The World Factbook (1982)/Antigua and Barbuda

by the Central Intelligence Agency

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

(See reference map III)

LAND

280km²;54% arable, 5% pasture, 14% forested, 9% unused but potentially productive, 18% wasteland and built on; the islands of Redonda (less than 2.6 km 2 and uninhabited) and Barbuda (161 km²) are dependencies

WATER

Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 3 nm (fishing 12 nm)

Coastline: 153 km

PEOPLE

Population: 77,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 1.3%

Nationality: noun—Antiguan(s); adjective—Antiguan

Ethnic divisions: almost entirely African Negro

Religion: Church of England (predominant), other Protestant sects, and some Roman Catholic

Language: English

Literacy: about 88%

Organized labor: 18,000, 18% unemployment (est.)

GOVERNMENT

Official name: Antigua and Barbuda

Type: independent state since 1 November 1981; recognizes Elizabeth II as Chief of State

Capital: St. Johns

Political subdivisions: 6 parishes, 2 dependencies (Barbuda, Redonda)

Legal system: based on English law; British Caribbean Court of Appeal has exclusive original jurisdiction and an appellate jurisdiction, consists of Chief Justice and five justices

Branches: legislative, 21-member popularly elected House of Representatives; executive, Prime Minister and Cabinet

Government leaders: Prime Minister Vere C. BIRD, Sr.; Deputy Prime Minister Lester BIRD; Governor Sir Wilfred Ebenezer JACOBS

Suffrage: universal suffrage age 18 and over

Elections: every five years; last general election 24 April 1980

Political parties and leaders: Antigua Labor Party (ALP), Vere C. Bird, Sr., Lester Bird; Progressive Labor Movement (PLM), George Herbert Walter; Antigua People's Party (APP), J. Rowan Henry

Voting strength: (1980 election) House of Representatives; ALP, 13 seats; PLM, 3 seats; independent, 1 seat

Communists: negligible

Other political or pressure groups: Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement (ACLM), a small leftist nationalist group led by Timothy Hector

Member of: CARICOM, ISO

ECONOMY

GDP: $73 million (1978 est.), $1,000 per capita; 3% real growth in 1980

Agriculture: main crop, cotton

Major industry: tourism

Electric power: 28,000 kW capacity (1981); 55 million kWh produced (1981), 714 kWh per capita

Exports: $21 million (f.o.b., 1980 est.); clothing, rum, lobsters

Imports: $76 million (c.i.f., 1980 est.); fuel, food, machinery

Major trade partners: 30% UK, 25% US, 18% Commonwealth Caribbean countries (1975)

Aid: economic—bilateral commitments, ODA and OOF (1970-79) from Western (non-US) countries, $20 million; no military aid

Budget: (current) revenues, $24 million (1980 prelim.); current expenditures, $33 million (1980 prelim.)

Monetary conversion rate: 2.70 East Caribbean (EC) dollar=US$l (1980)

Fiscal year: 1 April-30 March

COMMUNICATIONS

Railroads: 78 km narrow gauge (0.760 m), employed almost exclusively for handling cane

Highways: 380 km total; 240 km main, 140 km secondary

Ports: 1 major (St. Johns), 1 minor

Civil air: 10 major transport aircraft, including 2 leased in

Airfields: 3 total, 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m

Telecommunications: automatic telephone system; 4,000 telephones (5.4 per 100 popl); tropospheric scatter links with Tortola and St. Lucia; 3 AM, 2 FM, and 2 TV stations; 1 coaxial submarine cable