Site Loader

St. Vincent and the Grenadines

  • Capital Kingstown (13°10´N 61°14´W)
  • International airport(s) Argyle International Airport
  • Official language(s) English
  • Currency East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
  • Time UTC -4
  • Region Caribbean
GeographyClimateEconomyCulture
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.
Land areakm2
Arable land%
Forest area%
Coastline
lengthkm
Exclusive economic zonekm2
Nearest
neighbourkm
Economic trendsMaritime transportPopulationInternational tradeEnvironmentInformation and communications technology
Gross domestic product
US dollars at constant prices (2015) in millions
GDP per capita

2019

US$

Productive Capacity Index

2018

Economic and environmental vulnerability index

2019

Consumer Price Index growth

2019

%

Unemployment
rate

Total %
Female %, Male %
Main economic sectors, 2019
Percentage of GDP
Tourist arrivals
Thousands of tourists, percentage of GDP
External financial resources
Percentage of GDP
Public debt as % of GDP

2018

%

Fleet size
Number of ships
Ship type20112019
Total fleet1 4071 407
Oil tankers264266
Bulk carriers311333
General cargo16177
Container ships5249
Other types of ships619682
Port performance
Ranked by 2019 data within SIDS group
Indicators2019SIDS Ranking
Number of port calls2 3329
Median time in port (days)031
Average age of vessels441
Average size (GT) of vessels6 10631
Container port throuput

2019

TEU

Bilateral connectivity index, 2019
Top 5 partners
Liner shipping connectivity index
Maximum China Q1 2006=100
Total population
Thousands of people, share of urban population
Population development indicators
IndicatorsPeriodValue
Poverty headcount (% of population)....
Human development index20180.7
Human assets index202095
Adult literacy rate (15+ years, both sexes %)....
Gender inequality index....
Life expectancy at birth

years

Population density

2019

persons per km2
Dependency
ratio

2019

Child:
Old-age:
Age structure by gender, 2019
Percentage of total population
Merchandise and services trade
US dollars in millions
Indicators20052010201520192019 (% of GDP)
Merchandise exports404246384.6
Merchandise imports24033833433540.6
Services exports15813823829135.3
Services imports799112214417.4
Trade openness
Goods and services

% of GDP

Export concentration index

2019

Food import
dependency
Average 2015-2019

Top 5 partners in merchandise trade, 2019
Exports in millions US dollars
Merchandise exports by product group, 2019
Services exports by category, 2019
CO2 emissions per capita
Kg per capita
CO2 emissions per GDP
Kg per 2010 US$ of GDP
Renewable energy share in total energy consumption, 2017
Percentage of total energy consumption
Material
footprint
per capita

2016

kg

Terrestrial
protected
area

2018

%

Marine
protected
area

2018

%

Disasters indicators
Data not available
Trade in ICT goods

Exports: %
Imports: %
Trade in ICT services

Exports: %
Imports: %
Share of
internet users

%

Fixed broadband vs Mobile broadband subscriptions
Number of subscriptions per 100 people
Sources
Source of data: -—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
-—
– ‒
- –
—-
except indicators listed below.
References
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
    Donec tincidunt vel mauris a dignissim. Curabitur sodales nunc id vestibulum tempor. Nunc tortor orci, sodales nec eros eget.
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
    Donec tincidunt vel mauris a dignissim. Curabitur sodales nunc id vestibulum tempor. Nunc tortor orci, sodales nec eros eget.
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
    Donec tincidunt vel mauris a dignissim. Curabitur sodales nunc id vestibulum tempor. Nunc tortor orci, sodales nec eros eget.
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
    Donec tincidunt vel mauris a dignissim. Curabitur sodales nunc id vestibulum tempor. Nunc tortor orci, sodales nec eros eget.
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
    Donec tincidunt vel mauris a dignissim. Curabitur sodales nunc id vestibulum tempor. Nunc tortor orci, sodales nec eros eget.