Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Background:

Disputed between France and the United Kingdom in the 18th century, Saint Vincent was ceded to the latter in 1783. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979.

Geography Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Location:
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates:
13 15 N, 61 12 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km)
water: 0 sq km
land: 389 sq km

Area - comparative:
twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
84 km

Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
contiguous zone: 24 NM

Climate:
tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)

Terrain:
volcanic, mountainous

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Soufriere 1,234 m

Natural resources:
hydropower, cropland

Land use:
arable land: 10.3%
permanent crops: 17.9%
other: 71.8% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
10 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat

Environment - current issues:
pollution of coastal waters and shorelines from discharges by pleasure yachts and other effluents; in some areas, pollution is severe enough to make swimming prohibitive

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note:
the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is comprised of 32 islands and cays

People Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Population:
117,193 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 27.6% (male 16,463; female 15,872)
15-64 years: 66% (male 39,827; female 37,547)
65 years and over: 6.4% (male 3,247; female 4,237) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 25.8 years
male: 25.7 years
female: 26 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.31% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
16.77 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
6.04 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
-7.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 15.24 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 13.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 16.58 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.35 years
male: 71.54 years
female: 75.21 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.9 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA%

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA

Nationality:
noun: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s)
adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian

Ethnic groups:
black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7%

Religions:
Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Hindu Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant

Languages:
English, French patois

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 96%
male: 96%
female: 96% (1970 est.)

Government Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Government type:
parliamentary democracy; independent sovereign state within the Commonwealth

Capital:
Kingstown

Administrative divisions:
6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick

Independence:
27 October 1979 (from UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 27 October (1979)

Constitution:
27 October 1979

Legal system:
based on English common law

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Fredrick Nathaniel BALLANTYNE (since 2 September 2002)
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
head of government: Prime Minister Ralph E. GONSALVES (since 29 March 2001)

Legislative branch:
unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected representatives and 6 appointed senators; representatives are elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3
elections: last held 28 March 2001 (next to be held by July 2006)

Judicial branch:
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

Political parties and leaders:
National Reform Party or NRP [Joel MIGUEL]; New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Ken BOYEA]; Progressive Labor Party or PLP [leader NA]; United People's Movement or UPM [Adrian SAUNDERS]; Unity Labor Party or ULP [Ralph GONSALVES] (formed by the coalition of Saint Vincent Labor Party or SVLP and the Movement for National Unity or MNU)

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ellsworth I. A. JOHN
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
telephone: [1] (202) 364-6730
FAX: [1] (202) 364-6736
consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
the US does not have an embassy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador to Barbados, Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER, is accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Flag description:
three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V pattern

Economy Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Economy - overview:
Economic growth in this lower-middle-income country hinges upon seasonal variations in the agricultural and tourism sectors. Tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994, 1995, and 2002, and tourism in the Eastern Caribbean has suffered low arrivals following 11 September 2001. Saint Vincent is home to a small offshore banking sector and has moved to adopt international regulatory standards. Saint Vincent is also a large producer of marijuana and is being used as a transshipment point for illegal narcotics from South America.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $339 million (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
-0.5% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 10%
industry: 26%
services: 64% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
-0.4% (2001 est.)

Labor force:
67,000 (1984 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 26%, industry 17%, services 57% (1980 est.)

Unemployment rate:
22% (1997 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $94.6 million
expenditures: $85.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries:
food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch

Industrial production growth rate:
-0.9% (1997 est.)

Electricity - production:
92.48 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 69.3%
hydro: 30.7%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:
86 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
1,250 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Agriculture - products:
bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices, small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats, fish

Exports:
$38 million (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:
bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets

Exports - partners:
France 25.2%, Greece 19.2%, Spain 16.4%, UK 9.3%, US 7% (2002)

Imports:
$174 million (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels

Imports - partners:
France 32.6%, US 11.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 10.4%, Singapore 10.2%, Spain 7.9%, Greece 4.3% (2002)

Debt - external:
$167.2 million (2000)

Economic aid - recipient:
$47.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (1998)

Currency:
East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

Currency code:
XCD

Exchange rates:
East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Telephones - main lines in use:
27,300 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
10,000 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: adequate system
domestic: islandwide, fully automatic telephone system; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to the other islands of the Grenadines
international: country code - 1-784; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to Barbados; new SHF radiotelephone to Grenada and to Saint Lucia; access to Intelsat earth station in Martinique through Saint Lucia

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004)

Radios:
77,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
1 (plus three repeaters) (2004)

Televisions:
18,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.vc

Internet hosts:
NA

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
15 (2000)

Internet users:
7,000 (2002)

Transportation Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Railways:
0 km

Highways:
total: 1,040 km
paved: 320 km
unpaved: 720 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
none

Ports and harbors:
Kingstown

Merchant marine:
total: 704 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,967,418 GRT/9,041,023 DWT
by type: bulk 120, cargo 346, chemical tanker 19, combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 1, container 51, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 4, multi-functional large load carrier 4, passenger 8, petroleum tanker 31, refrigerated cargo 45, roll on/roll off 42, short-sea/passenger 9, specialized tanker 8, vehicle carrier 1
foreign-owned: Albania 1, Angola 2, Argentina 1, Australia 3, Bangladesh 3, Barbados 2, Belgium 3, Bulgaria 16, China 114, Colombia 1, Croatia 7, Cyprus 2, Denmark 13, Egypt 5, Estonia 13, France 17, Germany 10, Greece 134, Guyana 8, Hong Kong 15, Iceland 7, India 5, Indonesia 1, Israel 3, Italy 21, Kenya 5, South Korea 4, Latvia 7, Lebanon 9, Liberia 5, Lithuania 3, Malta 4, Isle of Man 1, Marshall Islands 3, Mexico 2, Monaco 6, Netherlands 9, Nigeria 8, Norway 32, Pakistan 6, Panama 3, Poland 3, Portugal 1, Puerto Rico 2, Romania 2, Russia 21, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Lucia 1, Saudi Arabia 3, Singapore 5, Slovenia 7, Spain 1, Sweden 9, Switzerland 8, Syria 6, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Turkey 23, Ukraine 8, United Kingdom 11, United States
registered in other countries: 25 (2003 est.)

Airports:
6 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.)

Military Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Military branches:
Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA

Transnational Issues Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Disputes - international:
joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea

Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; small-scale cannabis cultivation