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Compare Costa Rica (2003) - Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2006)
Compare Costa Rica (2003) z Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2006)
| Costa Rica (2003) | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2006) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Alajuela, Cartago, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon, Puntarenas, San Jose | 6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 30.1% (male 600,812; female 573,375)
15-64 years: 64.4% (male 1,269,667; female 1,241,097) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 98,156; female 112,985) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.7% (male 16,007/female 15,426)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 40,676/female 38,155) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 3,315/female 4,269) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | coffee, pineapples, bananas, sugar, corn, rice, beans, potatoes; beef; timber | bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish |
| Airports | 151 (2002) | 6 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 30
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 8 (2002) |
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 121
914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 93 (2002) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
| Area | total: 51,100 sq km
land: 50,660 sq km water: 440 sq km note: includes Isla del Coco |
total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km)
land: 389 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | twice the size of Washington, DC |
| Background | Costa Rica is a Central American success story: since the late 19th century, only two brief periods of violence have marred its democratic development. Although still a largely agricultural country, it has expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism sectors. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread. | 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. |
| Birth rate | 19.4 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 16.18 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $1.91 billion
expenditures: $2.35 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $94.6 million
expenditures: $85.8 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Capital | San Jose | name: Kingstown
geographic coordinates: 13 09 N, 61 14 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | tropical and subtropical; dry season (December to April); rainy season (May to November); cooler in highlands | tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) |
| Coastline | 1,290 km | 84 km |
| Constitution | 7 November 1949 | 27 October 1979 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Costa Rica
conventional short form: Costa Rica local long form: Republica de Costa Rica local short form: Costa Rica |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Currency | Costa Rican colon (CRC) | - |
| Death rate | 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 5.98 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $4.8 billion (2002 est.) | $223 million (2004) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John J. DANILOVICH
embassy: Calle 120 Avenida O, Pavas, San Jose mailing address: APO AA 34020 telephone: [506] 220-3939 FAX: [506] 220-2305 |
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 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jaime DAREMBLUM Rosenstein
chancery: 2114 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-2945 FAX: [1] (202) 265-4795 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, Durham (North Carolina), Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Francisco, St. Paul, and Tampa consulate(s): Austin |
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 |
| Disputes - international | legal dispute over navigational rights of Rio San Juan on border with Nicaragua | 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 Caribbean Sea |
| Economic aid - recipient | - | $10.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (2004) |
| Economy - overview | Costa Rica's basically stable economy depends on tourism, agriculture, and electronics exports. Poverty has been substantially reduced over the past 15 years, and a strong social safety net has been put into place. At the same time, distribution of income remains severely unequal. Foreign investors remain attracted by the country's political stability and high education levels, and tourism continues to bring in foreign exchange. However, traditional export sectors have not kept pace. Low coffee prices and an overabundance of bananas have hurt the agricultural sector. The government continues to grapple with its large deficit and massive internal debt, with the need to modernize the state-owned electricity and telecommunications sector, and with the problem of bringing down inflation. | Economic growth in this lower-middle-income country hinges upon seasonal variations in the agricultural and tourism sectors. Tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994, 1995, and 2002, and tourism in the Eastern Caribbean has suffered low arrivals following 11 September 2001. Saint Vincent is home to a small offshore banking sector and has moved to adopt international regulatory standards. Saint Vincent is also a producer of marijuana and is being used as a transshipment point for illegal narcotics from South America. |
| Electricity - consumption | 6.109 billion kWh (2001) | 88.35 million kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - exports | 379 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - imports | 128 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 6.839 billion kWh (2001) | 95 million kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 1.5%
hydro: 81.9% nuclear: 0% other: 16.6% (2001) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Cerro Chirripo 3,810 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: La Soufriere 1,234 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation and land use change, largely a result of the clearing of land for cattle ranching and agriculture; soil erosion; coastal marine pollution; fisheries protection; solid waste management; air pollution | 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 |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
| Ethnic groups | white (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 1% | black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7% |
| Exchange rates | Costa Rican colones per US dollar - 359.82 (2002), 328.87 (2001), 308.19 (2000), 285.69 (1999), 257.23 (1998) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since NA May 2002); Second Vice President Luis FISHMAN (since NA May 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Abel PACHECO (since 8 May 2002); First Vice President Lineth SABORIO (since NA May 2002); Second Vice President Luis FISHMAN (since NA May 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president elections: president and vice presidents elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 February 2002; run-off election held 7 April 2002 (next to be held NA February 2006) election results: Abel PACHECO elected president; percent of vote - Abel PACHECO (PUSC) 58%; Rolando ARAYA (PLN) 42% |
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 |
| Exports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
| Exports - commodities | coffee, bananas, sugar; pineapples; textiles, electronic components, medical equipment | bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch; tennis racquets |
| Exports - partners | US 31.5%, Netherlands 8.9%, UK 4.5% (2002) | France 50.3%, Italy 21%, Greece 11%, US 4.2% (2005) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | five horizontal bands of blue (top), white, red (double width), white, and blue, with the coat of arms in a white elliptical disk on the hoist side of the red band; above the coat of arms a light blue ribbon contains the words, AMERICA CENTRAL, and just below it near the top of the coat of arms is a white ribbon with the words, REPUBLICA COSTA RICA | three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V pattern |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $32 billion (2002 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 30% services: 61% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 10%
industry: 26% services: 64% (2001 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2002 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.8% (2002 est.) | 4.9% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 84 00 W | 13 15 N, 61 12 W |
| Geography - note | four volcanoes, two of them active, rise near the capital of San Jose in the center of the country; one of the volcanoes, Irazu, erupted destructively in 1963-65 | 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 |
| Highways | total: 35,892 km
paved: 7,896 km unpaved: 27,996 km (2000) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 34.6% (2001) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment country for cocaine and heroin from South America; illicit production of cannabis on small, scattered plots; domestic cocaine consumption is rising, particularly crack cocaine | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; small-scale cannabis cultivation |
| Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | raw materials, consumer goods, capital equipment, petroleum | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels |
| Imports - partners | US 36.7%, Japan 4.4%, Mexico 4.2% (2002) | France 36.1%, Singapore 12.5%, Italy 11.9%, Trinidad and Tobago 7.9%, US 7.2% (2005) |
| Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 27 October 1979 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 2.9% (2002 est.) | -0.9% (1997 est.) |
| Industries | microprocessors, food processing, textiles and clothing, construction materials, fertilizer, plastic products | food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 10.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 11.49 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 14.4 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 9.1% (2002 est.) | 1% (2005 est.) |
| International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTO |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (of which only one is legal) (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 1,260 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (22 justices are elected for eight-year terms by the Legislative Assembly) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) |
| Labor force | 1.9 million (1999) | 41,680 (1991 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 20%, industry 22%, services 58% (1999 est.) | agriculture: 26%
industry: 17% services: 57% (1980 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 639 km
border countries: Nicaragua 309 km, Panama 330 km |
0 km |
| Land use | arable land: 4.41%
permanent crops: 5.48% other: 90.11% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 17.95%
permanent crops: 17.95% other: 64.1% (2005) |
| Languages | Spanish (official), English | English, French patois |
| Legal system | based on Spanish civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court; has accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Assembly or Asamblea Legislativa (57 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 February 2002 (next to be held 3 February 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PUSC 19, PLN 17, PAC 14, PML 6, PRC 1 |
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 7 December 2005 (next to be held 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - ULP 55.26%, NDP 44.68%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.43 years
male: 73.87 years female: 79.11 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 73.85 years
male: 71.99 years female: 75.77 years (2006 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96% male: 95.9% female: 96.1% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 96% male: 96% female: 96% (1970 est.) |
| Location | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Nicaragua and Panama | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
| Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,716 GRT/ DWT
ships by type: passenger 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 589 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,449,699 GRT/8,051,250 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 106, cargo 351, chemical tanker 5, container 20, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 15, petroleum tanker 18, refrigerated cargo 38, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 3 foreign-owned: 529 (Bangladesh 1, Barbados 1, Belgium 3, Bulgaria 17, Canada 6, China 103, Croatia 9, Cyprus 1, Czech Republic registered in other countries: 1 (Comoros 1) (2006) |
| Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; Air Section, Ministry of Public Forces (Fuerza Publica) | no regular military forces; Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard (2005) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $69 million (FY99) | NA |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.6% (FY99) | NA |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,080,254 (2003 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 722,043 (2003 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 41,453 (2003 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Independence Day, 27 October (1979) |
| Nationality | noun: Costa Rican(s)
adjective: Costa Rican |
noun: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s)
adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian |
| Natural hazards | occasional earthquakes, hurricanes along Atlantic coast; frequent flooding of lowlands at onset of rainy season and landslides; active volcanoes | hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat |
| Natural resources | hydropower | hydropower, cropland |
| Net migration rate | 0.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -7.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Pipelines | refined products 421 km (2003) | - |
| Political parties and leaders | Agricultural Labor Action or PALA [Carlos Alberto SOLIS Blanco]; Citizen Action Party or PAC [Otton SOLIS]; Costa Rican Renovation Party or PRC [Justo OROZCO]; Democratic Force Party or PFD [Jose M. NUNEZ]; Libertarian Movement Party or PML [Otto GUEVARA Guth]; National Christian Alliance Party or ANC [Alejandro MADRIGAL]; National Independent Party or PNI [Jorge GONZALEZ Marten]; National Integration Party or PIN [Walter MUNOZ Cespedes]; National Liberation Party or PLN [Sonia PICADO]; Social Christian Unity Party or PUSC [Luis Manuel CHACON]
note: mainly a two-party system - PUSC and PLN - until the 3 February 2002 election in which the PAC captured a significant percentage, forcing a run-off in April 2002 |
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) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Authentic Confederation of Democratic Workers or CATD (Communist Party affiliate); Chamber of Coffee Growers; Confederated Union of Workers or CUT (Communist Party affiliate); Costa Rican Confederation of Democratic Workers or CCTD (Liberation Party affiliate); Federation of Public Service Workers or FTSP; National Association for Economic Development or ANFE; National Association of Educators or ANDE; Rerum Novarum or CTRN (PLN affiliate) [Gilbert Brown] | NA |
| Population | 3,896,092 (July 2003 est.) | 117,848 (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 20.6% (1999 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 1.56% (2003 est.) | 0.26% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Caldera, Golfito, Moin, Puerto Limon, Puerto Quepos, Puntarenas | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 50, FM 43, shortwave 19 (1998) | AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004) |
| Railways | total: 950 km
narrow gauge: 950 km 1.067-m gauge (260 km electrified) (2002) |
- |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 76.3%, Evangelical 13.7%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.3%, other Protestant 0.7%, other 4.8%, none 3.2% | Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Hindu, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: very good domestic telephone service
domestic: point-to-point and point-to-multi-point microwave, fiber-optic, and coaxial cable link rural areas; Internet service is available international: connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); two submarine cables (1999) |
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 |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 450,000 (1998)
note: 584,000 installed in 1997, but only about 450,000 were in use in 1998 |
22,500 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 143,000 (2000) | 70,600 (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 6 (plus 11 repeaters) (1997) | 1 (plus three repeaters) (2004) |
| Terrain | coastal plains separated by rugged mountains including over 100 volcanic cones, of which several are major volcanoes | volcanic, mountainous |
| Total fertility rate | 2.38 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.83 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 6.3% (2002 est.) | 15% (2001 est.) |
| Waterways | 730 km (seasonally navigable) | - |
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