Antigua and Barbuda (2002) | Swaziland (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 28% (male 9,618; female 9,293)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 22,695; female 22,682) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 1,289; female 1,871) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 40.6% (male 240,643/female 235,895)
15-64 years: 55.6% (male 327,661/female 325,400) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 19,273/female 25,028) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
Airports | 3 (2001) | 18 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 443 sq km (Antigua 280 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km)
land: 442 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Redonda, 1.6 sq km |
total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
Background | 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. | Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted in 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s pressured the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy. Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known rates of HIV/AIDS infection |
Birth rate | 18.84 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 27.72 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $123.7 million
expenditures: $145.9 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $494.6 million
expenditures: $552.7 million, including capital expenditures of $147 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | Saint John's | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital |
Climate | tropical marine; little seasonal temperature variation | varies from tropical to near temperate |
Coastline | 153 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 November 1981 | a constitution was due to be adopted in November 2003 but was delayed and scheduled for early 2005 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | - |
Death rate | 5.75 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 25.26 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $231 million (1999) | $320 million (2002 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 Lewis LUCKE
embassy: Central Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959 |
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 Mary Madzandza KANYA
chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002 FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $2.3 million (1995) | $104 million (2001) |
Economy - overview | 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 work. 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. | In this small, landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population. The manufacturing sector has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp remain important foreign exchange earners. Mining has declined in importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives about nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends nearly three-quarters of its exports. Customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union and worker remittances from South Africa substantially supplement domestically earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2004 because of drought, and more than one-third of the adult population was infected by HIV/AIDS. |
Electricity - consumption | 93 million kWh (2000) | 1.173 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 799 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2002) |
Electricity - production | 100 million kWh (2000) | 402 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Boggy Peak 402 m |
lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 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 | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian | African 97%, European 3% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | emalangeni per US dollar - 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002), 8.6092 (2001), 6.9398 (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); Deputy Prime Minister Robin YEARWOOD 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; 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 |
chief of state: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
head of government: Prime Minister Absolom Themba DLAMINI (since 14 November 2003) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
Exports | $40 million (2000 est.) | NA |
Exports - commodities | petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live animals 4%, other 8% | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
Exports - partners | OECS 26%, Barbados 15%, Guyana 4%, Trinidad and Tobago 2%, US 0.3% | South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
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 horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $674 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4%
industry: 19% services: 77% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 16.1%
industry: 43.4% services: 40.5% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $10,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,100 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 03 N, 61 48 W | 26 30 S, 31 30 E |
Geography - note | Antigua has a deeply indented shoreline with many natural harbors and beaches; Barbuda has a very large western harbor | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
Highways | total: 1,165 km
paved: 384 km unpaved: 781 km note: it is assumed that the main roads are paved; the secondary roads are assumed to be unpaved (1995) |
total: 3,107 km
paved: NA unpaved: NA (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 50.2% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | considered a minor transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; more significant as an offshore financial center | - |
Imports | $357 million (2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 27%, UK 16%, Canada 4%, OECS 3% | South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2004) |
Independence | 1 November 1981 (from UK) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (1997 est.) | 3.7% (FY95/96) |
Industries | tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances) | mining (coal, raw asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel |
Infant mortality rate | 21.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 69.27 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 72.51 deaths/1,000 live births female: 65.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.4% (2000 est.) | 5.4% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 16 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 690 sq km (1998 est.) |
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) | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
Labor force | 30,000 | 383,200 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | commerce and services 82%, agriculture 11%, industry 7% (1983) (1983) | NA |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
Land use | arable land: 18.18%
permanent crops: 0% other: 81.82% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 10.35%
permanent crops: 0.7% other: 88.95% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), local dialects | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; 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 prior to March 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - ALP 53.2%, UPP 45.5%, independent 1.3%; seats by party - ALP 12, UPP 4, independent 1 |
bicameral Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of the Senate (30 seats - 10 appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats - 10 appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 18 October 2003 (next to be held October 2008) election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.02 years
male: 68.72 years female: 73.45 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 33.22 years
male: 32.49 years female: 33.98 years (2005 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
total population: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
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 |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 762 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,541,940 GRT/5,894,553 DWT
ships by type: bulk 20, cargo 469, chemical tanker 9, combination bulk 4, container 202, liquefied gas 7, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 9, roll on/roll off 35 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, Bangladesh 2, Belgium 3, Colombia 1, Cuba 1, Estonia 1, Germany 747, Greece 1, Iceland 8, Latvia 1, Lebanon 2, Lithuania 1, Netherlands 22, New Zealand 2, Portugal 1, Slovenia 6, South Africa 1, Sweden 2, United Kingdom 1, United States 7 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force, Royal Antigua and Barbuda Police Force (including the Coast Guard) | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes Air Wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $40.5 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.4% (2004) |
National holiday | Independence Day (National Day), 1 November (1981) | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s)
adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan |
noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts | drought |
Natural resources | NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
Net migration rate | -6.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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) | political parties are banned by the government - the following are considered political associations; Imbokodvo National Movement or INM [leader NA]; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU [William ROBINSON]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Hugh MARSHALL] | NA |
Population | 67,448 (July 2002 est.) | 1,173,900
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 40% (1995) |
Population growth rate | 0.69% (2002 est.) | 0.25% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saint John's | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2004) |
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) (2001 est.) |
total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) |
Religions | Christian, (predominantly Anglican with other Protestant, and some Roman Catholic) | Zionist (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship) 40%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish and other 30% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age |
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: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system
domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: country code - 268; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 28,000 (1996) | 46,200 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,300 (1996) | 88,000 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 5 plus 7 relay stations (2004) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
Total fertility rate | 2.29 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.7 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7% (2000 est.) | 34% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |