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.
total: 27.4 years male: 27.3 years female: 27.6 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.248% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:
16.02 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:
5.97 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:
-7.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:
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.)
Infant mortality rate:
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.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.09 years male: 72.21 years female: 76.04 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.81 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
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%, other (includes Hindu, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant) 12%
Languages:
English, French patois
Literacy:
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
Government type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
name: Kingstown geographic coordinates: 13 09 N, 61 14 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative 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 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
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:
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)
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
Diplomatic representation from the US:
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
Flag description:
three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V pattern
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
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
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; small-scale cannabis cultivation
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