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

407 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,388,427 GRT/5,511,325 DWT; includes 3 passenger, 2 passenger-cargo, 222 cargo, 22 container, 19 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 14 refrigerated cargo, 24 petroleum tanker, 7 chemical tanker, 4 liquefied gas, 73 bulk, 13 combination bulk, 2 vehicle carrier, 1 livestock carrier, 1 specialized tanker; 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 from Saint Vincent to Barbados and the Grenadines; new SHF links to Grenada and Saint Lucia; broadcast stations - 2 AM, no FM, 1 TV (cable)

Branches

Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, Coast Guard

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

NA

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 (1970-89), $81 million

Electricity

16,594 kW capacity; 64 million kWh produced, 560 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates

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

Exports

$75 million (f.o.b., 1990) commodities: bananas, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets, flour partners: UK 43%, CARICOM 37%, US 15%

External debt

$50.9 million (1989)

Fiscal year

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

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $146 million, per capita $1,300; real growth rate 5.9% (1989)

Imports

$130 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.) 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)

3.0% (1990)

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

Comparative area

slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC

Disputes

none

Environment

subject to hurricanes; Soufriere volcano is a constant threat

Land area

340 km2

Land boundaries

none

Land use

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

Maritime claims

Contiguous zone: 24 nm Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 12 nm

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

Administrative divisions

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

Capital

Kingstown

Constitution

27 October 1979

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Kingsley LAYNE; 1717 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 102, Washington, DC 20036; telephone NA US: no official presence since the Ambassador resides in Bridgetown (Barbados)

Elections

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

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 *** No entry for this item ***

Independence

27 October 1979 (from UK)

Judicial branch

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court

Leaders

Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General David JACK (since 29 September 1989) Head of Government: Prime Minister James F. MITCHELL (since 30 July 1984)

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)

Political parties and leaders

New Democratic Party (NDP), James (Son) MITCHELL; Saint Vincent Labor Party (SVLP), Vincent BEACHE; United People's Movement (UPM), Adrian SAUNDERS; Movement for National Unity (MNU), Ralph GONSALVES; National Reform Party (NRP), Joel MIGUEL

Suffrage

universal at age 18

Type

constitutional monarchy

Birth rate

23 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

5 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic divisions

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

Infant mortality rate

19 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force

67,000 (1984 est.)

Languages

English, some French patois

Life expectancy at birth

71 years male, 74 years female (1992)

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 (1992)

Organized labor

10% of labor force

Population

115,339 (July 1992), growth rate 1.1% (1992)

Religions

Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Seventh-Day Adventist

Total fertility rate

2.4 children born/woman (1992)