Antigua and Barbuda (2001) | Sierra Leone (2007) | |
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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 | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
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: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297)
15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 10 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 9
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
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: 71,740 sq km
land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
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. | The government is slowly reestablishing its authority after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The last UN peacekeepers withdrew in December 2005 leaving full responsibility for security with domestic forces. A new civilian UN mission - the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - was established to support the government's efforts to consolidate peace. The most pressing long-term threat to stability in Sierra Leone is the potential for political insecurity surrounding elections in July 2007. |
Birth rate | 19.5 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$122.6 million expenditures: $141.2 million, including capital expenditures of $17.3 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $96 million
expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Saint John's | name: Freetown
geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 153 km | 402 km |
Constitution | 1 November 1981 | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda |
conventional long form: Republic of Sierra Leone
conventional short form: Sierra Leone local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone local short form: Sierra Leone |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | - |
Death rate | 5.87 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $357 million (1998) | $1.61 billion (2003 est.) |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas N. HULL
embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ibrahim M. KAMARA
chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
Disputes - international | none | as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998 |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.3 million (1995) | $343.4 million (2005 est.) |
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. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining. |
Electricity - consumption | 88.4 million kWh (1999) | 227.9 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 95 million kWh (1999) | 245 million kWh (2005) |
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: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 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 | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleted natural resources; overfishing |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian | 20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | leones per US dollar - 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003), 2,099 (2002) |
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: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007) cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4% |
Exports | $38 million (1998) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live animals 4%, other 8% | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
Exports - partners | OECS 26%, Barbados 15%, Guyana 4%, Trinidad and Tobago 2%, US 0.3% | Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
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 equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $533 million (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
4% industry: 12.5% services: 83.5% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 49%
industry: 31% services: 21% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,200 (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.6% (1999 est.) | 7.1% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 03 N, 61 48 W | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
Geography - note | - | rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa |
Heliports | - | 2 (2007) |
Highways | total:
1,165 km paved: 384 km unpaved: 781 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 0.5%
highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
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) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 27%, UK 16%, Canada 4%, OECS 3% | Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.3%, France 4.2% (2006) |
Independence | 1 November 1981 (from UK) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Industries | tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances) | diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | 22.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births female: 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.6% (1999 est.) | 1% (2002 est.) |
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 | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 300 sq km (2003) |
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; Appeals Court; High Court |
Labor force | 30,000 | 1.369 million (1981 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | commerce and services 82%, agriculture 11%, industry 7% (1983) | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 958 km
border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
Land use | arable land:
18% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland: 11% other: 62% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 7.95%
permanent crops: 1.05% other: 91% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), local dialects | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
70.74 years male: 68.45 years female: 73.14 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 40.58 years
male: 38.36 years female: 42.87 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling total population: 89% male: 90% female: 88% (1960 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic
total population: 35.1% male: 46.9% female: 24.4% (2004 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
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
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 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.) |
total: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007) |
Military branches | Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force (includes Coast Guard) | Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 2.3% (2006) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 November (1981) | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) |
Nationality | noun:
Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s) adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan |
noun: Sierra Leonean(s)
adjective: Sierra Leonean |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
Natural resources | NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
Net migration rate | -6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.) |
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) | All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU [William ROBINSON]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Hugh MARSHALL] | trade unions and student unions |
Population | 66,970 (July 2001 est.) | 6,144,562 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 70.2% (2004) |
Population growth rate | 0.74% (2001 est.) | 2.292% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saint John's | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001) |
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) |
- |
Religions | Anglican (predominant), other Protestant, some Roman Catholic | Muslim 60%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30% |
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.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.964 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female total population: 0.938 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
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: marginal telephone and telegraph service
domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 28,000 (1996) | 24,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,300 (1996) | 113,200 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 2 (1999) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 2.31 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | 800 km (600 km year round) (2005) |