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Islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Puerto Rico.
These two islands in the Caribbean were colonized by the Spanish and French and then by the English, who made it their colony in 1667. Slavery, established to run the sugar plantations on Antigua, was abolished in 1834. The islands became an independent state within the Commonwealth of Nations in 1981.
Figures unless otherwise stated are from the CIA Factbook.
Estimated per capita GDP:
2008 $19,000 (ranks 64th)
2007
$18,900
2006 $18,000
GDP growth rate:
2008: 2.1%
2007: 6.1%
2006: 12.2%
Tourism continues to dominate the economy, accounting for more than half of GDP. Weak tourism since early 2000 has slowed the economy.
For 2008: death: 5.431, births 16.62, down from 17.26 in 2005
Estimated for July 2008: 69,842, up from 69,481in 2007. Growth rate estimated for 2008: 0.508 percent per year. Density estimated in 2005: 155.3 persons per square kilometer.
More leaving than arriving a net loss of 6.01 persons per 1,000 population.
Infant mortality estimated for 2008: 17.67, down from 19.46 in 2005 (deaths before the age of one year, per 1,000 live births).
Average life expectancy at birth estimated for 2008: 72.69 up from 71.9 in 2005
SOURCES:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
Copyright © 2008 by Frank E. Smitha. All rights reserved.