Antigua and Barbuda
Capital: Saint John's
The Antigua and Barbuda Bulletin
Weekly Brief: October 12, 2015
Top Story Russia announced on Monday that its “volunteer” ground forces would join the fighting in Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he will not send Russian soldiers to Syria, but the plan to deploy irregulars parallels Russian operations in Crimea and eastern Ukraine. The news comes as Russia intensified airstrikes it began last […]
History
The Siboney were the first people 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 Spanish and French settlements were succeeded by an English 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.
Geography
Metric Units
| Total Area | 442.6 sq km |
| Land Boundaries | 0 km |
| Border Countries | No data |
| Coastline | 153 km |
| Terrain | mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher volcanic areas |
| Minimum Elevation | 0 m |
| Maximum Elevation | 402 m |
| Climate | tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation |
| Natural Resources | NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism |
| Arable Land | 9.09% |
| Permanent Crops | 2.27% |
Economy
| Gross Domestic Product | $1.54 billion |
| GDP (per capita) | $17,500 |
| GDP Growth | 1% |
| Unemployment Rate | 11% |
| Population in Poverty | No data% |
| GINI Index | No data |
Budget & Debt
| Expenditures | $293.4 million |
| Revenue | $229.5 million |
| Current Account Balance | $-200 million |
| External Debt | $441.2 million |
Trade
| Exports | $37.9 million |
| Export Items | petroleum products, bedding, handicrafts, electronic components, transport equipment, food and live animals |
| Export Partners | No data |
| Imports | $400 million |
| Import Items | food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil |
| Import Partners | No data |
People
| Population | 90,156 |
| Population Growth | 1.26% |
| Ethnic Groups | black 91%, mixed 4.4%, white 1.7%, other 2.9% (2001 census) |
| Religion | Protestant 76.4% (Anglican 25.7%, Seventh-Day Adventist 12.3%, Pentecostal 10.6%, Moravian 10.5%, Methodist 7.9%, Baptist 4.9%, Church of God 4.5%), Roman Catholic 10.4%, other Christian 5.4%, other 2%, none or unspecified 5.8% (2001 census) |
| Life Expectancy | 75.91 years |
| Infant Mortality | 0.9 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Maternal Mortality | 1.4 deaths/100,000 live births |
Energy
| Electricity Production | 115 million kWh |
| Electricity Consumption | 107 million kWh |
| From Fossil Fuels | 100% |
| From Nuclear | 0% |
| From Hydroelectric | 0% |
| From Renewable Sources | 0% |
