| Background: |
Disputed between
France and Great Britain in the 18th century, Saint Vincent
was ceded to the latter in 1783. Autonomy was granted in
1969, and independence in 1979. |
| Location: |
Caribbean,
islands in the Caribbean Sea, 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 |
| Maritime
claims: |
contiguous
zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 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%
permanent crops: 18%
permanent pastures: 5%
forests and woodland: 36%
other: 31% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated
land: |
10 sq km (1993
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, 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 |
| Population: |
115,942 (July
2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
29.61% (male 17,466; female 16,865)
15-64 years: 64.04% (male 38,074; female
36,179)
65 years and over: 6.35% (male 3,162; female
4,196) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
0.4% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
17.91
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
6.16 deaths/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-7.72 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
16.61
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 72.56 years
male: 70.83 years
female: 74.34 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
2.06 children
born/woman (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
NA% |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
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% |
| Religions: |
Anglican 47%,
Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Seventh-Day Adventist,
Hindu, 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.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines |
| Government
type: |
parliamentary
democracy; independent sovereign state within the
Commonwealth |
| 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 David JACK (since 29
September 1989)
head of government: Prime Minister Ralph
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 28 March 2001 (next to be
held by NA March 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party -
NA%; 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: |
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, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user),
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 JOHN
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20016
telephone: [1] (202) 364-6730
FAX: [1] (202) 364-6736 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
the US does not
have an embassy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US
Ambassador in 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
- overview: |
Agriculture,
dominated by banana production, is the most important sector
of this lower-middle-income economy. The services sector,
based mostly on a growing tourist industry, is also
important. The government has been relatively unsuccessful
at introducing new industries, and a high unemployment rate
persists. The continuing dependence on a single crop
represents the biggest obstacle to the islands' development;
tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in
both 1994 and 1995. The tourism sector has considerable
potential for development over the next decade. Recent
growth has been stimulated by strong activity in the
construction sector and an improvement in tourism. There is
a small manufacturing sector and a small offshore financial
sector whose particularly restrictive secrecy laws have
caused some international concern. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $322 million (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
2% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $2,800 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
10.6%
industry: 17.5%
services: 71.9% (1996 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
2% (1999 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:
$85.7 million
expenditures: $98.6 million, including capital
expenditures of $25.7 million (1997 est.) |
| Industries: |
food processing,
cement, furniture, clothing, starch |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
-0.9% (1997 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
82 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
73.17%
hydro: 26.83%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
76.3 million kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
bananas,
coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle,
sheep, pigs, goats; fish |
| Exports: |
$53.7 million
(2000 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
bananas 39%,
eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets |
| Exports
- partners: |
Caricom countries
49%, UK 16%, US 10% (1995) |
| Imports: |
$185.6 million
(2000 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
foodstuffs,
machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals
and fuels |
| Imports
- partners: |
US 36%, Caricom
countries 28%, UK 13% (1995) |
| Debt
- external: |
$99.3 million
(1998) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$47.5 million
(1995); note - EU $34.5 million (1998) |
| Currency: |
East Caribbean
dollar (XCD) |
| Exchange
rates: |
East Caribbean
dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
20,500 (1998) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
NA |
| 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: 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 3,
shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
1 (plus three
repeaters) (1997) |
| Televisions: |
18,000 (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.vc |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
15 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
2,000 (2000) |
| Highways: |
total:
1,040 km
paved: 320 km
unpaved: 720 km (1996) |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Kingstown |
| Merchant
marine: |
total:
800 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,705,336 GRT/10,134,002
DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 131, cargo
395, chemical tanker 29, combination bulk 12, combination
ore/oil 1, container 46, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier
3, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 2,
petroleum tanker 56, refrigerated cargo 42, roll on/roll off
49, short-sea passenger 11, specialized tanker 10, vehicle
carrier 1
note: includes some foreign-owned ships
registered here as a flag of convenience: China 4, Ireland
1, France 1, Greece 3, Hong Kong 1, Croatia 10, India 1,
Japan 2, Monaco 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 2, Netherlands
Antilles 1, Pakistan 1, Russia 1, Slovenia 5, UAE 1 (2000
est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
5
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
1
under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
| 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% |
| Disputes
- international: |
none |
| Illicit
drugs: |
transshipment
point for South American drugs destined for the US and
Europe |
|
