Parishes and dependencies of Antigua and Barbuda

Parishes and Dependencies
Parishes and Dependencies
Location	Antigua and Barbuda
Number	6 parishes, 2 dependencies
Populations	1,634 (Barbuda) - 51,737 (Saint John Parish)
Areas	24.41 sq.km (Saint George Parish) - 160.58 sq.km (Barbuda)
Government	Vestry (created in 1692, inactive), Parish councils (proposed during the 2023 Antiguan general election);
Subdivisions	Major divisions;

Antigua and Barbuda is an island nation made up of: Antigua island which is divided into six parishes; and of the two dependencies of Barbuda island and Redonda island.

Although Barbuda and Redonda are called dependencies, they are integral parts of the state, making them essentially administrative divisions. Dependency is simply their title. Redonda was annexed into Saint John and unlike Barbuda, is not an autonomous island, instead, it is a first-level administrative division subordinate to Saint John.^[1]^[2]

History

Antigua's first-level administrative divisions were based on Divisions, which were later joined together to form the island's five parishes. Prior to the creation of parishes, Divisions served as the basis for Antigua's administrative divisions. Despite the fact that divisions have never been eliminated, major divisions have now taken over the role of becoming Antigua's second-level administrative divisions.^[1]^[3]

On January 11, 1692, the five founding parishes of Antigua and Barbuda—Saint John, Saint Mary, Saint Paul, and Saint Philip and Saint Peter—were formally organized into what are now known as the Parishes of Antigua and Barbuda. In 1725, Saint Peter was divided into the Saint Peter as it is known today and Saint George.^[3]

The office of "justice" served as the top government official in parishes in the past; but, this role is no longer held in any parishes.^[3] Each parish also had a vestry.^[3]

List

No	Parish or Dependency	Capital	Largest City	Area (km²)	Population (Census 2011)
01	Saint George	Fitches Creek	Piggotts	24.41	8,055
02	Saint John	St. John's		66.96	51,737
03	Saint Mary	Old Road	Bolans	63.55	7,341
04	Saint Paul	Falmouth	Liberta	45.27	8,128
05	Saint Peter	Parham	All Saints	32.37	5,325
06	Saint Philip	St. Philip's	Willikies	40.67	3,347
07	Barbuda	Codrington		160.58	1,634
08	Redonda	N/A		1.50	0
-	Antigua and Barbuda	St. John's		435.31	85,567

Parish capitals

There are seven parish/dependency capitals in Antigua and Barbuda. One of these, St. John's, serves as the national seat of government. Each parish capital contains the parish church, while the capital of Barbuda contains the administrative offices of the Barbuda Council. Most capitals have town status, however, Codrington is a village, Fitches Creek is an estate, and St. John's is the sole city in the country.

With the exception of St. John's and Codrington, the majority of parish/dependency capitals are not the largest settlements in the parish. Parham is the second-largest city in Saint Peter; that being said, it would be the largest if the population of All Saints—which is spread across three parishes—were not included. Nonetheless, compared to Parham, the population of the sector of All Saints in Saint Peter is considerably higher.^[4]^[5]


Parish/dependency	Capital	Population (2011)	Percentage of parish/dependency population living in capital^[6]	Foreign born population (%)	Status	Ref(s)
Saint John	St. John's	21,643	41.8%	36.71%	City	^[7]^[8]^[9]
Saint George	Fitches Creek	532	6.6%	34.07%	Estate	^[10]^[11]^[12]^[13]
Saint Peter	Parham	1,307	24.5%	18.86%	Town	^[5]^[14]^[15]
Saint Philip	St. Philip's	131	3.9%	20.72%	Town	^[16]^[17]^[18]
Saint Paul	Falmouth	240	2.95%	23.21%	Town	^[19]^[14]^[20]
Saint Mary	Old Road	1,251	17.04%	9.27%	Town	^[21]^[14]^[22]
Barbuda	Codrington	796	48.7%	11.54%	Village	^[23]^[24]^[25]
Redonda^[a]	N/A			N/A