S. and Canada.           
                                                                       
  The National Passport Information Center (NPIC) is the U.S. Department of   
  State's single, centralized public contact center for U.S. passport         
  information. Telephone: 1-877-4USA-PPT (1-877-487-2778). Customer service   
  representatives and operators for TDD/TTY are available Monday-Friday, 7:00 
  a.m. to 12:00 midnight, Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.           
                                                                       
  Travelers can check the latest health information with the U.S. Centers for 
  Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. A hotline at 877-FYI-TRIP
  (877-394-8747) and a web site at http://www.cdc.gov/travel/index.htm give the
  most recent health advisories, immunization recommendations or requirements,
  and advice on food and drinking water safety for regions and countries. A   
  booklet entitled "Health Information for International Travel" (HHS         
  publication number CDC-95-8280) is available from the U.S. Government       
  Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402, tel. (202) 512-1800.                 
                                                                       
  Further Electronic Information                                              
  Department of State Web Site. Available on the Internet at http://          
  www.state.gov, the Department of State web site provides timely, global     
  access to official U.S. foreign policy information, including Background    
  Notes and daily press briefings along with the directory of key officers of 
  Foreign Service posts and more. The Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC)
  provides security information and regional news that impact U.S. companies  
  working abroad through its website http://www.osac.gov                      
                                                                       
  Export.gov provides a portal to all export-related assistance and market    
  information offered by the federal government and provides trade leads, free
  export counseling, help with the export process, and more.                  
  STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, provides   
  authoritative economic, business, and international trade information from  
  the Federal government. The site includes current and historical            
  trade-related releases, international market research, trade opportunities, 
  and country analysis and provides access to the National Trade Data Bank.   

 

***********************************************************
See http://www.state.gov/r/pa/bgn/ for all Background notes
************************************************************
To change your subscription, go to http://www.state.gov/misc/echannels/66822.htm