Mother Earth Travel > Country Index > Antigua > Map Economy |
| Economy - overview: Tourism continues to be the dominant activity in the
economy accounting directly or indirectly for more than half of GDP. In 1999 the budding
offshore financial sector was seriously hurt by financial sanctions imposed by the
United
States and the United
Kingdom as a result of the loosening of its money-laundering controls. The government has made
efforts to comply with international demands in order to get the sanctions lifted. The
dual island nation's agricultural production is mainly directed to the domestic market;
the sector is constrained by the limited water supply and labor shortages that reflect the
pull of higher wages in tourism and construction. Manufacturing comprises enclave-type
assembly for export with major products being bedding, handicrafts, and electronic
components. Prospects for economic growth in the medium term will continue to depend on
income growth in the industrialized world, especially in the US, which accounts for about
one-third of all tourist arrivals. GDP: purchasing power parity - $524 million (1999 est.) GDP - real growth rate: 2.8% (1999 est.) GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,200 (1999 est.) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 4% industry: 12.5% services: 83.5% (1996 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.6% (1999 est.) Labor force: 30,000 Labor force - by occupation: commerce and services 82%, agriculture 11%, industry 7% (1983) Unemployment rate: 7% (1999 est.) Budget: revenues: $122.6 million expenditures: $141.2 million, including capital expenditures of $17.3 million (1997 est.) Industries: tourism, construction, light manufacturing (clothing, alcohol, household appliances) Industrial production growth rate: 6% (1997 est.) Electricity - production: 95 million kWh (1999) Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) Electricity - consumption: 88.4 million kWh (1999) Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998) Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998) Agriculture - products: cotton, fruits, vegetables, bananas, coconuts, cucumbers, mangoes, sugarcane; livestock Exports: $38 million (1998) Exports - commodities: petroleum products 48%, manufactures 23%, food and live animals 4%, machinery and transport equipment 17% Exports - partners: OECS 26%, Barbados 15%, Guyana 4%, Trinidad and Tobago 2%, US 0.3% Imports: $330 million (1998) Imports - commodities: food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, oil Imports - partners: US 27%, UK 16%, Canada 4%, OECS 3% Debt - external: $357 million (1998) Economic aid - recipient: $2.3 million (1995) Currency: 1 East Caribbean dollar (EC$) = 100 cents SOURCE: The World Factbook |
Mother Earth Travel > Country Index > Antigua > Map Economy