Antigua and Barbuda
The twin-island state of Antigua and Barbuda is located in the Caribbean, within an archipelago of islands in the Atlantic Ocean between North and South America. Antigua and Barbuda is one of the Northern Leeward Island states. Antigua is 280 square kilometers (108.1 square miles) in area, while Barbuda is 161 square kilometers (62.1 square miles). The entire land area is approximately 2.5 times the size of Washington, D.C., and as of 2003 the total population was estimated to be 67,897. Ninety-five percent of its residents are younger than 65 years of age. The island of Antigua is relatively flat, with sparse vegetation and no rivers, while Barbuda is totally flat and thickly forested.
The Siboney were the first people to inhabit the islands in prehistoric times, followed by the Arawak and Carib starting in the first century. The island was named for a church in Spain, Santa Maria de la Antigua, by Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) in 1493. Antigua became a British colony in 1667 and Barbuda was annexed to it in 1860. Antigua and Barbuda became associated as a state of the United Kingdom in 1967; the nation retained that status until 1981 when it became independent.
From 1945 until 1994, except for one five-year legislative term (1971–1976), Antigua (subsequently Antigua and Barbuda) was led by Vere C. Bird (1909–1999), first as a legislative leader and then as chief minister premier, or prime minister. His son Lester Bird (b. 1938) succeeded him in 1994 and served in that capacity until his defeat by opposition leader Baldwin Spencer (b. 1948) in the March 2004 elections.
With an infant mortality rate of 20.9 deaths for every 1,000 live births and an average life expectancy of 71.31 years, the state's citizens enjoy good quality of life. Literacy is rated at between 89 and 91 percent. Most citizens are Christian, and the major denomination is the Anglican faith.
Antigua and Barbuda is a constitutional democracy that, similar to many others in the region, has retained the British monarch as head of state. In sub-stance the monarch's functions are carried out by a local governor-general, a position held in 2004 by Sir James Carlisle (b. 1937). Executive authority, however, actually rests with a cabinet that is appointed by the leader of the majority party after the general elections every five years; that leader then becomes prime minister. As is the case with most of its neighbors, Antigua and Barbuda has inherited its current system of government from Britain "the Westminster-export model," as it has been termed by constitutional scholars.
(MAP BY MARYLAND CARTOGRAPHICS/THE GALE GROUP)Under this system of government a separation of powers exists between the legislature (the parliament), the executive (the cabinet and governor-general), and the judiciary (the magistracy, Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, and Judicial Committee of the Privy Council). It should be noted that this separation is not rigidly observed with respect to the first two branches of government.
All adults over the age of eighteen have the right to vote in Antigua and Barbuda, and the constitution provides a catalogue of guarantees and freedoms that correspond to the fundamental rights required by several international conventions. These include freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of thought, freedom of movement; and state guarantees against discrimination, deprivation of property without adequate compensation, and arbitrary search and seizure. Two main political parties contend for the vote of the electorate, and uncensored, up-to-date news is available to Antigua and Barbuda's residents through six radio stations, two local television stations, cable programming, and the Internet.
Caribbean Region.
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