City North America
St. John's
St. John's is the capital of Antigua and Barbuda, an island country in the Caribbean Sea. Big ships come to its harbor.
St. John's is the capital of Antigua and Barbuda. It lies on the northwest coast of the island of Antigua, around a sheltered harbor that is the country's main port. The 2011 census counted 22,219 people in the city.
St. John's, capital of Antigua and Barbuda on Antigua's northwest coast, is the country's main port, a tourist town and its commercial and administrative center (Universalis). Census 2011: 22,219 (city), about a quarter of the country's 85,567.
Photo: Matt H. Wade, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover St. John's
St. John's is a small city on an island called Antigua. Antigua is in the Caribbean Sea.
St. John's is the capital of the country Antigua and Barbuda.
St. John's is the capital of Antigua and Barbuda, an island country in the Lesser Antilles. Universalis says it lies on the northwest coast of the island of Antigua and is the country's main port, a tourist town and the center of business and government.
The 2011 census counted 22,219 people in the city of St. John's, out of 85,567 in the whole country, so about one person in four lived in the capital.
Universalis: capital of Antigua and Barbuda, an island state of the Lesser Antilles, on the northwest coast of Antigua; a tourist town and the country's first port; commercial and administrative center and seat of government; 23,600 inhabitants in 2004.
Statistics Division of Antigua and Barbuda via City Population: Saint John's (city, about 750 ha) 23,453 (census 1991), 24,451 (2001), 22,219 (2011); the country 85,567 (2011), so 26% of the people lived in the city.
- Country
- Antigua and Barbuda (capital)
- People in St. John's (census 2011)
- 22,219
- Where
- the northwest coast of the island of Antigua (Universalis)
- Whole country (census 2011)
- 85,567 people
Cruise ships in the harbor
Look at the giant white ships! They are cruise ships, and they are bigger than the buildings. Green trees and houses fill the hillside.
This photo was taken on 14 March 2012 from Mount St. John's Medical Center, looking over downtown St. John's. Houses with red and white roofs sit among green trees, and in the harbor three huge white cruise ships are tied up, towering over the town.
Beyond the ships you can see the blue water of the bay and low green hills along the coast.
Commons: own work by Matt H. Wade (UpstateNYer), CC BY-SA 3.0; 'View of downtown St. John's, the capital of Antigua and Barbuda, on the island of Antigua. Taken from Mount St. John's Medical Center', 14 March 2012; a crop of his panorama; the file is filed under the cruise ship Adventure of the Seas (2001).
Universalis: the well-sheltered harbor was dredged under a 1968 plan so that ships with a draft of 10 meters could anchor.
- Photo
- downtown St. John's from Mount St. John's Medical Center, 14 March 2012
- Harbor
- well sheltered; dredged in 1968 for ships up to 10 m deep in the water (Universalis)
- Ship in the photo
- Adventure of the Seas, a cruise ship (Commons category)
Three centuries of British buildings
The British were in Antigua for more than 300 years. You can still see buildings from that time in St. John's.
Universalis says more than three centuries of British presence can still be seen in the city's buildings. An Anglican cathedral was first built in the 17th century; earthquakes destroyed it several times, and the building standing today dates from the middle of the 19th century.
At the entrance to the harbor stands Fort James, built at the very start of the 18th century to guard the port.
Universalis: more than three centuries of British presence show in the architecture, notably an Anglican cathedral built in the 17th century and destroyed several times by earthquakes (its present state dates from the mid-19th century), the former residence of the governor-general, and Fort James, built at the very start of the 18th century to defend the harbor entrance.
Census counts (via City Population): 23,453 (1991), 24,451 (2001), 22,219 (2011). Wikidata gives 1666 as the city's inception; no opened source confirms a founding year.
- British presence
- more than three centuries, still seen in the buildings (Universalis)
- Anglican cathedral
- first built in the 17th century; today's building dates from the mid-19th century (Universalis)
- Fort James
- built at the very start of the 18th century at the harbor entrance (Universalis)
The country's main port
Ships carry goods from the port. Big cruise ships bring visitors too.
St. John's harbor is well sheltered, and Universalis calls it the country's main port. Its article on the city lists sugar, cotton and food products among the port's exports, though its article on the country says sugar production is now very small.
In 1968 a plan to dredge the harbor made it deep enough for ships that sit 10 meters deep in the water. The photo shows how big cruise ships look next to the town.
Universalis: St. John's is a tourist town and also the country's first port (exports of sugar, cotton and food products); the well-sheltered harbor was the subject of a 1968 dredging plan so that ships with a 10-meter draft could anchor. Universalis's country article: the country lives mainly from tourism, and sugar production is now insignificant.
Wikidata (from the city point Q36262): Heritage Quay (Q138545232), a shopping area, 0.16 km W; Museum of Antigua and Barbuda (Q2912720), a historic building, 0.15 km NE.
- Main port
- the first port of Antigua and Barbuda (Universalis)
- Exports
- sugar, cotton and food products (Universalis's city article; its country article says sugar production is now insignificant)
- Dredging
- a 1968 plan deepened the harbor for ships with a 10 m draft
Warm all year, wettest in the fall
St. John's is warm all year. The most rain falls in September, October and November.
In the World Meteorological Organization's table for St. John's, the average daily high changes very little: from 28.2 °C in January to 30.9 °C in August (temperatures measured from 1969 to 1995).
About 1,052 millimeters of rain fall in a year (1960 to 1995). September is the wettest month, with 140.5 millimeters, followed by November and October, and February is the driest, with 37.6.
WMO World Weather Information Service, St. John's Antigua (17.12° N, 61.83° W; Antigua and Barbuda Meteorological Services); temperatures 1969–1995, rainfall 1960–1995, rain days 1976–1995 (days with at least 1 mm): mean daily maximum 28.2 °C (January) to 30.9 °C (August); mean daily minimum 22.1 °C (February) to 25.4 °C (July, August). Rainfall sums to 1,051.6 mm; September to November bring 406.2 mm (39%); September (140.5 mm) is the wettest month and February (37.6 mm) the driest. The monthly rain-day counts add up to 127.
- Average daily highs (WMO, St. John's)
- 28.2 °C (January) to 30.9 °C (August), measured 1969–1995
- Average daily lows (same table)
- 22.1 °C (February) to 25.4 °C (July and August)
- Rain in a year (sum of the monthly averages, 1960–1995)
- about 1,052 mm
A tourist town and a capital
Many visitors come to St. John's. People work in shops, offices and at the port.
Universalis describes St. John's as a tourist town as well as the country's center for business and government, and says the whole country lives mainly from tourism.
Near the city's center point on Wikidata are Heritage Quay, a shopping area, and the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda, which is in a historic building.
Universalis: tourist town; commercial and administrative center and seat of government; the country (Antigua, Barbuda and the uninhabited islet of Redonda) lives essentially from tourism.
Wikidata: Heritage Quay (Q138545232), shopping area in Antigua and Barbuda, 0.16 km W of the city point; Museum of Antigua and Barbuda (Q2912720), historic building in St. John's, 0.15 km NE.
- Tourist town
- St. John's is a tourist town (Universalis)
- Seat of government
- and the country's commercial and administrative center (Universalis)
- Heritage Quay
- a shopping area near the city center (Wikidata)
St. John's on the map
Find the Caribbean Sea on the globe. Look for a long chain of small islands on its east side. St. John's is on one of them, Antigua.
St. John's lies at about 17.1° north and 61.8° west, on the northwest coast of Antigua, an island in the Lesser Antilles chain on the eastern edge of the Caribbean Sea.
Measured from the city's center point on Wikidata, Heritage Quay is about 0.2 kilometers west and the Museum of Antigua and Barbuda about 0.2 kilometers northeast.
St. John's lies at about 17.12° N and 61.85° W (Natural Earth point, 0.66 km WSW of the Wikidata point). From the Wikidata point (Q36262; 61.8447° W, 17.1211° N): Heritage Quay 0.16 km W; Museum of Antigua and Barbuda 0.15 km NE; the camera position in the photo's file data 0.73 km SE. The WMO station point (17.12° N, 61.83° W) is 1.57 km E of the Wikidata point.
- Latitude
- about 17.1° north
- Longitude
- about 61.8° west
- Island
- Antigua, in the Lesser Antilles (Universalis)
Amazing facts
-
About one of every four people in Antigua and Barbuda lived in St. John's in 2011.
The 2011 census counted 22,219 people in St. John's, about a quarter of the 85,567 people in the whole country.
Census 2011: city 22,219; country 85,567 (26%).
-
St. John's harbor was dug deeper so big ships could come in.
A 1968 plan dredged St. John's harbor so ships that sit 10 meters deep in the water could anchor there.
Universalis: the well-sheltered harbor was the subject of a 1968 dredging plan for ships with a 10-meter draft.
-
Earthquakes knocked down the old cathedral more than once, and it was built again.
St. John's Anglican cathedral was first built in the 17th century and destroyed several times by earthquakes; the building standing today dates from the mid-19th century.
Universalis: Anglican cathedral built in the 17th century, destroyed several times by earthquakes; its present state dates from the mid-19th century.
-
In St. John's, the warmest and coolest months are only a few degrees apart.
In the WMO table, the average daily high in St. John's only moves between 28.2 °C and 30.9 °C through the year.
WMO table for St. John's (1969–1995): mean daily maximum 28.2 °C (January) to 30.9 °C (August), a range of 2.7 °C.
Words to know
- harbor
- a sheltered area of water where ships can stay safely
- dredge
- to dig mud and sand from the bottom of a harbor or river to make it deeper
- draft
- how deep a ship sits in the water
- cruise ship
- a very large ship that carries people on vacation from port to port
- cathedral
- a large, important church
- census
- an official count of all the people in a place
Discovery challenge
-
St. John's is the capital of which country?
St. John's is the capital of which island country?
Universalis calls St. John's the capital and first port of which state of the Lesser Antilles?
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Canada
- Jamaica
Show the answer
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and Barbuda!
Antigua and Barbuda.
Antigua and Barbuda.
-
What big boats are in the photo of St. John's?
What kind of ships are tied up in the harbor in the photo?
The photo's file is filed under Adventure of the Seas; what kind of ship is it?
- Cruise ships
- Fishing canoes
- Submarines
Show the answer
Cruise ships
Cruise ships!
Cruise ships.
Cruise ships.
-
What knocked down the old cathedral?
What destroyed St. John's Anglican cathedral several times?
According to Universalis, what destroyed the 17th-century Anglican cathedral several times?
- Earthquakes
- Floods
- Volcanoes
Show the answer
Earthquakes
Earthquakes!
Earthquakes.
Earthquakes.
-
How many people lived in St. John's in 2011?
How many people did the 2011 census count in St. John's?
What was the city of St. John's census population on 27 May 2011?
- 22,219
- 222,190
- 2,219
Show the answer
22,219
22,219!
22,219.
22,219.
-
Which month gets the most rain in St. John's?
In the WMO table, which month is the wettest in St. John's?
WMO table for St. John's (1960–1995): which month has the highest rainfall, 140.5 mm?
- September
- February
- June
Show the answer
September
September!
September.
September (140.5 mm).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate St. John's on the island of Antigua in the Lesser Antilles.
- Explain why a sheltered, deep harbor matters to an island country.
- Compare a city's population with its whole country's population.
- Read a tropical climate table where temperatures barely change.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might an island country's capital also be its main port?
- How can old buildings show which country once ruled a place?
- What changes when a town welcomes very large cruise ships?
Try at home or in class
- Share math: 22,219 of 85,567 people lived in the capital in 2011. Shade that share on a 10 x 10 grid.
- Harbor model: in a tray of sand and water, dig a channel and float toy boats of different depths.
- Rain chart: make a bar chart of St. John's monthly rainfall and mark the three wettest months.
Key vocabulary: harbor, dredge, draft, cruise ship, cathedral, census
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Saint John's , Encyclopædia Universalis
- Antigua-et-Barbuda , Encyclopædia Universalis
- Antigua and Barbuda: Parishes and Major Settlements , City Population (Thomas Brinkhoff), from the Statistics Division of Antigua and Barbuda
- St. John's Antigua: climatological information , World Meteorological Organization, World Weather Information Service
- File:St Johns Antigua 2012.jpg (Matt H. Wade, March 2012) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.