Grenada (2002) | Bahamas, The (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick | 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 35.9% (male 16,213; female 15,863)
15-64 years: 60.3% (male 28,460; female 25,307) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 1,546; female 1,822) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 28.8% (male 42,799; female 42,730)
15-64 years: 65.4% (male 95,718; female 98,875) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 7,092; female 10,263) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables | citrus, vegetables; poultry |
Airports | 3 (2001) | 64 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 30
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 34
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 22 (2002) |
Area | total: 344 sq km
land: 344 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than 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. | Arawak Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US. |
Birth rate | 23.05 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 18.57 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $85.8 million
expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
revenues: $918.5 million
expenditures: $956.5 million, including capital expenditures of $106.7 million (FY 99/00) |
Capital | Saint George's | Nassau |
Climate | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream |
Coastline | 121 km | 3,542 km |
Constitution | 19 December 1973 | 10 July 1973 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Grenada |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | Bahamian dollar (BSD) |
Death rate | 7.63 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 8.68 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $196 million (2000) (2000) | $371.6 million (2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada; Charge d'Affairs Nadia TONGOUR
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 (vacant); Charge d'Affairs Robert M. WITAJEWSKI
embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; Department of State, 3370 Nassau Place, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 (after hours) FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222 |
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 FAX: [1] (202) 265-2468 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Joshua SEARS
chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
Disputes - international | none | have not been able to agree on a maritime boundary with the US |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.3 million (1995) (1995) | $9.8 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Despite government steadying of annual economic growth in recent years through progress in fiscal reform and prudent macroeconomic management, a downturn in tourist arrivals in 2001 threatens government spending in 2002. Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange, although it also supports a small agriculture sector and a developing offshore financial industry. Short-term concerns include a rising fiscal deficit and the deterioration in the external account balance. | The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth in recent years, but the slowdown in the US economy and the attacks of 11 September 2001 held back growth in these sectors in 2002. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector, which depends on growth in the US, the source of most of the visitors. |
Electricity - consumption | 102.3 million kWh (2000) | 1.451 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 110 million kWh (2000) | 1.56 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East Indian 5% , and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian | black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000), 1 (1999), 1 (1998) |
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; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Ivy DUMONT (since NA May 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Perry CHRISTIE (since 3 May 2002) and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia PRATT (since 7 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
Exports | $78 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace | fish and crawfish; rum, salt, chemicals; fruit and vegetables |
Exports - partners | Caricom 32.3%, UK 20%, US 13%, Netherlands 8.8% (1991) | US 39.1%, Germany 15.4%, Spain 10.8%, France 7.4%, Poland 4.6%, Switzerland 4.3% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
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 equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $424 million (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.59 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 24% services: 68% (2000) (2000) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 7% services: 90% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,750 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $15,300 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.5% (2001 est.) | 0.1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 07 N, 61 40 W | 24 15 N, 76 00 W |
Geography - note | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 1,040 km
paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1996) |
total: 2,693 km
paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 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 | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center |
Imports | $270 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel (1989) | machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals |
Imports - partners | US 31.2%, Caricom 23.6%, UK 13.8%, Japan 7.1% (1991) | US 20.3%, South Korea 20.1%, Germany 11.5%, Norway 11.5%, Japan 10%, Italy 7.2% (2002) |
Independence | 7 February 1974 (from UK) | 10 July 1973 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction | tourism, banking, e-commerce, cement, oil refining and transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe |
Infant mortality rate | 14.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 26.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 32.45 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2001 est.) | 1.8% (2001 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 (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 14 (2000) | 19 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts |
Labor force | 42,300 (1996) (1996) | 156,000 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 62%, agriculture 24%, industry 14% (1999 est.) | tourism 50%, other services 40%, industry 5%, agriculture 5% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.88%
permanent crops: 26.47% other: 67.65% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 0.6%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 99% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants) |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on English common law |
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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 50.8%, FNM 41.1%, independents 5.2%; seats by party - PLP 29, FNM 7, independents 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 64.52 years
male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 65.71 years
male: 62.3 years female: 69.18 years (2003 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: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | total: 1,090 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 33,065,778 GRT/46,202,085 DWT
ships by type: bulk 150, cargo 223, chemical tanker 45, combination bulk 12, combination ore/oil 18, container 108, liquefied gas 26, livestock carrier 2, multi-functional large-load carrier 8, passenger 102, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 178, refrigerated cargo 135, roll on/roll off 40, short-sea passenger 17, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 23 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Angola 1, Argentina 1, Australia 4, Belgium 18, Bermuda 1, Canada 5, Chile 1, China 3, Croatia 2, Cuba 3, Cyprus 2, Denmark 27, Ecuador 1, Estonia 2, Finland 9, France 15, Germany 26, Greece 173, Hong Kong 6, India 2, Indonesia 2, Ireland 1, Israel 3, Italy 9, Jamaica 1, Japan 32, Kenya 3, Malaysia 10, Malta 2, Monaco 67, Netherlands 32, New Zealand 2, Norway 237, Panama 2, Philippines 3, Poland 13, Reunion 1, Russia 6, Saudi Arabia 9, Singapore 13, Slovenia 1, South Korea 2, Spain 7, Sweden 12, Switzerland 8, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 2, Turkey 2, Ukraine 2, United Arab Emirates 10, United Kingdom 107, United States 159, Uruguay 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Grenada Police Force, Coast Guard | Royal Bahamas Defense Force (Coast Guard only), Royal Bahamas Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $20 million (FY95/96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 0.7% (FY99) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) |
Nationality | noun: Grenadian(s)
adjective: Grenadian |
noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian |
Natural hazards | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November | hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage |
Natural resources | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | -15.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -2.21 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
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] | Free National Movement or FNM [Tommy TURNQUEST]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 89,211 (July 2002 est.) | 297,477
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.02% (2002 est.) | 0.77% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Grenville, Saint George's | Freeport, Matthew Town, Nassau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 57,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% | Baptist 32%, Anglican 20%, Roman Catholic 19%, Methodist 6%, Church of God 6%, other Protestant 12%, none or unknown 3%, other 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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: modern facilities
domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed international: tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 27,000 (1997) | 96,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 976 (1997) | 6,152 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic in origin with central mountains | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills |
Total fertility rate | 2.5 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.25 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.5% (1999) (1999) | 6.9% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |