Antigua and Barbuda (2006) | Equatorial Guinea (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 2 dependencies*; Barbuda*, Redonda*, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, Saint Peter, Saint Philip | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.6% (male 9,716/female 9,375)
15-64 years: 68.5% (male 23,801/female 23,524) 65 years and over: 3.9% (male 1,020/female 1,672) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.4% (male 106,061; female 105,071)
15-64 years: 53.8% (male 128,489; female 139,732) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,385; female 10,406) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | 3 (2006) | 3 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Area | total: 442.6 sq km (Antigua 280 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km)
land: 442.6 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Redonda, 1.6 sq km |
total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | The Siboney were the first to inhabit the islands of Antigua and Barbuda in 2400 B.C., but Arawak 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. | Composed of a mainland portion and five inhabited islands, Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. The tiny country, one of the smallest on the African continent, has been ruled by President OBIANG NGUEM MBASOGO since he seized power in a coup in 1979. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 legislative elections - were widely seen as being flawed. |
Birth rate | 16.93 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 37.33 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $123.7 million
expenditures: $145.9 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $200 million
expenditures: $158 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | name: Saint John's
geographic coordinates: 17 06 N, 61 51 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Malabo |
Climate | tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 153 km | 296 km |
Constitution | 1 November 1981 | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Antigua and Barbuda |
conventional long form: Republic of Equatorial Guinea
conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial former: Spanish Guinea |
Currency | - | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 5.37 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 12.83 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $427.3 million; note - data are for public external debt, not total external debt (2000) | $225 million (2000 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 George McDade STAPLES; note - the US does not have an embassy in Equatorial Guinea (embassy closed September 1995); the US ambassador to Cameroon is accredited to Equatorial Guinea; the US State Department is considering opening a Consulate Agency in Malabo |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Deborah Mae LOVELL
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 362-5122 FAX: [1] (202) 362-5225 consulate(s) general: Miami |
chief of mission: Ambassador Pastor Micha ONDO BILE
chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 528-5252 |
Disputes - international | none | tripartite maritime boundary and economic zone dispute with Cameroon and Nigeria is currently before the ICJ; maritime boundary dispute with Gabon because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.65 million (2004) | $33.8 million (1995) (1995) |
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. 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 slightly more than one-third of tourist arrivals. | The discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth (the government has stated its intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993 because of corruption and mismanagement. No longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil revenues, the government has been unsuccessfully trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. Businesses, for the most part, are owned by government officials and their family members. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Boosts in production and higher world oil prices stimulated growth in 2002, with oil accounting for 90% of increased exports. |
Electricity - consumption | 93 million kWh (2003) | 20.46 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 100 million kWh (2003) | 22 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 91%
hydro: 9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Boggy Peak 402 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 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 | tap water is not potable; deforestation |
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, 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, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black, British, Portuguese, Lebanese, Syrian | Bioko (primarily Bubi, some Fernandinos), Rio Muni (primarily Fang), Europeans less than 1,000, mostly Spanish |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001)
note: fixed rate since 1976 |
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 742.79 (January 2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir James B. CARLISLE (since 10 June 1993)
head of government: Prime Minister Winston Baldwin SPENCER (since 24 March 2004) 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: President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979 when he seized power in a military coup)
head of government: Prime Minister Candido Muatetema RIVAS (since 26 February 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Miguel OYONO NDONG (since NA January 1998); Deputy Prime Minister Demetrio Elo NDONG NZE FUMU (since NA January 1998) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2009); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected president; percent of vote - Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO 97.1%, Celestino Bonifacio BACALE 2.2%; elections marred by widespread fraud |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $2.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, machinery and transport equipment 17%, food and live animals 4%, other 8% | petroleum, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | Spain 34%, Germany 20.7%, Italy 7.7%, Singapore 5.8%, UK 4.9% (2005) | China 24%, Japan 7%, US 7%, South Korea 5% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 January - 31 December |
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 green (top), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $1.04 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.8%
industry: 22% services: 74.3% (2002) |
agriculture: 20%
industry: 60% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.8% (2005 est.) | 6% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 03 N, 61 48 W | 2 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | Antigua has a deeply indented shoreline with many natural harbors and beaches; Barbuda has a very large western harbor | insular and continental regions rather widely separated |
Highways | - | total: 2,880 km
paved: 0 km unpaved: 2,880 km (1996) |
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 an offshore financial center | - |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $736 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil | petroleum sector equipment, manufactured goods and equipment |
Imports - partners | US 21.1%, China 16.4%, Germany 13.3%, Singapore 12.7%, Spain 6.5% (2005) | US 60%, France 12%, Spain 8%, Italy 6% (1999) |
Independence | 1 November 1981 (from UK) | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6% (1997 est.) | 7.4% (1994 est.) |
Industries | tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances) | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | total: 18.86 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 22.71 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
90.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.9% (2005 est.) | 6% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OAU, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WToO, WTrO (applicant) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2002) |
Irrigated land | NA | NA sq km |
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); member Caribbean Court of Justice | Supreme Tribunal |
Labor force | 30,000 | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 7%
industry: 11% services: 82% (1983) |
- |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
Land use | arable land: 18.18%
permanent crops: 4.55% other: 77.27% (2005) |
arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), local dialects | Spanish (official), French (official), pidgin English, Fang, Bubi, Ibo |
Legal system | based on English common law | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom |
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 23 March 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ALP 4, UPP 13 |
unicameral House of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (80 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 7 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - PDGE 80%, UP 6%, CPDS 5%; seats by party - PDGE 75, UP 4 and CPDS 1 note: opposition parties have refused to take up their seats in the House to protest widespread irregularities in the 1999 legislative elections |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.16 years
male: 69.78 years female: 74.66 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 54.35 years
male: 52.26 years female: 56.5 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling
total population: 85.8% male: NA% female: NA% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 78.5% male: 89.6% female: 68.1% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 1,011 ships (1000 GRT or over) 7,452,503 GRT/9,783,309 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 40, cargo 596, chemical tanker 7, container 321, liquefied gas 11, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 12, roll on/roll off 21 foreign-owned: 984 (Australia 1, Bangladesh 4, Belgium 4, Colombia 2, Denmark 14, Estonia 12, France 1, Germany 858, Iceland 8, Isle of Man 2, Latvia 5, Lebanon 1, Lithuania 3, Netherlands 14, Norway 11, NZ 1, Poland 3, Russia 6, Singapore 1, Slovenia 6, Switzerland 4, Turkey 8, UK 7, US 7, Vietnam 1) (2006) |
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 14,413 GRT/16,251 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 3, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Antigua and Barbuda Defense Force (2006) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Rapid Intervention Force, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $27.5 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 2.5% (FY01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 112,664 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 57,194 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day (National Day), 1 November (1981) | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s)
adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan |
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts | violent windstorms, flash floods |
Natural resources | NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism | oil, petroleum, timber, small unexploited deposits of gold, manganese, uranium |
Net migration rate | -6.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Antigua Labor Party or ALP [Lester Bryant BIRD]; Barbuda People's Movement or BPM [Thomas H. FRANK]; National Democratic Congress [Tillman THOMAS]; United Progressive Party or UPP [Baldwin SPENCER] (a coalition of three opposition parties - Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement or ACLM, Progressive Labor Movement or PLM, United National Democratic Party or UNDP) | Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido MIKO Abogo]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE (ruling party) [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]; Party for Progress of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Miguel Esono EMAN]; Popular Union or UP [Andres Moises Bda ADA]; Progressive Democratic Alliance or ADP [Victorino Bolekia BONAY]; Union of Independent Democrats of UDI [Daniel OYONO] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Antigua Trades and Labor Union or ATLU [William ROBINSON]; People's Democratic Movement or PDM [Hugh MARSHALL] | NA |
Population | 69,108 (July 2006 est.) | 498,144 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.55% (2006 est.) | 2.45% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bata, Luba, Malabo |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2002) |
Radios | - | 180,000 (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 0 km |
Religions | Christian (predominantly Anglican with other Protestant, and some Roman Catholic) | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal adult |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: good automatic telephone system international: country code - 1-268; 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 2; tropospheric scatter to Saba (Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe |
general assessment: poor system with adequate government services
domestic: NA international: international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 38,000 (2004) | 6,000 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 54,000 (2004) | 300 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 1 (2002) |
Terrain | mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 2.24 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 4.81 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11% (2001 est.) | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |