| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Capital: |
Kingstown |
| Location: |
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
13 15 N, 61 12 W |
| Area: |
total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km)
land: 389 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
| Area
Comparative: |
twice the size of Washington, DC |
| Land
Boundaries: |
0 km |
| Coastline: |
84 km |
| Maritime
Claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm |
| Climate: |
tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) |
| Terrain: |
volcanic, mountainous |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Soufriere 1,234 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
hydropower, cropland |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
parliamentary democracy; independent sovereign state within the Commonwealth |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick |
| Independence |
27 October 1979 (from UK) |
| National
Holiday: |
Independence Day, 27 October (1979) |
| Constitution: |
27 October 1979 |
| Legal
System; |
based on English common law |
| Suffrage |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
Branch: |
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 |
| Legislative
Branch: |
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 28 March 2001 (next to be held by July 2006)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
National Reform Party or NRP [Joel MIGUEL]; New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Ken BOYEA]; Progressive Labor Party or PLP [leader NA]; United People's Movement or UPM [Adrian SAUNDERS]; 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) |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
117,534 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 27.1% (male 16,208/female 15,621)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 40,287/female 37,883)
65 years and over: 6.4% (male 3,280/female 4,255) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 26.36 years
male: 26.21 years
female: 26.53 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s)
adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian |
| Ethnic groups: |
black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7% |
| Religions: |
Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Hindu Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant |
| Languages: |
English, French patois |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
27,300 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
10,000 (2002) |
| Telephone system: |
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 |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
1 (plus three repeaters) (2004) |
| Internet country
code: |
.vc |
| Internet hosts: |
4 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
7,000 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
|
| Highways: |
total: 829 km
paved: 580 km
unpaved: 249 km (2002) |
| Waterways: |
|
| Pipelines: |
|
| Ports and harbors: |
Kingstown |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 657 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,967,418 GRT/9,041,023 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 112, cargo 366, chemical tanker 18, combination ore/oil 1, container 24, liquefied gas 4, livestock carrier 6, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 19, petroleum tanker 29, refrigerated cargo 48, roll on/roll off 22, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 1
foreign-owned: 554 (Australia 2, Bangladesh 5, Barbados 1, Belgium 1, British 5, Bulgaria 17, China 115, Congo 1, Croatia 7, Cuba 1, Czech Republic 1, Denmark 12, Egypt 2, Estonia 19, France 12, Germany 8, Greece 99, Guyana 3, Hong Kong 10, Iceland 11, India 6, Iran 1, Ireland 1, Israel 3, Italy 18, Kenya 4, Latvia 9, Lebanon 6, Lithuania 3, Monaco 4, Netherlands 7, Nigeria 3, Norway 19, Pakistan 4, Poland 1, Puerto Rico 1, Romania 1, Russia 20, Saudi Arabia 3, Serbia & Montenegro 1, Singapore 2, Slovenia 6, South Korea 3, Spain 2, Sweden 1, Switzerland 7, Syria 6, Trinidad & Tobago 1, Tunisia 2, Turkey 16, Ukraine 6, UAE 21, United Kingdom 10, United States 24) (2005) |
| Airports: |
6 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
|
|
