Introduction

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

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: Soufriere 1,234 m

Natural resources:

hydropower, cropland

Land use:

arable land: 17.95%
permanent crops: 17.95%
other: 64.1% (2001)

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, 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

Population:

117,534 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 27.1% (male 16,208/female 15,621)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 40,287/female 37,883)
65 years and over: 6.4% (male 3,280/female 4,255) (2005 est.)

Median age:

total: 26.36 years
male: 26.21 years
female: 26.53 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate:

0.27% (2005 est.)

Birth rate:

16.34 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate:

6 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate:

-7.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 14.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.09 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 13.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 73.62 years
male: 71.78 years
female: 75.51 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate:

1.85 children born/woman (2005 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

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 28 March 2001 (next to be held by July 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, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTO

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:

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 - $342 million (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

0.7% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita:

purchasing power parity - $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:

91.2 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - production by source:

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

Electricity - consumption:

84.82 million kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:

0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:

0 kWh (2002)

Oil - production:

0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:

1,250 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:

NA

Oil - imports:

NA

Exports:

$38 million (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities:

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

Exports - partners:

France 30.5%, Spain 19.6%, Italy 17.7%, Greece 11.7%, UK 7.8% (2004)

Imports:

$174 million (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities:

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

Imports - partners:

France 21%, Italy 12.4%, Singapore 11.2%, US 10.9%, Trinidad and Tobago 9.9%, Japan 7.3%, Spain 4.9% (2004)

Debt - external:

$167.2 million (2000)

Currency (code):

East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

Currency code:

XCD

Exchange rates:

East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000)

Fiscal year:

calendar year

Communications

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:

4 (2003)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

15 (2000)

Internet users:

7,000 (2002)

Transportation

Highways:

total: 829 km
paved: 580 km
unpaved: 249 km (2002)

Ports and harbors:

Kingstown

Merchant marine:

total: 657 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,967,418 GRT/9,041,023 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 112, cargo 366, chemical tanker 18, combination ore/oil 1, container 24, liquefied gas 4, livestock carrier 6, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 19, petroleum tanker 29, refrigerated cargo 48, roll on/roll off 22, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 1
foreign-owned: 554 (Australia 2, Bangladesh 5, Barbados 1, Belgium 1, British 5, Bulgaria 17, China 115, Congo 1, Croatia 7, Cuba 1, Czech Republic 1, Denmark 12, Egypt 2, Estonia 19, France 12, Germany 8, Greece 99, Guyana 3, Hong Kong 10, Iceland 11, India 6, Iran 1, Ireland 1, Israel 3, Italy 18, Kenya 4, Latvia 9, Lebanon 6, Lithuania 3, Monaco 4, Netherlands 7, Nigeria 3, Norway 19, Pakistan 4, Poland 1, Puerto Rico 1, Romania 1, Russia 20, Saudi Arabia 3, Serbia & Montenegro 1, Singapore 2, Slovenia 6, South Korea 3, Spain 2, Sweden 1, Switzerland 7, Syria 6, Trinidad & Tobago 1, Tunisia 2, Turkey 16, Ukraine 6, UAE 21, United Kingdom 10, United States 24) (2005)

Airports:

6 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:

total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:

total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Military

Military branches:

no regular military forces; 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

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