Resistance by native Caribs prevented colonization on St. Vincent until 1719. Disputed between France and the United Kingdom for most of the 18th century, the island was ceded to the latter in 1783. Between 1960 and 1962, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was a separate administrative unit of the Federation of the West Indies. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979.

Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
13 15 N, 61 12 W
Central America and the Caribbean
total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km) ; land: 389 sq km ; water: 0 sq km
twice the size of Washington, DC
0 km
84 km
territorial sea: 12 nm ; contiguous zone: 24 nm ; exclusive economic zone: 200 nm ; continental shelf: 200 nm
tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)
volcanic, mountainous
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m ; highest point: La Soufriere 1,234 m
hydropower, cropland
arable land: 17.95% ; permanent crops: 17.95% ; other: 64.1% (2005)
10 sq km (2003)

Total: 0.01 ; Per capita: 83 cu m/yr (1995)
hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat
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
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, 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; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is comprised of 32 islands and cays
118,149 (July 2007 est.)
0-14 years: 25.9% (male 15,596/female 15,027) ; 15-64 years: 67.6% (male 41,259/female 38,620) ; 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 3,358/female 4,289) (2007 est.)
total: 27.4 years ; male: 27.3 years ; female: 27.6 years (2007 est.)
0.248% (2007 est.)
16.02 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
5.97 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
-7.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female ; under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female ; 15-64 years: 1.068 male(s)/female ; 65 years and over: 0.783 male(s)/female ; total population: 1.039 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
total: 14.01 deaths/1,000 live births ; male: 15.25 deaths/1,000 live births ; female: 12.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
total population: 74.09 years ; male: 72.21 years ; female: 76.04 years (2007 est.)
1.81 children born/woman (2007 est.)
NA
NA
NA
noun: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s) ; adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian
black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7%
Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, other (includes Hindu, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant) 12%
English, French patois
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school ; total population: 96% ; male: 96% ; female: 96% (1970 est.)


conventional long form: none ; conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
parliamentary democracy
name: Kingstown ; geographic coordinates: 13 09 N, 61 14 W ; time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick

27 October 1979 (from UK)
Independence Day, 27 October (1979)
27 October 1979
based on English common law
18 years of age; universal
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
unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected representatives and six appointed senators; representatives are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) ; elections: last held 7 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010) ; election results: percent of vote by party - ULP 55.3%, NDP 44.7%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)
New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; 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)
NA
ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTO
three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V pattern
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
the US does not have an embassy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines





Economic growth slowed slightly in 2007 after reaching a 10 year high of nearly 7% in 2006, but is expected to remain robust, hinging upon seasonal variations in the agricultural and tourism sectors and a recent increase in construction activity. This lower-middle-income country is vulnerable to natural disasters - tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994, 1995, and 2002. In 2005, the islands had more than 160,000 tourist arrivals, mostly to the Grenadines. Saint Vincent is home to a small offshore banking sector and has moved to adopt international regulatory standards. The government's ability to invest in social programs and respond to external shocks is constrained by its high debt burden - 25 percent of current revenues are directed towards debt servicing.
$902 million (2007 est.)
$428 million (2005)
4.4% (2007 est.)
$3,600 (2005 est.)
agriculture: 10% ; industry: 26% ; services: 64% (2001 est.)
41,680 (1991 est.)
agriculture: 26% ; industry: 17% ; services: 57% (1980 est.)
15% (2001 est.)
NA%
lowest 10%: NA% ; highest 10%: NA%

1% (2005 est.)

revenues: $94.6 million ; expenditures: $85.8 million (2000 est.)

bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish
food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch
-0.9% (1997 est.)
115 million kWh (2005)
fossil fuel: 69.3% ; hydro: 30.7% ; nuclear: 0% ; other: 0% (2001)
107 million kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 kWh (2005)
0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
1,500 bbl/day (2005 est.)
0 bbl/day (2004)
1,468 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.)

$193 million (2006)
bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch; tennis racquets
France 26.2%, Greece 21.3%, Italy 18.9%, Russia 7.2%, UK 6.8% (2006)
$578 million (2006)
Singapore 17.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 12.1%, US 11.1%, Italy 11%, Spain 9.5%, Turkey 4.6%, Germany 4.4% (2006)


$223 million (2004)



East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
XCD
East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003)
calendar year
$4.89 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (2005)
22,600 (2006)
87,600 (2006)
general assessment: adequate system ; domestic: islandwide, fully automatic telephone system; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to the other islands of the Grenadines; mobile-cellular teledensity about 75 telephones per 100 persons ; international: country code - 1-784; the East Caribbean Fiber Optic System (ECFS) and Southern Caribbean fiber optic system (SCF) submarine cables carry international calls; connectivity also provided by VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to Barbados; SHF radiotelephone to Grenada and Saint Lucia; access to Intelsat earth station in Martinique through Saint Lucia
AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004)
77,000 (1997)
1 (plus 3 repeaters) (2004)
18,000 (1997)
.vc
97 (2007)
15 (2000)
10,000 (2005)

6 (2007)
total: 5 ; 914 to 1,523 m: 4 ; under 914 m: 1 (2007)
total: 1 ; under 914 m: 1 (2007)



total: 829 km ; paved: 580 km ; unpaved: 249 km (2003)

total: 582 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,598,917 GRT/8,255,014 DWT ; by type: bulk carrier 92, cargo 353, carrier 19, chemical tanker 4, container 17, liquefied gas 6, livestock carrier 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 11, petroleum tanker 19, refrigerated cargo 31, roll on/roll off 21, specialized tanker 3 ; foreign-owned: 536 (Austria 2, Bangladesh 1, Barbados 1, Belgium 9, Bulgaria 13, Canada 6, China 106, Croatia 7, Cyprus 3, Czech Republic 1, Denmark 16, Egypt 4, Estonia 20, France 7, Germany 3, Greece 81, Guyana 2, Hong Kong 7, Iceland 15, India 5, Iran 1, Israel 4, Italy 19, Kenya 2, Latvia 20, Lebanon 7, Lithuania 7, Malta 1, Monaco 6, Montenegro 1, Netherlands 5, Norway 19, Pakistan 1, Philippines 1, Poland 1, Portugal 1, Puerto Rico 1, Romania 1, Russia 19, Singapore 6, Slovenia 5, Sweden 2, Switzerland 12, Syria 11, Turkey 20, Ukraine 12, UAE 12, UK 9, US 21) (2007)
Kingstown

no regular military forces; Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, Coast Guard (2007)

males age 18-49: 31,489 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 25,787 (2005 est.)
males age 18-49: 1,204 (2005 est.)
NA

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 eastern Caribbean Sea

transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; small-scale cannabis cultivation

