nds when Columbus landed on his second voyage in 1493. Early
settlements by the Spanish and French were succeeded by the English
who formed a 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 Antigua and Barbuda

Location:
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic
Ocean, east-southeast of Puerto Rico

Geographic coordinates:
17 03 N, 61 48 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 442.6 sq km (Antigua 280 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km)
land: 442.6 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Redonda, 1.6 sq km

Area - comparative:
2.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
153 km

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate:
tropical maritime; little seasonal temperature variation

Terrain:
mostly low-lying limestone and coral islands, with some higher
volcanic areas

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Boggy Peak 402 m

Natural resources:
NEGL; pleasant climate fosters tourism

Land use:
arable land: 18.18%
permanent crops: 4.55%
other: 77.27% (2001)

Irrigated land:
NA

Natural hazards:
hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October); periodic droughts

Environment - current issues:
water management - a major concern because of limited natural fresh
water resources - is further hampered by the clearing of trees to
increase crop production, causing rainfall to run off quickly

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
Antigua has a deeply indented shoreline with many natural harbors
and beaches; Barbuda has a very large western harbor

People Antigua and Barbuda

Population:
68,722 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 27.9% (male 9,767/female 9,427)
15-64 years: 68% (male 23,466/female 23,250)
65