Grenada (2001) | Lebanon (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick | 6 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Beqaa, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
37.05% (male 16,739; female 16,318) 15-64 years: 59.03% (male 27,850; female 24,820) 65 years and over: 3.92% (male 1,592; female 1,908) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.9% (male 517,356; female 496,888)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 1,197,430; female 1,305,339) 65 years and over: 6.9% (male 117,930; female 142,275) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables | citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats |
Airports | 3 (2000 est.) | 8 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
340 sq km land: 340 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 10,400 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut |
Background | One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year. | Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions since 1991 and the end of the devastating 15-year civil war. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have conducted several successful elections, most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended central government authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, a radical Shia organization, retains its weapons. Syria maintains about 16,000 troops in Lebanon, based mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Syria's troop deployment was legitimized by the Arab League during Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if Accord. Damascus justifies its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing Beirut's requests and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000, however, encouraged some Lebanese groups to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. The passage of UNSCR 1559 in early October 2004 - a resolution calling for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and end its interference in Lebanese affairs - further emboldened Lebanese groups opposed to Syria's presence in Lebanon. |
Birth rate | 23.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.31 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$85.8 million expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
revenues: $4.414 billion
expenditures: $7.026 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Saint George's | Beirut |
Climate | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds | Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows |
Coastline | 121 km | 225 km |
Constitution | 19 December 1973 | 23 May 1926, amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Grenada |
conventional long form: Lebanese Republic
conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Lubnan |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | Lebanese pound (LBP) |
Death rate | 7.82 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.28 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $182.8 million (1998) | $20.79 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada embassy: Point Salines, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jeffrey D. FELTMAN
embassy: Awkar, Lebanon mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002 telephone: [961] (4) 542600, 543600 FAX: [961] (4) 544136 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Denis G. ANTOINE chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Farid ABBOUD
chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6300 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles |
Disputes - international | none | Syrian troops in central and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Lebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.3 million (1995) | $3.5 billion (pledges 1997-2001); $4.2 billion in soft loan pledges November 2002 Paris II Aid Conference (2002) |
Economy - overview | In this island economy progress in fiscal reforms and prudent macroeconomic management have kept annual growth steady since 1998. The increase in economic activity has been led by construction and trade. Tourist facilities are being expanded; tourism is the leading foreign exchange earner. Major short-term concerns are the rising fiscal deficit and the deterioration in the external account balance. Grenada shares a common central bank and a common currency with seven other members of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). | The 1975-91 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. Peace enabled the central government to restore control in Beirut, begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key port and government facilities. Economic recovery was helped by a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers. Family remittances, banking services, manufactured and farm exports, and international aid provided the main sources of foreign exchange. Lebanon's economy made impressive gains since the launch in 1993 of "Horizon 2000," the government's $20 billion reconstruction program. Real GDP grew 8% in 1994, 7% in 1995, 4% in 1996 and in 1997, but slowed to 1.2% in 1998, -1.6% in 1999, -0.6% in 2000, 0.8% in 2001, 1.5% in 2002, and 3% in 2003. During the 1990s, annual inflation fell to almost 0% from more than 100%. Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure. The government nonetheless faces serious challenges in the economic arena. It has funded reconstruction by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In order to reduce the ballooning national debt, the re-installed HARIRI government began an economic austerity program to rein in government expenditures, increase revenue collection, and privatize state enterprises. The HARIRI government met with international donors at the Paris II conference in November 2002 to seek bilateral assistance restructuring its domestic debt at lower rates of interest. While privatization of state-owned enterprises had not occurred by the end of 2003, massive receipts from donor nations stabilized government finances in 2002-04. |
Electricity - consumption | 111.6 million kWh (1999) | 7.44 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 1.183 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 120 million kWh (1999) | 6.728 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | black 82% some South Asians (East Indians) and Europeans, trace Arawak/Carib Amerindian | Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (2003), 1,507.5 (2002), 1,507.5 (2001), 1,507.5 (2000), 1,507.84 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996) head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; prime minister appointed by the governor general from among the members of the House of Assembly |
chief of state: President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Omar KARAMI (since 21 October 2004); Deputy Prime Minister Issam FARES (since 23 October 2000) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term; election last held 15 October 1998 (next election date NA); note - on 3 September 2004 the National Assembly voted 96 to 29 to extend Emile LAHUD's six-year term by three years; the prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by agreement, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shia Muslim election results: For 15 October 1998 election: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions |
Exports | $62.3 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace | authentic jewelry, inorganic chemicals, miscellaneous consumer goods, fruit, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper |
Exports - partners | Caricom 32.3%, UK 20%, US 13%, Netherlands 8.8% (1991) | Switzerland 10.8%, UAE 10%, Saudi Arabia 7.5%, US 7.3%, Turkey 5.5%, Jordan 4.4% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions | three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green cedar tree centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $394 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17.82 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
9.7% industry: 15% services: 75.3% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 12%
industry: 21% services: 67% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,400 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4,800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 7% (2000 est.) | 3% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 07 N, 61 40 W | 33 50 N, 35 50 E |
Geography - note | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada | Nahr el Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity |
Highways | total:
1,040 km paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1996) |
total: 7,300 km
paved: 6,198 km unpaved: 1,102 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US | cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way to European markets and for Middle Eastern consumption |
Imports | $217.5 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel (1989) | petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco |
Imports - partners | US 31.2%, Caricom 23.6%, UK 13.8%, Japan 7.1% (1991) | France 13.4%, Germany 11.7%, Italy 10.7%, Syria 5.3%, China 5.2%, UK 4.9%, US 4.5% (2003) |
Independence | 7 February 1974 (from UK) | 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1997 est.) | NA |
Industries | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction | banking; food processing; jewelry; cement; textiles; mineral and chemical products; wood and furniture products; oil refining; metal fabricating |
Infant mortality rate | 14.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 25.48 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.21 deaths/1,000 live births female: 22.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO | ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 14 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,200 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) | four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed) |
Labor force | 42,300 (1996) | 1.5 million
note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 62%, agriculture 24%, industry 14% (1999 est.) | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 454 km
border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km |
Land use | arable land:
15% permanent crops: 18% permanent pastures: 3% forests and woodland: 9% other: 55% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 16.62%
permanent crops: 13.98% other: 69.4% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian |
Legal system | based on English common law | mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 18 January 1999 (next to be held by NA October 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NNP 14, GULP 1 |
unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 August and 3 September 2000 (next to be held spring 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by sect - Muslim 64 ( of which Sunnis 27, Shia 27, Druze 8, Alawite 2), Christian 64 (of which Maronite 34) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
64.52 years male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 72.35 years
male: 69.91 years female: 74.91 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 87.4% male: 93.1% female: 82.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Middle East |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 49 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 198,602 GRT/248,313 DWT
by type: bulk 5, cargo 23, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 2, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 8, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 4, vehicle carrier 3 foreign-owned: Greece 7, India 1, Netherlands 4, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Spain 1, Syria 2 registered in other countries: 52 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Grenada Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard | Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $541 million (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 4.8% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,049,097 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 643,050 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) | Independence Day, 22 November (1943) |
Nationality | noun:
Grenadian(s) adjective: Grenadian |
noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Lebanese |
Natural hazards | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November | dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors | limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land |
Net migration rate | -15.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | oil 209 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Herbert PREUDHOMME]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [leader vacant]; New National Party or NNP [George McGUIRE] | political activity is organized along largely sectarian lines; numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual political figures and followers motivated by religious, ethnic, clan, and economic considerations |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 89,227 (July 2001 est.) | 3,777,218 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 28% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.06% (2001 est.) | 1.3% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Grenville, Saint George's | Antilyas, Batroun, Beirut, Chekka, El Mina, Ez Zahrani, Jbail, Jounie, Naqoura, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 401 km
standard gauge: 319 km 1.435-m narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050-m note: rail system was unusable because of damage during the civil war in the 1980s; short sections are operable (2003) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% | Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Roman Catholic, Protestant), other 1.3%
note: seventeen religious sects recognized |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 1.07 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education |
Telephone system | general assessment:
automatic, islandwide telephone system domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links international: new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
general assessment: telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable international: country code - 961; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 27,000 (1997) | 678,800 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 976 (1997) | 775,100 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | volcanic in origin with central mountains | narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.54 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.95 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (1997) | 18% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |