Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
 Fact File
 

Introduction

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)
land: 389 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:

twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:

0 km

Coastline:

84 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 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: La Soufriere 1,234 m

Natural resources:

hydropower, cropland

Land use:

arable land: 17.95%
permanent crops: 17.95%
other: 64.1% (2005)

Irrigated land:

10 sq km (2003)

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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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:

117,848 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 26.7% (male 16,007/female 15,426)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 40,676/female 38,155)
65 years and over: 6.4% (male 3,315/female 4,269) (2006 est.)

Median age:

total: 26.9 years
male: 26.7 years
female: 27.1 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:

0.26% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:

16.18 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:

5.98 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:

-7.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 14.4 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.67 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 13.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 73.85 years
male: 71.99 years
female: 75.77 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.83 children born/woman (2006 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)
head of government: Prime Minister Ralph E. GONSALVES (since 29 March 2001)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
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

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)
elections: last held 7 December 2005 (next to be held 2010)
election results: percent of vote by party - ULP 55.26%, NDP 44.68%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3

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:

New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; 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, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTO

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 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 producer of marijuana and is being used as a transshipment point for illegal narcotics from South America.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$342 million (2002 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):

NA

GDP - real growth rate:

0.7% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$2,900 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 10%
industry: 26%
services: 64% (2001 est.)

Labor force:

67,000 (1984 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture: 26%
industry: 17%
services: 57% (1980 est.)

Unemployment rate:

15% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line:

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

-0.4% (2001 est.)

Budget:

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

Agriculture - products:

bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish

Industries:

food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch

Industrial production growth rate:

-0.9% (1997 est.)

Electricity - production:

95 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - production by source:

fossil fuel: 69.3%
hydro: 30.7%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption:

88.35 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:

0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:

1,300 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:

NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:

NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:

0 cu m (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:

0 cu m (2003 est.)

Exports:

$37 million (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:

bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch; tennis racquets

Exports - partners:

UK 33.5%, Barbados 13.1%, Saint Lucia 11.5%, Trinidad and Tobago 9.9%, Antigua and Barbuda 8.3%, US 5.3%, Grenada 5.3%, Dominica 4.1% (2004)

Imports:

$225 million (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:

foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels

Imports - partners:

US 37.5%, Trinidad and Tobago 21.3%, UK 10.5% (2004)

Debt - external:

$167.2 million (2000)

Economic aid - recipient:

$47.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (1998)

Currency (code):

East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

Currency code:

XCD

Exchange rates:

East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Communications

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Telephones - main lines in use:

19,000 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

57,000 (2004)

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:

21 (2005)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

15 (2000)

Internet users:

8,000 (2005)

Transportation

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Airports:

6 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 1 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2005)

Roadways:

total: 829 km
paved: 580 km
unpaved: 249 km (2003)

Merchant marine:

total: 584 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,344,823 GRT/8,033,377 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 95, cargo 349, chemical tanker 7, container 19, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 3, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 15, petroleum tanker 16, refrigerated cargo 43, roll on/roll off 21, specialized tanker 4, vehicle carrier 1
foreign-owned: 535 (Bangladesh 1, Barbados 1, Belgium 2, Bulgaria 16, Canada 2, China 106, Croatia 8, Cyprus 3, Czech Republic 1, Denmark 14, Egypt 3, Estonia 25, France 8, Germany 11, Greece 84, Guyana 3, Hong Kong 6, Iceland 10, India 6, Iran 1, Ireland 1, Israel 1, Italy 17, Kenya 3, Latvia 17, Lebanon 4, Lithuania 5, Madagascar 1, Monaco 3, Netherlands 7, Norway 17, Pakistan 2, Poland 1, Puerto Rico 1, Romania 2, Russia 21, Saudi Arabia 2, Serbia and Montenegro 2, Singapore 7, Slovenia 5, Spain 1, Sweden 1, Switzerland 10, Syria 5, Tunisia 2, Turkey 23, Ukraine 13, UAE 12, UK 16, US 21, Vietnam 1)
registered in other countries: 2 (Comoros 1, North Korea 1) (2005)

Ports and terminals:

Kingstown

Military

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Military branches:

no regular military forces; Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard

Manpower available for military service:

males age 18-49: 31,489 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 18-49: 25,787 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:

males age 18-49: 1,204 (2005 est.)

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

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