Antigua and Barbuda (2001) | Norfolk Island (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip | none (territory of Australia) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
27.97% (male 9,527; female 9,203) 15-64 years: 67.15% (male 22,450; female 22,519) 65 years and over: 4.88% (male 1,360; female 1,911) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
442 sq km (Antigua 281 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km) land: 442 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Redonda |
total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The islands of Antigua and Barbuda became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981. Some 3,000 refugees fleeing a volcanic eruption on nearby Montserrat have settled in Antigua and Barbuda since 1995. | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. |
Birth rate | 19.5 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA |
Budget | revenues:
$122.6 million expenditures: $141.2 million, including capital expenditures of $17.3 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
Capital | Saint John's | Kingston |
Climate | tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 153 km | 32 km |
Constitution | 1 November 1981 | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda |
conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | - |
Death rate | 5.87 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA |
Debt - external | $357 million (1998) | NA |
Dependency status | - | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 | none (territory of Australia) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lionel Alexander HURST chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 362-5211 FAX: [1] (202) 362-5225 consulate(s) general: Miami |
none (territory of Australia) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.3 million (1995) | NA |
Economy - overview | Tourism continues to be the dominant activity in the economy accounting directly or indirectly for more than half of GDP. The budding offshore financial sector has been seriously hurt by financial sanctions imposed by the US and UK as a result of the loosening of its money-laundering controls. The government has made efforts to comply with international demands in order to get the sanctions lifted. Antigua and Barbuda was listed as a tax haven by the OECD in 2000. The dual island nation's agricultural production is mainly directed to the domestic market; the sector is constrained by the limited water supply and labor shortages that reflect the pull 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 about one-third of all tourist arrivals. | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. |
Electricity - consumption | 88.4 million kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 95 million kWh (1999) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Boggy Peak 402 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
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Ethnic groups | black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General James B. CARLISLE (since NA 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Lester Bryant BIRD (since 8 March 1994) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general chosen by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister; prime minister appointed by the governor general |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
Exports | $38 million (1998) | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live animals 4%, other 8% | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados |
Exports - partners | OECS 26%, Barbados 15%, Guyana 4%, Trinidad and Tobago 2%, US 0.3% | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | 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 | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $533 million (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 12.5% services: 83.5% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - NA |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.6% (1999 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 17 03 N, 61 48 W | 29 02 S, 167 57 E |
Geography - note | - | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated |
Highways | total:
1,165 km paved: 384 km unpaved: 781 km (1999 est.) |
total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | considered a minor transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; more significant as a drug-money-laundering center | - |
Imports | $330 million (1998) | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) |
Imports - commodities | food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil | NA |
Imports - partners | US 27%, UK 16%, Canada 4%, OECS 3% | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe |
Independence | 1 November 1981 (from UK) | none (territory of Australia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (1997 est.) | NA |
Industries | tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances) | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete |
Infant mortality rate | 22.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.6% (1999 est.) | NA |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA |
Judicial branch | 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) | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions |
Labor force | 30,000 | 1,345 |
Labor force - by occupation | commerce and services 82%, agriculture 11%, industry 7% (1983) | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
18% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 11% other: 62% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), local dialects | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law |
Legislative branch | 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)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 9 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ALP 12, UPP 4, independent 1 |
unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
70.74 years male: 68.45 years female: 73.14 years (2001 est.) |
total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling total population: 89% male: 90% female: 88% (1960 est.) |
NA |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
681 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,070,390 GRT/5,289,904 DWT ships by type: bulk 15, cargo 424, chemical tanker 10, combination bulk 4, container 176, liquefied gas 4, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 11, roll on/roll off 29 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Cyprus 2, Germany 4, Slovenia 2 (2000 est.) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force (includes Coast Guard) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 November (1981) | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) |
Nationality | noun:
Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s) adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan |
noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts | typhoons (especially May to July) |
Natural resources | NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism | fish |
Net migration rate | -6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | NA |
Political parties and leaders | 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) | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU [William ROBINSON]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Hugh MARSHALL] | none |
Population | 66,970 (July 2001 est.) | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.74% (2001 est.) | -0.01% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saint John's | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) |
Radios | 36,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
77 km narrow gauge: 64 km 0.760-m gauge; 13 km 0.610-m gauge (used almost exclusively for handling sugarcane) |
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Religions | Anglican (predominant), other Protestant, some Roman Catholic | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
NA |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: good automatic telephone system international: 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Saba (Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe |
general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
Telephones - main lines in use | 28,000 (1996) | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,300 (1996) | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | 2.31 children born/woman (2001 est.) | NA |
Unemployment rate | 7% (1999 est.) | 0% |
Waterways | none | - |