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.

Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago

13 15 N, 61 12 W

total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km)
land: 389 sq km
water: 0 sq km

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)

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

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

117,848 (July 2006 est.)

0-14 years: 26.7% (male 16,007/female 15,426)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 40,676/female 38,155)
65 years and over: 6.4% (male 3,315/female 4,269) (2006 est.)

total: 26.9 years
male: 26.7 years
female: 27.1 years (2006 est.)

0.26% (2006 est.)

16.18 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

5.98 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

-7.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

total: 14.4 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.67 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 13.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

total population: 73.85 years
male: 71.99 years
female: 75.77 years (2006 est.)

1.83 children born/woman (2006 est.)

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%, Hindu, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant

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; independent sovereign state within the Commonwealth

Kingstown

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

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)
elections: last held 7 December 2005 (next to be held 2010)
election results: percent of vote by party - ULP 55.26%, NDP 44.68%; 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)

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 producer of marijuana and is being used as a transshipment point for illegal narcotics from South America.

$342 million (2002 est.)

0.7% (2002 est.)

$2,900 (2002 est.)

agriculture: 10%
industry: 26%
services: 64% (2001 est.)

67,000 (1984 est.)

agriculture: 26%
industry: 17%
services: 57% (1980 est.)

15% (2001 est.)

-0.4% (2001 est.)

revenues: $94.6 million
expenditures: $85.8 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (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.)

95 million kWh (2003)

88.35 million kWh (2003)

1,300 bbl/day (2003 est.)

$37 million (2004 est.)

bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch; tennis racquets

UK 33.5%, Barbados 13.1%, Saint Lucia 11.5%, Trinidad and Tobago 9.9%, Antigua and Barbuda 8.3%, US 5.3%, Grenada 5.3%, Dominica 4.1% (2004)

$225 million (2004 est.)

foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels

US 37.5%, Trinidad and Tobago 21.3%, UK 10.5% (2004)

$167.2 million (2000)

$47.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (1998)

East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

calendar year

19,000 (2004)

57,000 (2004)

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

AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004)

1 (plus three repeaters) (2004)

.vc

21 (2005)

8,000 (2005)

6 (2005)

total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 1 (2005)

total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2005)

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

total: 584 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,344,823 GRT/8,033,377 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 95, cargo 349, chemical tanker 7, container 19, liquefied gas 5, livestock carrier 3, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 15, petroleum tanker 16, refrigerated cargo 43, roll on/roll off 21, specialized tanker 4, vehicle carrier 1
foreign-owned: 535 (Bangladesh 1, Barbados 1, Belgium 2, Bulgaria 16, Canada 2, China 106, Croatia 8, Cyprus 3, Czech Republic 1, Denmark 14, Egypt 3, Estonia 25, France 8, Germany 11, Greece 84, Guyana 3, Hong Kong 6, Iceland 10, India 6, Iran 1, Ireland 1, Israel 1, Italy 17, Kenya 3, Latvia 17, Lebanon 4, Lithuania 5, Madagascar 1, Monaco 3, Netherlands 7, Norway 17, Pakistan 2, Poland 1, Puerto Rico 1, Romania 2, Russia 21, Saudi Arabia 2, Serbia and Montenegro 2, Singapore 7, Slovenia 5, Spain 1, Sweden 1, Switzerland 10, Syria 5, Tunisia 2, Turkey 23, Ukraine 13, UAE 12, UK 16, US 21, Vietnam 1)
registered in other countries: 2 (Comoros 1, North Korea 1) (2005)

Kingstown

no regular military forces; Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard

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

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