Map of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Resistance by native Caribs prevented colonization on St. Vincent until 1719. Disputed between France and the United Kingdom for most of the 18th century the island was ceded to the latter in 1783. Between 1960 and 1962 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was a separate administrative unit of the Federation of the West Indies. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979.


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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 reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 389 km²
Rank: 202
Land: 389 km²
Water: 0 km²
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
Extremes highest point: La Soufriere 1234 m

Natural resources: hydropower cropland

Land use
Arable land: 17.95%
Permanent crops: 17.95%
Other: 64.1% (2005)

Irrigated land: 10 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

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

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


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Population: 104,574 (July 2009 est.)
Rank: 192
Growth rate: -0.344% (2009 est.)
Growth rate rank: 223
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian
Adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian

Ethnic groups: black 66% mixed 19% East Indian 6% European 4% Carib Amerindian 2% other 3%

Languages: English French patois

Religions: Anglican 47% Methodist 28% Roman Catholic 13% other (includes Hindu Seventh-Day Adventist other Protestant) 12%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 25.9%
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 35,693/female 33,701)
65 years and over: 7.8% (male 3,659/female 4,459) (2009 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 28.9 years
Male: 29 years
Female: 28.9 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.344% (2009 est.)
Rank: 223

Birth rate: 15.27 births/1000 population (2009 est.)
Rank: 139

Death rate: 6.91 deaths/1000 population (July 2009 est.)
Rank: 137

Net migration rate: -11.8 migrant(s)/1000 population (2009 est.)
Rank: 178

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 47% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 1.3% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Major urban areas

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
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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 15.14 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 127
Male: 16.48 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 13.76 deaths/1000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.65 years
Rank: 102
Male: 71.82 years
Female: 75.54 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.98 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Rank: 133

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures: 8.1% of GDP (2005)
Rank: 14

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
Total population: 96%
Male: 96%
Female: 96% (1970 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 12 years
Male: 12 years
Female: 12 years (2005)

Youth unemployment


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

Government type: parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

Capital
Name: Kingstown
Geographic coordinates: 13 09 N 61 14 W
Time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)

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

Dependent areas

Independence: 27 October 1979 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day 27 October (1979)

Constitution: 27 October 1979

Legal system: based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II ; 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: 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 six appointed senators; representatives are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Elections: last held 7 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010)
Election results: percent of vote by party - ULP 55.3% NDP 44.7%; seats by party - ULP 12 NDP 3

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (consisting of a High Court and Court of Appeals; based on Saint Lucia; two judges of the Supreme Court reside 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)

International organization participation: ACP C Caricom CDB FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICCt ICRM IDA IFAD IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC ISO (subscriber) ITU ITUC MIGA NAM OAS OECS OPANAL OPCW UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WCL WFTU WHO WIPO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador La Celia A. PRINCE
In the us chancery: 3,216 New Mexico Avenue NW Washington DC 20,016
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 364-6,730
In the us fax: [1] (202) 364-6,736
In the us consulate general: New York
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

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Economic growth slowed in 2008 after reaching a 10-year high of nearly 7% in 2006 and will likely slow in 2009 with the global economic downturn though it will be above average for Latin America. Success of the economy hinges upon seasonal variations in agriculture tourism and construction activity as well as remittance inflows. Much of the workforce is employed in banana production and tourism but persistent high unemployment has prompted many to leave the islands. This lower-middle-income country is vulnerable to natural disasters - tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994 1995 and 2002. In 2007 the islands had more than 200,000 tourist arrivals mostly to the Grenadines. Saint Vincent is home to a small offshore banking sector and has moved to adopt international regulatory standards. The government's ability to invest in social programs and respond to external shocks is constrained by its high debt burden - 25% of current revenues are directed towards debt servicing. An agreement with Italy to write-off debt reduced the public debt-to-GDP ratio to about 70%. The GONSALVES administration is directing government resources to infrastructure projects including a new international airport that is expected to be completed in 2011.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 196
Note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 179

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 103
Note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 10%
Industry: 26%
Services: 64% (2001 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

Labor force: 57,520 (2007 est.)
Rank: 180
By occupation agriculture: 26%
By occupation industry: 17%
By occupation services: 57% (1980 est.)

Unemployment rate: 15% (2001 est.)
Rank: 155

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $94.6 million
Expenditures: $85.8 million (2000 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 6.1% (2007 est.)
Rank: 104

Central bank discount rate: 6.5% (31 December 2007)
Rank: 61

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 8.8% (31 December 2007)
Rank: 95

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit: $387.8 million (31 December 2007)
Rank: 116

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance: -$149 million (2007 est.)
Rank: 83

Exports: $193 million (2006)
Rank: 182
Commodities: bananas eddoes and dasheen (taro) arrowroot starch; tennis racquets
Partners: Greece 31.8% France 18.9% India 9.9% China 8.3% Italy 7.5% (2008)

Imports: $578 million (2006)
Rank: 184
Commodities: foodstuffs machinery and equipment chemicals and fertilizers minerals and fuels
Partners: Singapore 27.1% Trinidad and Tobago 13.2% US 12.1% China 8.5% Italy 7.1% Norway 5.1% (2008)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $223 million (2004)
Rank: 178

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (XCD) per US dollar - 2.7 (2007) 2.7 (2006) 2.7 (2005) 2.7 (2004) 2.7 (2003)


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Electricity
Production: 133.8 million kWh (2007 est.)
Production rank: 183
Consumption: 124.4 million kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption rank: 186
Exports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2008 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Production rank: 117
Consumption: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 125
Exports: 0 m³ (2008)
Exports rank: 94
Imports: 0 m³ (2008 est.)
Imports rank: 118
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2009 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 124

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 22,800 (2008)
Main lines in use rank: 190
Mobile cellular: 130,100 (2008)
Mobile cellular rank: 178

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; mobile-cellular teledensity exceeds 100 telephones per 100 persons
International: country code - 1-784; the East Caribbean Fiber Optic System (ECFS) and Southern Caribbean fiber optic system (SCF) submarine cables carry international calls; connectivity also provided by VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to Barbados; SHF radiotelephone to Grenada and Saint Lucia; access to Intelsat earth station in Martinique through Saint Lucia

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .vc
Hosts: 181 (2009)
Hosts rank: 190
Users: 66,000 (2008)
Users rank: 165

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: NA

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 6 (2009)
Rank: 174
With paved runways total: 5
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With paved runways under 914 m: 1 (2009)
With unpaved runways total: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1 (2009)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways
Total: 829 km
Rank: 185
Paved: 580 km
Unpaved: 249 km (2003)

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 525
Rank: 21
By type: barge carrier 1 bulk carrier 83 cargo 315 carrier 20 chemical tanker 2 liquefied gas 6 passenger 3 passenger/cargo 17 petroleum tanker 17 refrigerated cargo 20 roll on/roll off 18 specialized tanker 2 container 21
Foreign owned: 476 (Austria 2 Barbados 1 Belgium 8 Bulgaria 15 Canada 1 China 94 Croatia 7 Cyprus 1 Czech Republic 1 Denmark 16 Egypt 3 Estonia 16 France 6 Germany 3 Gibraltar 1 Greece 71 Guyana 2 Hong Kong 6 Iceland 7 India 7 Iran 1 Israel 2 Italy 17 Japan 3 Kenya 2 Latvia 17 Lebanon 6 Lithuania 9 Monaco 5 Montenegro 1 Namibia 1 Netherlands 3 Norway 13 Poland 1 Puerto Rico 1 Romania 1 Russia 21 Singapore 4 Slovenia 5 South Africa 1 Sweden 2 Switzerland 6 Syria 13 Turkey 20 Ukraine 11 UAE 9 UK 14 US 18 Venezuela 1) (2008)

Ports and terminals: Kingstown


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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 eastern Caribbean Sea

Refugees and internally displaced persons

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