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 Christopher COLUMBUS landed on his second voyage in 1493. Early Spanish and French settlements were succeeded by an English colony in 1667. Slavery, to provide labor on the sugar plantations on Antigua, was abolished in 1834. The islands became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981. On 6 September 2017, Hurricane Irma passed over the island of Barbuda devastating the island and forcing the evacuation of the population to Antigua. Almost all of the structures on Barbuda were destroyed and the vegetation stripped, but Antigua was spared the worst.
land: 443 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Redonda, 1.6 sq km
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
arable land: 9% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 2.3% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 9% (2018 est.)
forest: 18.8% (2018 est.)
other: 60.8% (2018 est.)
101,489 (2023 est.)
noun: Antiguan(s), Barbudan(s)
adjective: Antiguan, Barbudan
African descent 87.3%, mixed 4.7%, Hispanic 2.7%, White 1.6%, other 2.7%, unspecified 0.9% (2011 est.)
note: data represent population by ethnic group
English (official), Antiguan Creole (an English-based creole)
Protestant 68.3% (Anglican 17.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 12.4%, Pentecostal 12.2%, Moravian 8.3%, Methodist 5.6%, Wesleyan Holiness 4.5%, Church of God 4.1%, Baptist 3.6%), Roman Catholic 8.2%, other 12.2%, unspecified 5.5%, none 5.9% (2011 est.)
0-14 years: 21.97% (male 11,321/female 10,980)
15-64 years: 67.94% (male 32,103/female 36,847)
65 years and over: 10.09% (2023 est.) (male 4,378/female 5,860)
total dependency ratio: 40.9
youth dependency ratio: 26.5
elderly dependency ratio: 14.4
potential support ratio: 7 (2020 est.)
total: 33.6 years (2023 est.)
male: 31.6 years
female: 35.4 years
1.13% (2023 est.)
15 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
5.7 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
the island of Antigua is home to approximately 97% of the population; nearly the entire population of Barbuda lives in Codrington
urban population: 24.3% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.87% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
21,000 SAINT JOHN’S (capital) (2018)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 0.89 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
21 deaths/100,000 live births (2020)
total: 14 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 16.8 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 10.9 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 78 years (2023 est.)
male: 75.9 years
female: 80.3 years
1.94 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.95 (2023 est.)
NA
improved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: 96.7% of population
unimproved: urban: NA
rural: NA
total: 3.2% of population (2017 est.)
5.6% of GDP (2020)
2.76 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
2.9 beds/1,000 population (2017)
improved: total: 91.7% of population
unimproved: total: 8.1% of population (2017 est.)
18.9% (2016)
total: 11.88 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 2.97 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 3.95 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 4.55 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.41 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
NA
31.5% (2023 est.)
3.8% of GDP (2021 est.)
definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling
total population: 99%
male: 98.4%
female: 99.4% (2015)
total: 15 years
male: 14 years
female: 16 years (2012)
water management - a major concern because of limited natural freshwater resources - is further hampered by the clearing of trees to increase crop production, causing rainfall to run off quickly
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation
agricultural land: 20.5% (2018 est.)
arable land: 9% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 2.3% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 9% (2018 est.)
forest: 18.8% (2018 est.)
other: 60.8% (2018 est.)
urban population: 24.3% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.87% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 8.3 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 0.56 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 0.22 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 30,585 tons (2012 est.)
municipal: 10 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 2.5 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
agricultural: 1.8 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
50 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
dual island-tourism and construction-driven economy; emerging “blue economy”; limited water supply and susceptibility to hurricanes limit activity; improving road infrastructure; friendly to foreign direct investment; looking at financial innovation in cryptocurrency and blockchain technologies
$1.783 billion (2021 est.)
$1.693 billion (2020 est.)
$2.122 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
5.27% (2021 est.)
-20.19% (2020 est.)
4.86% (2019 est.)
$19,100 (2021 est.)
$18,300 (2020 est.)
$23,000 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$1.524 billion (2017 est.)
2.06% (2021 est.)
0.63% (2020 est.)
1.43% (2019 est.)
agriculture: 1.8% (2017 est.)
industry: 20.8% (2017 est.)
services: 77.3% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 53.5% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 15.2% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 23.9% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 0.1% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 73.9% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -66.5% (2017 est.)
tropical fruit, milk, mangoes/guavas, melons, tomatoes, pineapples, lemons, limes, eggplants, onions
tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances)
8.26% (2021 est.)
30,000 (1991)
11% (2014 est.)
NA
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
revenues: $278 million (2020 est.)
expenditures: $357 million (2020 est.)
-2.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
86.8% of GDP (2017 est.)
86.2% of GDP (2016 est.)
19.6% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
1 April - 31 March
-$220.871 million (2021 est.)
-$251.556 million (2020 est.)
-$126.907 million (2019 est.)
$749.476 million (2021 est.)
$590.849 million (2020 est.)
$1.196 billion (2019 est.)
note: Data are in current year dollars and do not include illicit exports or re-exports.
Suriname 20%, Barbados 17%, Poland 12%, United Kingdom 10%, France 7% (2021)
refined petroleum, ships, gas turbines, aircraft parts, lobster, durum wheat (2021)
$868.797 million (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$737.693 million (2020 est.)
$1.18 billion (2019 est.)
United States 42%, Poland 25%, China 10%, Brazil 3%, Trinidad and Tobago 2% (2021)
refined petroleum, ships, recreational boats, cars, poultry (2021)
$367.512 million (31 December 2021 est.)
$221.809 million (31 December 2020 est.)
$279.133 million (31 December 2019 est.)
$441.2 million (31 December 2012)
$458 million (June 2010)
East Caribbean dollars (XCD) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
2.7 (2021 est.)
2.7 (2020 est.)
2.7 (2019 est.)
2.7 (2018 est.)
2.7 (2017 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 117,000 kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 278 million kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 65 million kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 95.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 4.6% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 5,000 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
91 bbl/day (2015 est.)
5,065 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
729,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 729,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
107.154 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
number of registered air carriers: 1 (2020)
inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 10
annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 580,174 (2018)
annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 290,000 (2018) mt-km
V2
3 (2021)
2
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
1
note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control
total: 1,170 km (2011)
paved: 386 km (2011)
unpaved: 784 km (2011)
total: 638 (2022)
by type: bulk carrier 26, container ship 112, general cargo 443, oil tanker 4, other 53
major seaport(s): Saint John’s
cruise port(s): St. John’s
manyapis