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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 sq km (Antigua 281 sq km; Barbuda 161 sq km)
land: 442 sq km
water: 0 sq km
note: includes Redonda
Area - comparative: 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 153 km
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental
margin
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical marine; 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%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 9%
forests and woodland: 11%
other: 62% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: NA sq km
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, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Background:
Antigua and Barbuda is an independent island country in the Caribbean
Sea. It consists of the islands of Antigua, Barbuda, and Redonda.
The island group lies in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies.
It is located about 48 kilometres north of Guadeloupe, 400 kilometres
southeast of Puerto Rico, and 700 kilometres north of Venezuela.
Antigua's capital is St. Johns, and Barbuda's capital is Codrington.
Redonda, a rocky islet, is uninhabited.
The islands of Antigua and Barbuda became an independent state within
the British Commonwealth of Nations in 1981. Some 3,000 refugees
fleeing a volcanic eruption on nearby Montserrat have settled in
Antigua and Barbuda since 1995.
Geography
The nation of Antigua (pronounced An-tee'ga) and Barbuda is located
in the middle of the Leeward Islands in the Eastern Caribbean, between
the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean. Its craggy coastline
hides its beautiful, sandy bays and calm, pristine beaches, while
its clear water is home to dazzling coral reefs. Hills gently dot
the island's landscape but, generally, Antigua is made up of fields
and plains.
Climate
The climate is mainly tropical marine, with a little seasonal variation.
Temperatures range from the mid-seventies in the winter to the mid-eighties
in the summer. The best time to visit Antigua and Barbuda is during
the cool and dry winter months (mid-December to mid-April). The
weather gets hotter in the summer (June to August) and less dry
in the autumn (September to November).
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