St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has a territory of 389 km², with only some of the islands inhabited. The country is in the Lesser Antilles island arc in the West Indies. To the north of Saint Vincent lies Saint Lucia, to the east Barbados and to the south Grenada. The main island, Saint Vincent, measures 26 km in length and 15 km in width. The country is densely populated for its size, with over 300 inhabitants per km². Saint Vincent is of volcanic origin and heavily forested with limited flat terrain. The windward side is rocky and steep, while the leeward side has some sandy beaches. The highest peak (1 234 m) is the La Soufrière volcano. Other notable mountains include Richmond Peak and Mount Brisbane.

The climate of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is tropical, humid and hot all year, with a cooler dry season from January to April and a hot and rainy season from May to October. Average monthly temperature ranges from 26 to 28 °C. -—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—- Rainfall is abundant on Saint Vincent, with almost 2 000 mm of rainfall annually. Rainfall is below 100 mm only from January to April. The Grenadines are a bit drier, receiving less than 1 500 mm of rain per year. Rain mainly comes in sudden, intense downpours or thunderstorms, but do not last long, thus typically not reducing hours of sunshine. Tropical storms and cyclones are typical, but Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is located in the southernmost part of the hurricane belt, where hurricanes are relatively rare.

Agriculture contributes less than 10 per cent to GDP, but important agricultural products, like banana and crop are cultivated and exported. The country also produces and exports beer and distils rum. At 70 per cent, the service sector accounts for most of the country's GDP -—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—-, and almost the same share of employment -—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—-. The service sector is dominated by tourism. According items attribute is mandatory, tourism arrivals in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have reached 392 thousand in 2019 and inbound tourism expenditure equalled 30 per cent over GDP in 2018. The filming of movies, like the Pirates of the Caribbean, has attracted visitors, which has stimulated construction work to improve the infrastructure to enable increasing tourist flows. Unemployment has been high and tropical storms occasionally cause serious problems to banana and coconut plantations, hampering economic development. There are some manufacturing and offshore financial activities that attract international businesses. The main export destinations are Jordan, France and Switzerland in addition to the other Caribbean islands -—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—--—
– ‒
- –
—-.

Rugby, cricket and association football are popular among men, while netball is popular among women. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have their own national rugby union team that has participated in the world cup. Basketball, volleyball and tennis are also played. Popular music includes bele, big drum, calypso, chutney, reggae, soca and steelpan. Traditional storytelling is also a popular way to spend time.

People grow breadfruit and arrowroot, among others, and a wide array of spice plants. The country hosts a Breadfruit Festival each August with music, dancing and multiple preparations of breadfruit. The cuisine is based on a rich variety of fish and seafood, including tuna, bonito, mahi mahi, kingfish and snapper. In Barrouallie, on the west coast of Saint Vincent, a local delicacy is black fish, or pilot whale. Lobster, squid, octopus and queen conch are also regularly enjoyed.