Carib Indians inhabited Grenada when 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 that time. Hurricane Ivan struck Grenada in September of 2004 causing severe damage.

Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
12 07 N, 61 40 W
Central America and the Caribbean
total: 344 sq km ; land: 344 sq km ; water: 0 sq km
twice the size of Washington, DC
0 km
121 km
territorial sea: 12 nm ; exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds
volcanic in origin with central mountains
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m ; highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m
timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors
arable land: 5.88% ; permanent crops: 29.41% ; other: 64.71% (2005)
NA
NA

lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November
NA
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling ; signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada
89,971 (July 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 32.8% (male 14,876/female 14,641) ; 15-64 years: 64.1% (male 30,522/female 27,137) ; 65 years and over: 3.1% (male 1,353/female 1,442) (2007 est.)
total: 22.1 years ; male: 22.6 years ; female: 21.6 years (2007 est.)
0.336% (2007 est.)
21.87 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
6.61 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
-11.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.016 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 1.125 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 0.938 male(s)/female ; total population: 1.082 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 13.92 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 13.57 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 14.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 65.21 years ; male: 63.38 years ; female: 67.05 years (2007 est.)
2.3 children born/woman (2007 est.)
NA
NA
NA
noun: Grenadian(s) ; adjective: Grenadian
black 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East Indian 5%, and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian
Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2%
English (official), French patois
definition: age 15 and over can read and write ; total population: 96% ; male: NA% ; female: NA% (2003 est.)


conventional long form: none ; conventional short form: Grenada
parliamentary democracy
name: Saint George's ; geographic coordinates: 12 03 N, 61 45 W ; time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petite Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick

7 February 1974 (from UK)
Independence Day, 7 February (1974)
19 December 1973
based on English common law
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996) ; head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) ; cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister ; elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (13 seats, 10 appointed by the government and 3 by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) ; elections: last held on 27 November 2003 (next to be held by early 2009) ; election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NNP 46.6%, NDC 44.1%, other 9.3%; seats by party - NNP 8, NDC 7
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of a court of Appeal and a High Court of Justice (a High Court judge is assigned to and resides in Grenada)
Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Gloria Payne BANFIELD]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Tillman THOMAS]; New National Party or NNP [Keith MITCHELL]
NA
ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO
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 represent the seven administrative divisions
chief of mission: Ambassador Denis G. ANTOINE ; chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 ; telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 ; FAX: [1] (202) 265-2468 ; consulate(s) general: New York
chief of mission: the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada ; embassy: Lance-aux-Epines Stretch, Saint George's ; mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's ; telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1177 ; FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820





Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange, especially since the construction of an international airport in 1985. Strong performances in construction and manufacturing, together with the development of an offshore financial industry, have also contributed to growth in national output. Grenada has rebounded from the devastating effects of Hurricanes Ivan (2004) and Emily (2005), but is now saddled with the debt burden from the rebuilding process. The agricultural sector, particularly nutmeg and cocoa cultivation, has gradually recovered, and the tourism sector has seen substantial increases in foreign direct investment as the regional share of the tourism market increases.
$982 million (2006 est.)
$454 million (2005)
0.9% (2005 est.)
$3,900 (2005 est.)
agriculture: 5.4% ; industry: 18% ; services: 76.6% (2003)
42,300 (1996)
agriculture: 24% ; industry: 14% ; services: 62% (1999 est.)
12.5% (2000)
32% (2000)
lowest 10%: NA% ; highest 10%: NA%

3% (2005 est.)

revenues: $85.8 million ; expenditures: $102.1 million (1997)

bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables
food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction
0.7% (1997 est.)
150 million kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 100% ; hydro: 0% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0% (2001)
139.5 million kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
1,800 bbl/day (2005 est.)
0 bbl/day (2004)
1,776 bbl/day (2004)
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005 est.)
0 cu m (2005)
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

$38 million (2006)
bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace
Saint Lucia 18.8%, Antigua and Barbuda 12.8%, Saint Kitts & Nevis 11.5%, Dominica 11.4%, US 11.3% (2006)
$343 million (2006)
Trinidad and Tobago 33.7%, US 24.2%, UK 4.3% (2006)


$347 million (2004)


$NA
East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
XCD
East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - NA (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003)
calendar year
$44.87 million (2005)
27,700 (2006)
46,200 (2006)
general assessment: automatic, islandwide telephone system ; domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links ; international: country code - 1-473; landing point for the East Caribbean Fiber Optic System (ECFS) 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
AM 2, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
57,000 (1997)
2 (1997)
33,000 (1997)
.gd
7 (2007)
14 (2000)
19,000 (2003)

3 (2007)
total: 3 ; 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 ; under 914 m: 1 (2007)




total: 1,127 km ; paved: 687 km ; unpaved: 440 km (1999)


Saint George's

no regular military forces; Royal Grenada Police Force (includes Coast Guard) (2007)

males age 18-49: 24,031 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 17,483 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 1,274 (2005 est.)
NA

none

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

