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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. |
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Location:
|
Caribbean,
islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean,
north of Trinidad and Tobago |
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Geographic coordinates:
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13 15 N, 61 12 W |
|
Map references:
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Central
America and the Caribbean |
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Area:
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total: 389
sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km)
water: 0 sq km
land: 389 sq km |
|
Area - comparative:
|
twice the size of
Washington, DC |
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Land boundaries:
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0 km |
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Coastline:
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84 km |
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Climate:
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tropical; little
seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) |
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Terrain:
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volcanic,
mountainous |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Soufriere 1,234 m |
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Natural resources:
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hydropower,
cropland |
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Land use:
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arable land:
10.3%
permanent crops: 17.9%
other: 71.8% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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10 sq km (1998
est.) |
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Natural hazards:
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hurricanes;
Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant
threat |
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Environment - current issues:
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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 |
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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 |
|
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:
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117,193 (July
2004 est.) |
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Age structure:
|
0-14 years:
27.6% (male 16,463; female 15,872)
15-64 years: 66% (male 39,827; female 37,547)
65 years and over: 6.4% (male 3,247; female 4,237)
(2004 est.) |
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Median age:
|
total:
25.8 years
male: 25.7 years
female: 26 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
|
0.31% (2004 est.) |
|
Birth rate:
|
16.77
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
|
6.04 deaths/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
|
-7.64 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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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.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
|
total:
15.24 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 13.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 16.58 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
|
total
population: 73.35 years
male: 71.54 years
female: 75.21 years (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
NA% |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s)
adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian |
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Ethnic groups:
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black 66%, mixed
19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7% |
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Religions:
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Anglican 47%,
Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Hindu Seventh-Day
Adventist, other Protestant |
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Languages:
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English, French
patois |
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Literacy:
|
definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 96%
male: 96%
female: 96% (1970 est.) |
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Country name:
|
conventional
long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines |
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Government type:
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parliamentary
democracy; independent sovereign state within the Commonwealth |
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Capital:
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Kingstown |
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Administrative divisions:
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6 parishes;
Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint
George, Saint Patrick |
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Independence:
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27 October 1979
(from UK) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day,
27 October (1979) |
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Constitution:
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27 October 1979 |
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Legal system:
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based on English
common law |
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Executive branch:
|
chief of
state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Sir Fredrick Nathaniel
BALLANTYNE (since 2 September 2002)
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
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on
the advice of the prime minister
head of government: Prime Minister Ralph E. GONSALVES
(since 29 March 2001) |
|
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)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats
by party - ULP 12, NDP 3
elections: last held 28 March 2001 (next to be held by
July 2006) |
|
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 |
|
Diplomatic representation in the 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 representation from the 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 |
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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 - $339 million (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
|
-0.5% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
|
purchasing power
parity - $2,900 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture:
10%
industry: 26%
services: 64% (2001 est.) |
|
Population below poverty line:
|
NA% (2001 est.) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
-0.4% (2001 est.) |
|
Labor force:
|
67,000 (1984
est.) |
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Labor force - by 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.) |
|
Industries:
|
food processing,
cement, furniture, clothing, starch |
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Industrial production growth rate:
|
-0.9% (1997 est.) |
|
Electricity - production:
|
92.48 million kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
|
fossil fuel:
69.3%
hydro: 30.7%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
|
86 million kWh
(2001) |
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Oil - production:
|
0 bbl/day (2001
est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
|
1,250 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
|
bananas,
coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices, small numbers of cattle,
sheep, pigs, goats, fish |
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Exports:
|
$38 million (2002
est.) |
|
Exports - commodities:
|
bananas 39%,
eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets |
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Exports - partners:
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France 25.2%,
Greece 19.2%, Spain 16.4%, UK 9.3%, US 7% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$174 million
(2002 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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foodstuffs,
machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals
and fuels |
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Imports - partners:
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France 32.6%, US
11.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 10.4%, Singapore 10.2%, Spain 7.9%,
Greece 4.3% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$167.2 million
(2000) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
|
$47.5 million
(1995); note - EU $34.5 million (1998) |
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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) |
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Fiscal year:
|
calendar year |
|
Telephones - main lines in use:
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27,300 (2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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10,000 (2002) |
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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) |
|
Television broadcast stations:
|
1 (plus three
repeaters) (2004) |
|
Internet country code:
|
.vc |
|
Internet hosts:
|
NA |
|
Internet users:
|
7,000 (2002) |
|
Railways:
|
0 km |
|
Highways:
|
total:
1,040 km
paved: 320 km
unpaved: 720 km (1999 est.) |
|
Waterways:
|
none |
|
Ports and harbors:
|
Kingstown |
|
Merchant marine:
|
total: 704
ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,967,418 GRT/9,041,023 DWT
by type: bulk 120, cargo 346, chemical tanker 19,
combination bulk 10, combination ore/oil 1, container 51,
liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 4, multi-functional large
load carrier 4, passenger 8, petroleum tanker 31, refrigerated
cargo 45, roll on/roll off 42, short-sea/passenger 9,
specialized tanker 8, vehicle carrier 1
foreign-owned: Albania 1, Angola 2, Argentina 1,
Australia 3, Bangladesh 3, Barbados 2, Belgium 3, Bulgaria 16,
China 114, Colombia 1, Croatia 7, Cyprus 2, Denmark 13, Egypt
5, Estonia 13, France 17, Germany 10, Greece 134, Guyana 8,
Hong Kong 15, Iceland 7, India 5, Indonesia 1, Israel 3, Italy
21, Kenya 5, South Korea 4, Latvia 7, Lebanon 9, Liberia 5,
Lithuania 3, Malta 4, Isle of Man 1, Marshall Islands 3,
Mexico 2, Monaco 6, Netherlands 9, Nigeria 8, Norway 32,
Pakistan 6, Panama 3, Poland 3, Portugal 1, Puerto Rico 2,
Romania 2, Russia 21, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saint Lucia 1,
Saudi Arabia 3, Singapore 5, Slovenia 7, Spain 1, Sweden 9,
Switzerland 8, Syria 6, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and
Tobago 1, Turkey 23, Ukraine 8, United Kingdom 11, United
States
registered in other countries: 25 (2003 est.) |
|
Airports:
|
6 (2003 est.) |
|
Airports - with paved runways:
|
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways:
|
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
|
Military branches:
|
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 |
|
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 |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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