Antigua and Barbuda

The Siboney were the first to inhabit the islands of Antigua and Barbuda in 2400 B.C., but Arawak Indians populated the islands 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.

Main Airports

VC Bird International (ANU),

U.S. Embassy

The United States maintains no official presence in Antigua. The U.S. Embassy in Barbados can be found in the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Building, Broad Street, Bridgetown
tel: 246-436-4950

Statistics

GDP: purchasing power parity:

$750 million (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

3% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity:

11,000 (2002 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

0.4% (2000 est.)

Labor force:

30,000

Exports:

$214 million (2004 est.)

Exports - partners:

Spain 33.6%, Germany 20.5%, Italy 7.6%, Singapore 5.7%, UK 4.8% (2005)

Imports:

$735 million (2004 est.)

Imports - partners:

US 20.8%, China 16.1%, Germany 13.1%, Singapore 12.5%, Spain 6.4% (2005)

Population:

69,108 (July 2006 est.)

Population growth rate:

0.55% (2006 est.)

Population Below Poverty Line:

NA%

Major Industries:

tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances)

Employing Workers: 40*

Registering Property: 71*

Enforcing Contracts: 47*

Closing a Business: 54*

*2006 World Bank rank out of 175 countries

Starting a Business

The table below shows the number of steps and the amount of time needed to start a business, on average

Indicator	Antigua Barbuda	Region
Procedures (number)	7	10.2
Time (days)	21	73.3

• Agriculture
• Apparel
• Arts & Crafts
• Automobile
• Bags, Cases & Boxes
• Chemicals
• Computer Hardware & Software
• Construction & Real Estate
• Consumer Electronics
• Electrical & Electronics
• Energy & Environment
• Food & Beverage
• Furniture & Furnishing
• Health & Medicine
• Home Supplies
• Industrial Supplies
• Lights & Lighting
• Machinery
• Mineral & Materials
• Office Supplies
• Security & Protection
• Service
• Sports & Entertainment
• Telecommunications
• Textile
• Toys
• Transportation