General information: Contested in the XVIII century. France and Great Britain, St. Vincent went to the latter in 1783. Autonomy was granted in 1969, independence – in 1979.
Geography
Location: Caribbean region, islands in the Caribbean, north of Trinidad and Tobago.
Geographic coordinates: 13° 15′ N. latitude, 61° 12’W e.
Reference map: Central America and the Caribbean.
Area: total: 389 km2 (Saint Vincent 344 km2); land surface area: 389 km2; water surface area: 0 km2
Comparative area: double the area of Washington, DC.
Land borders: 0 km.
Coastline: 84 km.
Maritime claims: neutral waters: 24 nautical miles; continental shelf: 200 nautical miles; exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles; territorial waters: 12 nautical miles.
Climate: tropical; small seasonal temperature variations; rainy season from May to November.
Terrain: volcanic, mountainous.
Maximum and minimum heights: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m; highest point: Mount Soufrière 1,234 m.
Natural resources: hydropower, agricultural land.
Land use: arable land: 10%; cultivated land: 18%; pastures: 5%; forests and plantations: 36%; others: 31% (1993 est.).
Irrigated land: 10 sq. km. (1993 est.).
Natural hazards: hurricanes; Soufrière volcano on St. Vincent is a constant danger.
Current environmental issues: pollution of coastal waters and the coastline by discharges from pleasure yachts and other debris; in some areas the pollution is so severe that navigation is prohibited.
International environmental conventions: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling; signed but not ratified: Kyoto Protocol.
Geography Note: Shares control of the Grenadines with Grenada.
Population
Population: 115,942 (July 2001 est.).
Age structure: under 14: 29.61% (male 17,466; female 16,865); 15 to 64 years old: 64.04% (male 38,074; female 36,179); over 65: 6.35% (male 3,162; female 4,196) (2001 est.).
Population growth: 0.4% (2001 est.).
Birth rate: 17.91 newborns / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Mortality: 6.16 deaths / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Migration: -7.72 people /1000 people (2001 est.).
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male/female; under 15: 1.04 male/female; 15 to 64 years old: 1.05 male/female; over 65: 0.75 male/female; for the general population: 1.03 male/female (2001 est.);
Child mortality: 16.61 deaths/1000 births (2001 est.).
Life expectancy: for the general population: 72.56 years; men: 70.83 years; women: 74.34 years (2001 est.).
General birth rate: 2.06 children/wives. (2001 est.).
Proportion of the adult population infected with HIV: no data available.
Number of people infected with HIV: no data.
Mortality due to AIDS: no data available.
Nationality: noun: resident of St. Vincent; adjective: relating to St. Vincent.
Ethnic groups: Black 66%, Mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Caribbean Indian 2%.
Believers: Anglicans 47%, Methodists 28%, Catholics 13%, Seventh Day Adventists, Hindus, Protestants.
Language(s): English, local dialect of French.
Literacy: Definition: Persons aged 15 and over who have ever attended school; for the general population: 96%; men: 96%; women: 96% (1970 est.).
Politics
Common long form: no;
Common short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
State structure: parliamentary democracy; an independent sovereign state within the British Commonwealth of Nations. See politicsezine.com to know more about Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Political System.
Capital: Kingstown.
Administrative division: 6 districts: Grenadines, St. Andrew, St. David, St. George, St. Patrick, Charlotte.
Independence: from October 27, 1979 (until 1979 – a state associated with Great Britain).
National holiday: Independence Day, October 27 (1979).
Constitution: October 27, 1979
Legal system: based on English common law.
Suffrage: from 18 years old; universal.
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 Ralph GONSALVES (since 29 March 2001);
government: cabinet appointed by the governor-general on the nomination of the prime minister; elections: no; hereditary monarchy; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the governor general usually appoints the leader of the majority party as prime minister; The Deputy Prime Minister is appointed by the Governor General on the proposal of the Prime Minister.
Legislature: unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected representatives and 6 appointed senators; representatives are elected by popular vote in single-member districts for five years); elections: last held 28 March 2001 (next to be held in March 2006); election results: distribution of votes between parties: no data; seat distribution by party: ULP 12, NDP 3.
Judiciary: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (located in Saint Lucia), one of the justices resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Political parties and leaders: National Reform Party (NRP) (Joel MIGUEL); New Democratic Party (NDP) (Arnhim EUSTACE); Progressive Labor Party, (PLP) (leader – NA); United People’s Movement (UPM) (Adrian SAUNDERS); United Labor Party (ULP) (Ralph GONSALVES) (formed from a coalition of the St. Vincent Labor Party [SVLP] and Movement for National Unity [MNU]).
Political influence groups and their leaders:
Participation in international organizations: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat ( nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO.
Diplomatic representation in the USA: Chief of Mission: Ambassador Ellsworth JOHN; office: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016; phone: [1] (202) 364-6730; fax: [\] (202) 364-6736.
US Diplomatic Mission: The US does not have an embassy in St. Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Flag description: three vertical stripes of blue (left), gold (double width) and green; in the center of the gold band is an image of three green diamonds arranged in the form of the letter V.
