Country Listing Factbook Home Page

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Country Flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Geography
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational Issues
Country map of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Geography

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: 340 sq km
land: 340 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area—comparative: twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 84 km

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: NEGL

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, 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

People

Population: 119,818 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 31% (male 18,630; female 17,994)
15-64 years: 64% (male 38,562; female 37,979)
65 years and over: 5% (male 2,740; female 3,913) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.6% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 18.74 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 5.28 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: -7.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 15.69 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.51 years
male: 72 years
female: 75.07 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.97 children born/woman (1998 est.)

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

Ethnic groups: black, white, East Indian, Carib Amerindian

Religions: Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Seventh-Day Adventist

Languages: English, French patois

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

Government

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

Data code: VC

Government type: constitutional monarchy

National 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 of the UK (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Charles ANTROBUS (since NA)
head of government: Prime Minister James Fitz-Allen MITCHELL (since 30 July 1984)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
elections: none; the queen is a hereditary 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; members are elected by popular vote from single member constituencies to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 21 February 1994 (next to be held by NA May 1999)
election results: percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party—NDP 12, ULP 3

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

Political parties and leaders: New Democratic Party (NDP), James F. MITCHELL; United People's Movement (UPM), Adrian SAUNDERS; National Reform Party (NRP), Joel MIGUEL; Unity Labor Party (ULP),Vincent BEACHE—formed by the coalition of Saint Vincent Labor Party (SVLP) and the Movement for National Unity (MNU)

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, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Kingsley C.A. LAYNE
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 Ambassador to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines resides in Bridgetown (Barbados)

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

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 high unemployment rates of 35%-40% continue. 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.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$259 million (1996 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: 1% (1996 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$2,200 (1996 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 10.6%
industry: 17.5%
services: 71.9% (1996 est.)

Inflation rate—consumer price index: 3.6% (1996)

Labor force:
total: 67,000 (1984 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 26%, industry 17%, services 57% (1980 est.)

Unemployment rate: 35%-40% (1994 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $80 million
expenditures: $118 million, including capital expenditures of $39 million (1996 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 0.3% (1995 est.)

Electricity—capacity: 14,000 kW (1995)

Electricity—production: 64 million kWh (1995)

Electricity—consumption per capita: 545 kWh (1995)

Agriculture—products: bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; small fish catch used locally

Exports:
total value: $46 million (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets
partners: Caricom countries 49%, UK 16%, US 10% (1995)

Imports:
total value: $127 million (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels
partners: US 36%, Caricom countries 28%, UK 13% (1995)

Debt—external: NA

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1—2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Telephones: 6,189 (1983 est.)

Telephone 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 2, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 76,000 (1992 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 cable

Televisions: 20,600 (1992 est.)

Transportation

Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 1,040 km
paved: 320 km
unpaved: 720 km (1996 est.)

Ports and harbors: Kingstown

Merchant marine:
total: 799 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 8,063,755 GRT/12,629,612 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 136, cargo 383, chemical tanker 27, combination bulk 11, combination ore/oil 9, container 44, liquefied gas tanker 4, livestock carrier 4, multi-function large load carrier 2, oil tanker 70, passenger 1, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 37, roll-on/roll-off cargo 53, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 5, vehicle carrier 1
note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 24 countries among which are Croatia 22, Slovenia 8, China 7, Greece 7, UAE 4, Norway 3, India 2, Japan 2, Russia 2, and Ukraine 2 (1997 est.)

Airports: 6 (1997 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 3 (1997 est.)

Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (1997 est.)

Military

Military branches: Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, Coast Guard

Military expenditures—dollar figure: $NA

Military expenditures—percent of GDP: NA%

Transnational Issues

Disputes—international: none

Illicit drugs: transshipment points for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe


Country Listing Factbook Home Page