Antigua and Barbuda

noun:

Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s)

adjective:

Antiguan, Barbudan

total:

33.6 years (2023 est.)

male:

31.6 years

female:

35.4 years

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.87 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.75 male(s)/female

total population:

0.89 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

total:

14 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male:

16.8 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

10.9 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

78 years (2023 est.)

male:

75.9 years

female:

80.3 years

improved:

total: 91.7% of population

unimproved:

total: 8.1% of population (2017 est.)

total:

11.88 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

2.97 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

3.95 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

4.55 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.41 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

urban population:

24.3% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.87% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

8.3 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

0.56 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

0.22 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal:

10 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

2.5 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

agricultural:

1.8 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Antigua and Barbuda

etymology:

• "antiguo" is Spanish for "ancient" or "old";
• the island was discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1493 and, according to tradition, named by him after the church of Santa Maria la Antigua (Old Saint Mary's) in Seville;
• "barbuda" is Spanish for "bearded" and the adjective may refer to the alleged beards of the indigenous people or to the island's bearded fig trees

name:

Saint John's

geographic coordinates:

17 07 N, 61 51 W

time difference:

UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology:

named after Saint John the Apostle

history:

several previous; latest presented 31 July 1981, effective 31 October 1981 (The Antigua and Barbuda Constitution Order 1981)

amendments:

• proposed by either house of Parliament;
• passage of amendments to constitutional sections such as citizenship, fundamental rights and freedoms, the establishment, power, and authority of the executive and legislative branches, the Supreme Court Order, and the procedure for amending the constitution requires approval by at least two-thirds majority vote of the membership of both houses, approval by at least two-thirds majority in a referendum, and assent to by the governor general;
• passage of other amendments requires only two-thirds majority vote by both houses;
• amended 2009, 2011, 2018

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent only:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

7 years

chief of state:

King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General Rodney WILLIAMS (since 14 August 2014)

head of government:

Prime Minister Gaston BROWNE (since 13 June 2014)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister

elections/appointments:

• the monarchy is hereditary;
• governor general appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister;
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor general

highest court(s):

• the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is the superior court of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States;
• the ECSC - headquartered on St. Lucia - consists of the Court of Appeal - headed by the chief justice and 4 judges - and the High Court with 18 judges;
• the Court of Appeal is itinerant, travelling to member states on a schedule to hear appeals from the High Court and subordinate courts;
• High Court judges reside in the member states, with 2 assigned to Antigua and Barbuda

judge selection and term of office:

• chief justice of Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court appointed by the Her Majesty, Queen ELIZABETH II;
• other justices and judges appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission;
• Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 65;
• High Court judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 62

subordinate courts:

Industrial Court; Magistrates' Courts

• Antigua Labor Party or ABLP [Gaston BROWNE]
• Barbuda People's Movement or BPM [Trevor WALKER]
• Democratic National Alliance or DNA [Joanne MASSIAH]
• Go Green for Life or GGL [Owen GEORGE]
• United Progressive Party or UPP [Harold LOVELL]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Sir Ronald SANDERS (since 17 September 2015)

chancery:

3216 New Mexico Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20016

telephone:

[1] (202) 362-5122

FAX:

[1] (202) 362-5225

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://www.antigua-barbuda.org/Aghome01.htm

consulate(s) general:

Miami, New York

• 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;
• the sun symbolizes the dawn of a new era, black represents the African heritage of most of the population, blue is for hope, and red is for the dynamism of the people;
• the "V" stands for victory;
• the successive yellow, blue, and white coloring is also meant to evoke the country's tourist attractions of sun, sea, and sand

name:

Fair Antigua, We Salute Thee

lyrics/music:

Novelle Hamilton RICHARDS/Walter Garnet Picart CHAMBERS

note: adopted 1967; as a Commonwealth country, in addition to the national anthem, "God Save the King" serves as the royal anthem (see United Kingdom)

total World Heritage Sites:

1 (cultural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

Antigua Naval Dockyard

• dual island-tourism and construction-driven economy;
• emerging “blue economy”;
• limited water supply and susceptibility to hurricanes limit activity;
• improving road infrastructure;
• friendly to foreign direct investment;
• looking at financial innovation in cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies

agriculture:

7%

industry:

11%

services:

82% (1983 est.)

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

production:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

0 metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

0 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

5,000 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

0 barrels (2021 est.)

production:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

consumption:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

exports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

imports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

proven reserves:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• the telecom sector has seen a decline in subscriber numbers (particularly for prepaid mobile services the mainstay of short term visitors) and revenue;
• fixed and mobile broadband services are two areas that have benefited from the crisis as employees and students have resorted to working from home;
• one area of the telecom market that is not prepared for growth is 5G mobile;
• governments, regulators, and even the mobile network operators have shown that they have not been investing in 5G opportunities at the present time;
• network expansion and enhancements remain concentrated around improving LTE coverage (2021)

domestic:

fixed-line teledensity roughly 27 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity is about 200 per 100 persons (2021)

international:

• country code - 1-268;
• landing points for the ECFS and Southern Caribbean Fiber submarine cable systems with links to other islands in the eastern Caribbean;
• satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)

• state-controlled Antigua and Barbuda Broadcasting Service (ABS) operates 1 TV station;
• multi-channel cable TV subscription services are available;
• ABS operates 1 radio station;
• roughly 15 radio stations, some broadcasting on multiple frequencies

number of registered air carriers:

1 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 10

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

580,174 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

290,000 (2018) mt-km

total:

1,170 km (2011)

paved:

386 km (2011)

unpaved:

784 km (2011)

major seaport(s):

Saint John's

cruise port(s):

St. John's

• the ABDF's equipment inventory is limited to small arms, light weapons, and soft-skin vehicles;
• the Coast Guard maintains ex-US patrol vessels and some smaller boats (2023)

• a transit point for cocaine and marijuana destined for North America, Europe, and elsewhere in the Caribbean;
• some local demand for cocaine and some use of synthetic drugs