Map of Grenada | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Carib Indians inhabited Grenada when Christopher COLUMBUS discovered the island in 1498 but it remained uncolonized for more than a century. The French settled Grenada in the 17th century established sugar estates and imported large numbers of African slaves. Britain took the island in 1762 and vigorously expanded sugar production. In the 19th century cacao eventually surpassed sugar as the main export crop; in the 20th century nutmeg became the leading export. In 1967 Britain gave Grenada autonomy over its internal affairs. Full independence was attained in 1974 making Grenada one of the smallest independent countries in the Western Hemisphere. Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year and have continued since then.


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Location: Caribbean island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean north of Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates: 12 07 N 61 40 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 344 km²
Land: 344 km²
Water: 0 km²
Rank: 207
Comparative: twice the size of Washington DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 121 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

Climate: tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds

Terrain: volcanic in origin with central mountains

Elevation
Mean elevation: NA
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m: highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m

Natural resources: timber tropical fruit deepwater harbors

Land use
Agricultural land: 32.3%
Forest: 50%
Other: 17.7%

Irrigated land: 20 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November

Geography
Note: the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada


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Population
Distribution: approximately one-third of the population is found in the capital of St. George's; the island's population is concentrated along the coast: 111,219 (July 2016 est.)
Rank: 191
Growth rate: 0.46% (2016 est.)
Growth rate rank: 163
Below poverty line: 38% (2008 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Grenadian
Adjective: Grenadian

Ethnic groups: African descent 89.4% mixed 8.2% East Indian 1.6% other 0.9% (includes indigenous) (2001 est.)

Languages: English (official) French patois

Religions: Roman Catholic 44.6% Protestant 43.5% (includes Anglican 11.5% Pentecostal 11.3% Seventh Day Adventist 10.5% Baptist 2.9% Church of God 2.6% Methodist 1.8% Evangelical 1.6% other 1.3%) Jehovah's Witness 1.1% Rastafarian 1.1% other 6.2% none 3.6%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 24.15%
15-24 years: 15.55%
25-54 years: 40.36%
55-64 years: 10.1%
65 years and over: 9.84% (2016 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 50.7%
Youth dependency ratio: 39.9%
Elderly dependency ratio: 10.8%
Potential support ratio: 9.3%

Median age
Total: 30.9 years
Male: 30.9 years
Female: 31 years
Rank: 109

Population growth rate: 0.46% (2016 est.)
Rank: 163

Birth rate: 15.8 births/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 121

Death rate: 8.1 deaths/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 93

Net migration rate: -3 migrant(s)/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 179

Population distribution: approximately one-third of the population is found in the capital of St. George's; the island's population is concentrated along the coast

Urbanization
Urban population: 35.6% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0.33% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: SAINT GEORGE'S (capital) 38,000 (2014)

Environment
Current issues: NA
International agreements party to: Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Law of the Sea Ozone Layer Protection Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.1 male/female
0-14 years: 1.08 male/female
15-24 years: 0.99 male/female
25-54 years: 1.05 male/female
55-64 years: 1.05 male/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male/female
Total population: 1.03 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 9.9 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 9.4 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 10.6 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 137

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74.3 years
Male: 71.7 years
Female: 77.1 years
Rank: 124

Total fertility rate: 2.04 children born/woman (2016 est.)
Rank: 112

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 0.66 physicians/1000 population (2006)

Hospital bed density: 3.5 beds/1000 population (2012)

Sanitation facility access:

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

Major infectious diseases
Note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country ; it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex via blood transfusion or during pregnancy in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus (2016)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 24.6% (2014)
Rank: 78

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 16 years
Male: 15 years
Female: 16 years

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Grenada
Etymology: probably named for the Spanish city of Granada; in Spanish 'granada' means 'pomegranate'

Government type: parliamentary democracy (Parliament); a Commonwealth realm

Capital
Name: Saint George's
Geographic coordinates: 12 03 N 61 45 W
Time difference: UTC-4

Administrative divisions: 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petite Martinique* Saint Andrew Saint David Saint George Saint John Saint Mark Saint Patrick

Dependent areas

Independence: 7 February 1974 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day 7 February (1974)

Constitution: previous 1967; latest presented 19 December 1973 effective 7 February 1974 suspended 1979 following a revolution but restored in 1983; amended 1991 (Constitutional Judicature Act 1991); note - in late 2015 as part of constitutional reform Parliament completed its first reading of a package of amendments (2016)

Legal system: common law based on English model

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: yes
Citizenship by descent: yes
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years for persons from a non-Caribbean state and 4 years for a person from a Caribbean state

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II ; represented by Governor General Cecile LA GRENADE (since 7 May 2013)
Head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
Electionsappointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor general

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)
Elections: last held on 19 February 2013
Election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NNP 59% NDC 41%; seats by party - NNP 15

Judicial branch
Highest court: the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court is the itinerant superior court of record for the 9-member Organization of Eastern Caribbean States to include Grenada; the ECSC - with its headquarters on St. Lucia - is comprised of the Court of Appeal with 3 justices and the High Court with 19 judges; sittings of the Court of Appeal and High Court rotate among the member states
Judge selection and term of office: chief justice of Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court appointed by the Her Majesty Queen ELIZABETH II; other justices and judges appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission and independent body of judicial officials; Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 65; High Court judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 62
Subordinate courts: magistrates' courts; Court of Magisterial Appeals

Political parties and leaders:

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Ethelstan A. FRIDAY
In the us chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW Washington DC 20,009
In the us telephone: [1] 265-2,561
In the us FAX: [1] 265-2,468
In the us consulate general: Miami
From the us chief of mission: the US does not have an embassy in Grenada; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada
From the us embassy: Lance-aux-Epines Stretch Saint George's
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 54 Saint George's
From the us telephone: [1] 444-1173 through 1176
From the us FAX: [1] 444-4,820

Flag description: a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side) with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border three centered in the bottom red border and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg after Indonesia); the seven stars stand for the seven administrative divisions with the central star denoting the capital St. George; yellow represents the sun and the warmth of the people green stands for vegetation and agriculture and red symbolizes harmony unity and courage

National symbols: Grenada dove Bougainvillea flower; national colors: red yellow green

National anthem
Name: 'Hail Grenada'
Lyrics and music: Irva Merle BAPTISTE/Louis Arnold MASANTO
Note: adopted 1974

National heritage


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Economy overview:

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2015 US dollars
Rank: 199

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 25

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2015 US dollars
Rank: 117

Gross national saving:
Rank: 170

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 82%
Government consumption: 15.3%
Investment in fixed capital: 17.4%
Investment in inventories: 0.1%
Exports of goods and services: 23.9%
Imports of goods and services: -38.7%

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 9.4%
Industry: 13.9%
Services: 76.7%

Agriculture products: bananas cocoa nutmeg mace citrus avocados root crops sugarcane corn vegetables

Industries: food and beverages textiles light assembly operations tourism construction

Industrial production growth rate: 2% (2015 est.)
Rank: 106

Labor force: 59,900 (2013 est.)
Rank: 187
By occupation agriculture: 11%
By occupation industry: 20%
By occupation services: 69%

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 192

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 38% (2008 est.)

Gini index

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

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $254.3 million
Expenditures: $291.4 million
Surplus or deficit: -3.9% of GDP (2015 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 140

Taxes and other revenues: 26.7% of GDP (2015 est.)
Rank: 107

Public debt: 110% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 9

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 28

Central bank discount rate:
Rank: 60

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 93

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 181

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 173

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 170

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance:
Rank: 76

Exports:
Rank: 205
Commodities: nutmeg bananas cocoa fruit and vegetables clothing mace
Partners: Nigeria 44.7% St. Lucia 10.8% Antigua and Barbuda 7.3% St. Kitts and Nevis 6.6% Dominica 6.6% US 5.8% (2015)

Imports:
Rank: 201
Commodities: food manufactured goods machinery chemicals fuel
Partners: Trinidad and Tobago 49.6% US 16.4% (2015)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external:
Rank: 174

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access population without electricity: 11,121
Access electrification total population: 91%
Access electrification urban areas: 100%
Access electrification rural areas: 80%
Production: 200 million kWh (2014 est.)
Production rank: 186
Consumption: 200 million kWh (2014 est.)
Consumption rank: 189
Exports: 0 kWh (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 144
Imports: 0 kWh (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 155
Installed generating capacity: 50,000 kW (2014 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 186
Generation sources fossil fuels: 98.6% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 52
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 100
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 175
Generation sources other renewable sources: 1.4% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 89

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 141
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 130
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 197
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2016 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 139

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products production rank: 188
Products consumption: 2,300 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products consumption rank: 187
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products exports rank: 185
Products imports: 2,259 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products imports rank: 182

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Production rank: 194
Consumption: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Consumption rank: 148
Exports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 107
Imports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 202
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 es)
Proven reserves rank: 144

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 500,000 Mt (2013 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 186

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 27,034
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 24
Fixed lines rank: 174
Mobile cellular total: 120,000
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 108
Mobile cellular rank: 186

Telephone system
General assessment: adequate automatic island-wide telephone system
Domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links
International: country code - 1-473; landing point for the East Caribbean Fiber System submarine cable with links to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to Trinidad; SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad (2015)

Broadcast media: the Grenada Broadcasting Network jointly owned by the government and the Caribbean Communications Network of Trinidad and Tobago operates a TV station and 2 radio stations; multi-channel cable TV subscription service is available; a dozen private radio stations also broadcast (2007)

Internet
Country code: .gd
Users total: 60,000
Users percent of population: 53.8%
Users rank: 183

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 0
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 0
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 0
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 0 mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: J3 (2016)

Airports: 3 (2013)
Rank: 195
With paved runways total: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 1

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways
Total: 1127 km
Paved: 687 km
Unpaved: 440 km
Rank: 184

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Saint George's


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US