Antigua and Barbuda has a proportionally high foreign-born population, in addition to having the second highest Human Development Index in the Caribbean.

Antigua and Barbuda is one of the only countries in the Caribbean to maintain an air force, and has a significant aviation industry in conjunction with its tourism-based economy.

Christopher Columbus, while sailing by in 1493, may have named it Santa Maria la Antigua, after an icon in the Spanish Seville Cathedral.

[17] They introduced agriculture, raising, among other crops, the famous Antigua Black Pineapple (Ananas comosus), corn, sweet potatoes, chiles, guava, tobacco, and cotton.

[14][15] The Spanish did not colonise Antigua until after a combination of European and African diseases, malnutrition, and slavery eventually extirpated most of the native population; smallpox was probably the greatest killer.

[15][14] Tobacco and then sugar was grown, worked by a large population of slaves transported from West Africa, who soon came to vastly outnumber the European settlers.

Eventually, Antigua and Barbuda gained full independence on 1 November 1981; Vere Bird became prime minister of the new country.

[14] The country opted to remain within the Commonwealth, retaining Elizabeth II (r. 1952–2022) as head of state, with the first governor, Sir Wilfred Jacobs, as governor-general.

[14] Though providing a degree of political stability, and boosting tourism to the country, the Bird governments were frequently accused of corruption, cronyism and financial malfeasance.

[15][14] Vere Bird Jr., the elder son, was forced to leave the cabinet in 1990 following a scandal in which he was accused of smuggling Israeli weapons to Colombian drug-traffickers.

[31] Most of Barbuda was devastated in early September 2017 by Hurricane Irma, which brought winds with speeds reaching 295 km/h (185 mph).

The storm damaged or destroyed 95% of the island's buildings and infrastructure, leaving Barbuda "barely habitable" according to Prime Minister Gaston Browne.

Philmore Mullin, Director of Barbuda's National Office of Disaster Services, said that "all critical infrastructure and utilities are non-existent – food supply, medicine, shelter, electricity, water, communications, waste management".

"[42] Like other island nations, Antigua and Barbuda faces unique environmental issues created by its proximity to the ocean, and small size.

Christian Levantine Arabs and a small number of East Asians and Sephardic Jews make up the remainder of the population.

A minority of Antiguan residents are immigrants from other countries, particularly from Dominica, Guyana and Jamaica, and, increasingly, from the Dominican Republic, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Nigeria.

When compared to Antiguan Creole, Standard English was the language of choice in the years leading up to Antigua and Barbuda's attainment of their independence.

The Governor-General, currently Rodney Williams, exercises the functions of the Monarch of Antigua and Barbuda, in whom executive power is vested in.

[71] Antigua historically had a system of village councils in the 1940s (although the legislation was never repealed), however, the Gaston Browne administration has expressed opposition to all forms of local governance.

[84][85] Antigua and Barbuda usually maintains close relations with other Small Island Developing States, and has hosted various summits on that subject.

[89] Many policies adopted by the Antiguan and Barbudan government have also often had an impact on Montserrat, due to Antigua and Barbuda hosting the only air and transportation links into the territory.

[90] The Minister of Finance, Corporate Governance and Public Private Partnerships is responsible for the Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force, the country's military.

[91] The Minister of Legal Affairs, Public Safety, Immigration and Labour is responsible for the national security of Antigua and Barbuda.

[92] The Defence Force consists of the Regiment (army), the Air Wing, the Coast Guard, and the Service and Support Unit.

However, weaker tourist activity in lower and middle market segments since the beginning of the year 2000 has slowed the economy and put the government into a tight fiscal corner.

Major international financial institutions such as the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and Scotiabank both maintain offices in Antigua.

This is done despite the fact that the nation has a limited water supply and a shortage of laborers as a result of the higher wages offered in the tourism and construction industries.

[55] Manufacturing comprises 2% of GDP and is made up of enclave-type assembly for export, the major products being bedding, handicrafts, and electronic components.

[107] The first known records of music in Antigua and Barbuda dates back to Christopher Columbus' discovery of the island nation in 1493, when it was still home to Arawak and Carib people.

With Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards KNH OBE OOC who represented the West Indies cricket team between 1974 and 1991, Antigua had one of the world's most famous batsmen ever.