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Saint Vincent And The Grenadines - General Country Information

Introduction
Geography
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Military
Transnational Issues

Introduction

General Information: Saint Vincent And The Grenadines

The capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is Kingstown.

Major cities of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are:
Canouan, St Vincent.

Geography

Location:	Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
Coordinates:	13 15 N, 61 12 W
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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
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:	117,193 (July 2004 est.)
Age Structure:	total: 25.8 years male: 25.7 years female: 26 years (2004 est.)
Population Growth Rate:	0.31% (2004 est.)
Birth Rate:	16.77 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death Rate:	6.04 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Migration Rate:	-7.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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: 1.03 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant Mortality Rate:	total: 15.24 deaths/1,000 live births male: 16.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Expectancy Birth:	total population: 73.35 years male: 71.54 years female: 75.21 years (2004 est.)
Fertility Rate:	1.9 children born/woman (2004 est.)
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.)

Gouvernment

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 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)
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
Diplomatic in US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Ellsworth I. A. JOHN chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6736 consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic from US:	the US does not have an embassy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador to Barbados, Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER, 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

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 Growth Rate:	0.7% (2002 est.)
GDP Capital:	purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2002 est.)
GDP Composition:	agriculture: 10% industry: 26% services: 64% (2001 est.)
Household Income:	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Inflation Rate:	-0.4% (2001 est.)
Labor Force:	67,000 (1984 est.)
Labor Force Occupation:	agriculture 26%, industry 17%, services 57% (1980 est.)
Unemployment Rate:	22% (1997 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
Industry Production Growth Rate:	-0.9% (1997 est.)
Electricity Production:	92.48 million kWh (2001)
Electricity Consumption:	86 million kWh (2001)
Electricity Exports:	0 kWh (2001)
Electricity Imports:	0 kWh (2001)
Oil Production:	0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil Consumption:	1,250 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil Exports:	NA (2001)
Oil Imports:	NA (2001)
Exports:	$38 million (2002 est.)
Exports Commodities:	bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets
Exports Partners:	France 52.7%, UK 6.9%, Greece 6.4%, Spain 6.4% (2003)
Imports:	$174 million (2002 est.)
Imports Commodities:	foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels
Imports Partners:	France 31.4%, US 10.4%, Singapore 10.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 10%, Spain 9%, Italy 5.5% (2003)
Debt External:	$167.2 million (2000)
Currency:	East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Currency Code:	XCD
Exchange Rates:	East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999)
Fiscal Year:	calendar year

Communications

Telephones Lines Use:	27,300 (2002)
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 Stations:	AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004)
Television Stations:	1 (plus three repeaters) (2004)
Internet Code:	.vc
Internet Hosts:	4 (2003)
Internet Users:	7,000 (2002)

Military

Military Branches: Saint Vincent And The Grenadines

Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard

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