Antigua and Barbuda

Antigua and Barbuda is an archipelagic country in the Caribbean composed of Antigua, Barbuda, and dozens of other small islands. Antigua and Barbuda has a total area of 440 km2 (170 sq mi), making it one of the smallest countries in the Caribbean. The country is mostly flat, with the highest points on Antigua being in the Shekerley Mountains and on Barbuda the Highlands. The country has a tropical savanna climate, with pockets of tropical monsoon in Antigua's southwest. Its most populated city is St. John's, followed by All Saints and Bolans. The sole settlement in Barbuda is Codrington. Most of the country resides in the Central Plain that stretches from St. John's to English Harbour. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Caribbean Sea on the west, Antigua and Barbuda is located within the Leeward Islands moist forest and Leeward Islands xeric scrub ecoregions. The country shares maritime borders with Anguilla, Saint Barthélemy, and Saint Kitts and Nevis to the west, Montserrat to the southwest, and Guadeloupe to the south. Antigua and Barbuda has numerous natural parks, including Codrington Lagoon, one of the largest internal bodies of water in the Lesser Antilles. Despite its dense population, the country has large swaths of undeveloped land, however, Antigua and Barbuda has experienced many environmental issues due to climate change. Hunter-gatherers settled the islands starting around 3700 BC, likely arriving on canoes from Central and South America. They were followed by the Arawaks of Venezuela during the Ceramic period. In 1493, Christopher Columbus surveyed the island of Antigua, which resulted in an attempt at Spanish settlement in 1520. Antigua remained uncolonised until 1632 when Edward Warner and his small party created the first successful British colony. Barbuda was under the control of the Codrington family until the 1860s. Antiguan independence was first proposed by Prince Klaas in 1728, who attempted to make the island an independent kingdom. After emancipation in 1834, Antigua's autonomy slowly increased, while Barbuda was slowly integrated into Antigua. The first democratic elections were held in 1951, and by 1981, Antigua and Barbuda were independent. From 1960 until 2004, the Bird family dominated the archipelago's politics with only one interruption, which ended with the election of Baldwin Spencer to the premiership. Since 2014, the Labour Party has dominated national politics. Antigua and Barbuda is a member of the Commonwealth and a Commonwealth realm, being a constitutional monarchy with Charles III as its head of state. The country is a unitary state, with Barbuda being administered by the Barbuda Council since 1976. Antigua is divided into six parishes. The central government is composed of three main branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. It has a bicameral national legislature comprising the directly elected House of Representatives and the Senate appointed by the Governor-General, the representative of the monarch. The Labour Party and the United Progressive Party have dominated the country's politics since 1994. The country has a proportionally high foreign-born population; most people are of African descent, with significant populations of Europeans, Hispanics, and Indians. The country is majority Christian, with most being Protestant. The most spoken home language in the country is Antiguan and Barbudan Creole. Compared to neighboring countries, Antigua and Barbuda ranks highly in most economic indicators, and ranks about average in political freedoms. Antigua and Barbuda is a high-income country and is the most developed country in the Caribbean by Human Development Index. It is a member of the United Nations, the OECS, the Regional Security System, CARICOM, and the World Trade Organisation. Antigua and Barbuda is one of the only countries in the Caribbean to maintain an air force, and has a mostly service-based economy. Antigua and Barbuda maintains significant influence in the former British Leeward Islands and the eastern Caribbean, having the largest economy and population in the former colony. However, the country continues to struggle with human rights and political polarisation, with declining freedom of the press and a significant Barbudan independence movement re-emerging due to tensions between the islands.

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