Back Антигуеи Барбудеи Abkhazian Antigua ngon Barbuda ACE Antigua en Barbuda Afrikaans Antigua und Barbuda ALS አንቲጋ እና ባርቡዳ Amharic Antika ato Paputa AMI Antigua y Barbuda AN Antigua and Barbuda ANG एन्टीगुआ आरो बारबुडा ANP أنتيغوا وباربودا Arabic
Antigua and Barbuda Aanteega an' Baabyuuda (Antiguan and Barbudan Creole) | |
|---|---|
| Motto: "Each Endeavouring, All Achieving" | |
| Anthem: "Fair Antigua, We Salute Thee"[a] | |
  | |
| Capital and largest city | St. John's[b] 17°7′N 61°51′W / 17.117°N 61.850°W |
| Official languages | None[c] |
| Vernacular language | Antiguan and Barbudan Creole |
| Ethnic groups (2011[2]) |
|
| Religion (2020[3]) |
|
| Demonym(s) | Antiguan and Barbudan |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• Monarch | Charles III |
| Sir Rodney Williams | |
| Gaston Browne | |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| Senate | |
| House of Representatives | |
| Formation | |
• Union | 1 August 1860 |
• Redonda | 26 March 1872 |
| 27 February 1967 | |
| 1 November 1981 | |
| Area | |
• Total | 440 km2 (170 sq mi) (182nd) |
• Water (%) | negligible |
| Population | |
• 2022 estimate |  100,772[4] (182nd) |
• 2011 census | 84,816 |
• Density | 186/km2 (481.7/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
• Total |  $2.6 billion (196th) |
• Per capita | $25,449[5] (59th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $1.95 billion (193rd) |
• Per capita | $19,068[5] (49th) |
| HDI (2022) | 0.826[6] very high (54th) |
| Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
| Time zone | UTC-04:00 (AST) |
| Calling code | +1-268 |
| ISO 3166 code | AG |
| Internet TLD | .ag |
Antigua and Barbuda[d] is a sovereign archipelagic country composed of Antigua, Barbuda, and numerous other small islands. Antigua and Barbuda has a total area of 440 km2 (170 sq mi), making it one of the smallest countries in the Caribbean. The country is mostly flat, with the highest points on Antigua being in the Shekerley Mountains and on Barbuda the Highlands. The country has a tropical savanna climate, with pockets of tropical monsoon in Antigua's southwest. Its most populated city is St. John's, followed by All Saints and Bolans. Most of the country resides in the corridor between St. John's and English Harbour.
Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Caribbean Sea on the west, Antigua and Barbuda is located within the Leeward Islands moist forest and Leeward Islands xeric scrub ecoregions. The country shares maritime borders with Anguilla, Saint Barthélemy, and Saint Kitts and Nevis to the west, Montserrat to the southwest, and Guadeloupe to the south. Antigua and Barbuda has numerous natural parks, including Codrington Lagoon, one of the largest internal bodies of water in the Lesser Antilles. Despite its dense population, the country has large swaths of undeveloped land, however, Antigua and Barbuda has experienced many environmental issues due to climate change.
Hunter-gatherers settled the islands starting around 3000 BC, likely arriving on canoes from Central and South America. They were followed by the Arawaks of Venezuela during the Ceramic Period. In 1493, Christopher Columbus surveyed the island of Antigua, which resulted in an attempt at Spanish settlement in 1520. Antigua remained uncolonised until 1632 when Edward Warner and his small party created the first successful British colony. Barbuda was under the control of the Codrington family until the 1860s. Antiguan independence was first proposed by Prince Klaas in 1728, who attempted to make the island an independent kingdom. After emancipation in 1834, Antigua's autonomy slowly increased, while Barbuda was slowly integrated into Antigua. The first democratic elections were held in 1951, and by 1981, Antigua and Barbuda was independent. From 1960 until 2004, the Bird family dominated the archipelago's politics with only one interruption, which ended with the election of Baldwin Spencer to the premiership.
Since 2014, the Labour Party has dominated national politics. Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the Commonwealth and a Commonwealth realm, being a constitutional monarchy with Charles III as its head of state. The country is a unitary state, with Barbuda being governed by the Barbuda Council since 1976. Antigua is divided into six parishes. The central government is composed of three main branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. It has a bicameral national legislature comprising the directly elected House of Representatives and the Senate appointed by the Governor-General, the representative of the monarch. The Labour Party and the United Progressive Party have dominated the country's politics since 1994. Antigua and Barbuda has a proportionally high foreign-born population, in addition to having the second highest Human Development Index in the Caribbean. Most people are of African descent, with significant populations of Europeans, Hispanics, and Indians. The country is also majority Christian, with most being Protestant. The most spoken language in the country is Antiguan and Barbudan Creole. Compared to neighboring countries, Antigua and Barbuda ranks highly in most economic indicators, and ranks about average in political freedoms.
Antigua and Barbuda is a high-income country. It is a member of the United Nations, the OECS, the Regional Security System, CARICOM, and the World Trade Organisation. Antigua and Barbuda is one of the only countries in the Caribbean to maintain an air force, and has a mostly service-based economy. Antigua and Barbuda maintains significant influence in the former British Leeward Islands and the eastern Caribbean, having the largest economy and population in the former colony. However, the country continues to struggle with human rights and political polarisation, with a significant Barbudan independence movement re-emerging and declining freedom of the press.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
- ^ "Government of Antigua and Barbuda". Archived from the original on 3 May 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ^ "ECLAC/CELADE Redatam+SP 03/21/2022" (PDF). redatam.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ^ "National Profiles".
- ^ "Population projections by age group, annual 1991 to 2026". Statistics Division, Ministry of Finance and Corporate Governance of Antigua and Barbuda. Archived from the original on 27 June 2022.
- ^ a b "World Economic Outlook October 2023 (Antigua and Barbuda)". International Monetary Fund. October 2023. Retrieved 13 December 2023.
- ^ "Human Development Report 2023/24" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. pp. 274–277. Retrieved 15 March 2024.
- ^ Horsford, Ian. "An Assessment of Income Inequality and Poverty in Antigua and Barbuda in 2007". Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ^ "Comparison of Poverty measurement indicators" (PDF). Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA). 2006. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 May 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
- ^ "How to pronounce Antigua and Barbuda in English". Archived from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 4 January 2025.
- ^ Wells, J. C. (John Christopher) (2000). Longman pronunciation dictionary. Internet Archive. Harlow [England] : Pearson Education Ltd. ISBN 978-0-582-36467-7.
- ^ "Antiguan and Barbudan Creole orthography". Axarplex. 3 February 2025. Retrieved 3 February 2025.