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

twice the size of Washington, DC

tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)

volcanic, mountainous

hydropower, cropland

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

104,574 (July 2010 est.)

15.27 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)

6.91 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)

-11.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)

1.94 children born/woman (2010 est.)

black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, European 4%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 3%

Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, other (includes Hindu, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant) 12%

English, French patois

parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick

27 October 1979 (from the UK)

Independence Day, 27 October (1979)

based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected representatives and 6 appointed senators; representatives elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (consisting of a High Court and Court of Appeals; based on Saint Lucia; two judges of the Supreme Court reside 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)

ACP, AOSIS, 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, PetroCaribe, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTO

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

three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V pattern, which stands for Vincent; the diamonds recall the islands as the "Gems of the Antilles"; blue conveys the colors of a tropical sky and crystal waters, yellow signifies the golden Grenadine sands, and green represents lush vegetation

Success of the economy hinges upon seasonal variations in agriculture, tourism, and construction activity as well as remittance inflows. Much of the workforce is employed in banana production and tourism, but persistent high unemployment has prompted many to leave the islands. This lower-middle-income country is vulnerable to natural disasters - tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994, 1995, and 2002. In 2008, the islands had more than 200,000 tourist arrivals, mostly to the Grenadines, a drop of nearly 20% from 2007. 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% of current revenues are directed towards debt servicing. An agreement with Italy to write-off debt reduced the public debt-to-GDP ratio to about 70%. Following the global downturn, St. Vincent and the Grenadines saw an economic decline in 2009, after slowing since 2006, when GDP growth reached a 10-year high of nearly 7%. The GONSALVES administration is directing government resources to infrastructure projects, including a new international airport that is expected to be completed in 2011.

$1.069 billion (2009 est.)

$1.096 billion (2008 est.)

$1.103 billion (2007 est.)

$567 million (2009 est.)

6.5% (31 December 2008)

6.5% (31 December 2007)

9.52% (31 December 2008)

8.8% (31 December 2007)

$150.8 million (31 December 2008)

$155.5 million (31 December 2007)

$302.7 million (31 December 2008)

$280.2 million (31 December 2007)

$417.4 million (31 December 2008)

$387.8 million (31 December 2007)

bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish

food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch

133.8 million kWh (2007 est.)

124.4 million kWh (2007 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

2,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

1,451 bbl/day (2007 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)

-$149 million (2007 est.)

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

Greece 40.04%, Poland 11.78%, France 9.05%, China 8.53%, India 4.71% (2009)

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

Singapore 16.16%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.71%, US 13.41%, China 10.9%, Italy 8.89%, Turkey 6.6%, France 5.64%, Romania 4.44% (2009)

East Caribbean dollars (XCD) per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003)

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Broadcasting Corporation operates 1 television station and 5 repeater stations that give near total coverage to the multi-island state; multi-channel cable TV service is obtainable; a partially government-funded national radio service broadcasts on 1 station and has 2 repeater stations; about a dozen privately-owned radio stations and repeater stations operate (2007)

no regular military forces; Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, Coast Guard; for national defense, Saint Vincent relies on the Regional Security System, headquartered in Barbados (2010)

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