Antigua and Barbuda country profile

Antigua and Barbuda is one of the Caribbean's most prosperous nations, thanks to its tourism industry and offshore financial services.

But a reliance on tourism makes the nation vulnerable to downturns in the world market.

Antigua has tangled with the United States over its online gambling industry, which at its height employed more than 4,000 people and was a major contributor to the economy. But it shrunk drastically because of US restrictions, the Antiguan government says.

The Bird family dominated the country's politics since its independence in 1981 until 1994. Underlying this stability was a succession of scandals including allegations of corruption.

In 2009, the country's economy was rocked by news that its single biggest investor, Texan billionaire Allen Stanford, had been charged with massive fraud by the US authorities.

Most of Barbuda was devastated in 2017 by Hurricane Irma, which brought winds with speeds reaching 295 km/h (185mph) and damaged or destroyed 95% of the island's buildings.

In 2022, Prime Minister Gaston Browne announced his intention to hold a referendum on whether the country should become a republic.

Head of state: King Charles III, represented by a governor-general

Prime minister: Gaston Browne

Gaston Browne took over as prime minister when his Labour Party won the 2014 general elections after defeating the ruling United Progressive Party (UPP). He was returned to office in the 2018 and 2023 general elections.

Mr Browne pledged to transform the financially crippled twin island nation into an "economic powerhouse" by attracting investment.

His vision is to transform Antigua and Barbuda into "a globally competitive, premier tourism and financial services economy, producing well-paying jobs and a higher standard of living for the people".

ABS is the national TV and radio broadcaster. Ownership of private media is concentrated among a small number of companies.

Some key dates in the history of Antigua and Barbuda:

1493 - Christopher Columbus visits Antigua and names it after the Church of Santa Maria de la Antigua in Seville, Spain.

1632 - Antigua colonised by English settlers from St Kitts.

1674 - Christopher Codrington, a sugar planter from Barbados, sets up a sugar plantation in Antigua. African slaves are transported to grow tobacco and then sugarcane on plantations.

1860 - Barbuda reverts to the British crown.

1871-1956 - Antigua and Barbuda administered together as part of the Leeward Islands federation.

1958-62 - Antigua and Barbuda part of the British-sponsored West Indies Federation.

1967 - Antigua and Barbuda become a self-governing state within the British Commonwealth, with Britain retaining control of defence and foreign affairs.

1969 - Barbuda separatist movement comes into being.

1972 - Sugar industry closed down.

1981 - Antigua and Barbuda becomes independent.

Early 1980s - Attempts made to replant sugarcane fields, but these are finally abandoned in 1985 because of financial problems.

1983 - Antigua and Barbuda supports the US invasion of Grenada (as it has supported US sanctions against Cuba).

1990 - Prime Minister Vere Bird's son, Vere Jr, removed from public office in the wake of allegations of gun-running.

1993 - Vere Bird resigns as prime minister and is replaced by his son, Lester.

2008 - Tourism industry rocked by shooting of British honeymoon couple in holiday cottage.

2009 - Antigua's single biggest private investor, Sir Allen Stanford, is charged with massive investment fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

2011 - Two men are found guilty of murdering a honeymooning British couple shot dead in Antigua in July 2008.

2012 - A US court finds financier Allen Stanford guilty of running a $7bn Ponzi scheme through his bank based in Antigua.

2013 - Antigua wins World Trade Organization permission to suspend American copyrights and patents, in a possible retaliatory response to US restrictions on the island's online gambling industry.

2017 - The island of Barbuda is all but flattened by Hurricane Irma. Its residents evacuated before the storm hits.

2022 - Prime Minister Gaston Browne announces his intention to hold a referendum on whether Antigua and Barbuda should become a republic.