Antigua and Barbuda, an independent island country with the uninhabited islet of Redonda, is located at the southern end of the Leeward Islands chain of the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The open Atlantic Ocean lies to the north and east. The total land area of 170 square miles (440 square kilometers) includes Antigua (108 square miles/280 square kilometers); Barbuda (62 square miles/161 square kilometers); and uninhabited Redonda (5 square miles/1.3 square kilometers), located25 miles (40 kilometers) to the southwest. This total area comprises slightly less than 2.5 times the size of Washington, D.C.
The capital city is St. John’s on the island of Antigua.
The population of Antigua and Barbuda in 2005 was estimated by the United Nations (UN) at 82,786.
Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. The British monarch, represented by a governor-general, is the ceremonial head of state. A prime minister is head of government and the prime minister as of 2004 was Winston Baldwin Spencer, with the next elections scheduled for 2009.
Most of the inhabitants of the islands of Antigua and Barbuda are of African descent and there are small numbers of persons of British, Portuguese, Lebanese, and Syrian ancestry.
The dominant religion is Christianity. Over 70 percent of the population belongs to churches represented in the Antigua Christian Council, which include the Anglicans, Methodists, Moravians, Roman Catholics, and the Salvation Army.
The official language spoken in the country is English. An English patois is in common use.
Its monetary unit is the East Caribbean dollar (EC$)
Web Sites
- antigua-barbuda.org
- CIA: The World Factbook
- Government of Antigua and Barbuda
- U.S. Department of State
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