Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Airports

6 total, 6 usable; 4 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 2,439 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

Highways

about 1,000 km total; 300 km paved; 400 km improved; 300 km unimproved

Merchant marine

242 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,855,061 GRT/2,919,872 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 2 passenger-cargo, 132 cargo, 11 container, 15 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 9 refrigerated cargo, 13 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 4 chemical tanker, 4 liquefied gas, 44 bulk, 6 combination bulk, 1 vehicle carrier; note--China owns 3 ships; a flag of convenience registry

Ports

Kingstown

Telecommunications

islandwide fully automatic telephone system; 6,500 telephones; VHF/UHF interisland links to Barbados and the Grenadines; new SHF links to Grenada and Saint Lucia; stations--2 AM, no FM, 1 TV (cable)

Branches

Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, Coast Guard

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males 15-49, 28,339; NA fit for military service

Agriculture

accounts for 15% of GDP and 60% of labor force; provides bulk of exports; products--bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, hogs, goats; small fish catch used locally

Budget

revenues $62 million; expenditures $67 million, including capital expenditures of $21 million (FY90 est.)

Currency

East Caribbean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $11 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $76 million

Electricity

16,600 kW capacity; 64 million kWh produced, 570 kWh per capita (1990)

Exchange rates

East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1--2.70 (fixed rate since 1976)

Exports

$74.6 million (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--bananas 45%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), sweet potatoes, spices, light manufactures; partners--UK 43%, CARICOM 37%, US 15%

External debt

$42.2 million (FY89)

Fiscal year

calendar year (as of January 1991); previously 1 July-30 June

GDP

$146 million, per capita $1,315; real growth rate 5.9% (1989 est.)

Imports

$127.5 million (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels; partners--US 42%, CARICOM 19%, UK 15%

Industrial production

growth rate 0% (1989); accounts for 14% of GDP

Industries

food processing (sugar, flour), cement, furniture, clothing, starch, sheet metal, beverage

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.6% (1989)

Overview

Agriculture, dominated by banana production, is the most important sector of the economy. The services sector, based mostly on a growing tourist industry, is also important. The economy continues to have a high unemployment rate of 30% because of an overdependence on the weather-plagued banana crop as a major export earner. Government progress toward diversifying into new industries has been relatively unsuccessful.

Unemployment rate

30% (1989 est.)

Climate

tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)

Coastline

84 km Contiguous zone: 24 nm; Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm

Comparative area

slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC

Environment

subject to hurricanes; Soufriere volcano is a constant threat

Land boundaries

none

Land use

arable land 38%; permanent crops 12%; meadows and pastures 6%; forest and woodland 41%; other 3%; includes irrigated 3%

Natural resources

negligible

Note

some islands of the Grenadines group are administered by Grenada

Terrain

volcanic, mountainous; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent

Total area

340 km2; land area: 340 km2

Administrative divisions

6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick

Capital

Kingstown

Constitution

27 October 1979

Diplomatic representation

none

Executive branch

British monarch, governor general, prime minister, Cabinet

Flag

three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V pattern

Independence

27 October 1979 (from UK)

Judicial branch

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General David JACK (since 29 Septermber 1989); Head of Government--Prime Minister James F. MITCHELL (since 30 July 1984) New Democratic Party (NDP), James (Son) MITCHELL; Saint Vincent Labor Party (SVLP), Vincent BEACH; United People's Movement (UPM), Adrian SAUNDERS; Movement for National Unity (MNU), Ralph GONSALVES; National Reform Party (NRP), Joel MIGUEL

Legal system

based on English common law

Legislative branch

unicameral House of Assembly

Long-form name

none

Member of

ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, OAS, OECS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO

National holiday

Independence Day, 27 October (1979)

Suffrage

universal at age 18 House of Assembly--last held 16 May 1989 (next to be held July 1994); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(21 total; 15 elected representatives and 6 appointed senators) NDP 15

Type

constitutional monarchy

Birth rate

27 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate

6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic divisions

mainly of black African descent; remainder mixed, with some white, East Indian, Carib Indian

Infant mortality rate

31 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)

Labor force

67,000 (1984 est.)

Language

English, some French patois

Life expectancy at birth

68 years male, 72 years female (1991)

Literacy

96% (male 96%, female 96%) age 15 and over having ever attended school (1970)

Nationality

noun--Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s); adjectives--Saint Vincentian or Vincentian

Net migration rate

- 7 migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor

10% of labor force

Population

114,221 (July 1991), growth rate 1.4% (1991)

Religion

Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Seventh-Day Adventist

Total fertility rate

2.8 children born/woman (1991)