There is a 17 member Senate appointed by the Governor-General and a 17 member House of Representatives elected by universal suffrage for five years.
Barbuda is administrated by a 9 member directly elected council.
|RDefense:|N The defense force, including a coastguard service, has a total strength of 700 men.
|RNational holiday:|N November 1.
|RNature and climate:|N The nation is composed of the three islands Antigua, Barbuda and Redouda of the Leeward Islands in the West Indies.
|RPeople:|N 96% are negroes or mulattoes.
|REducation:|N Compulsory between 5 and 16 years.
Antigua has a university college which is part of the University of the West Indies.
|REconomy:|N Traditionally big production of sugar and cotton, but the importance of this have decreased.
Nowadays tourism is the main industry and accounts for 40% of GNP.
|RHistory:|N Antigua was discovered and given its name by Columbus in 1493. The British colonized Barbuda in 1628 and Antigua in 1632. Internal selfgovering from 1967 and independence in 1981.
The Bird family has dominated the political life since independence.
