Grenada (2004) | Ireland (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick | 26 counties; Carlow, Cavan, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Meath, Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Waterford, Westmeath, Wexford, Wicklow
note: Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan are part of Ulster Province |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 34.5% (male 15,580; female 15,212)
15-64 years: 62% (male 29,321; female 26,104) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 1,467; female 1,673) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 20.9% (male 434,225/female 406,730)
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 1,358,086/female 1,354,148) 65 years and over: 11.5% (male 203,614/female 258,873) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables | turnips, barley, potatoes, sugar beets, wheat; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 3 (2003 est.) | 36 (2004 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 (2004 est.) |
total: 15
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 21
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 17 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 344 sq km
land: 344 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 70,280 sq km
land: 68,890 sq km water: 1,390 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than West Virginia |
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. | Celtic tribes arrived on the island between 600-150 B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian BORU defeated the Danes in 1014. English invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the UK for 26 southern counties; six northern (Ulster) counties remained part of the United Kingdom. In 1948 Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth; it joined the European Community in 1973. Irish governments have sought the peaceful unification of Ireland and have cooperated with Britain against terrorist groups. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland, known as the Good Friday Agreement and approved in 1998, is being implemented with some difficulties. |
Birth rate | 22.61 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 14.47 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $85.8 million
expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
revenues: $62.51 billion
expenditures: $63.52 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.5 billion (2004 est.) |
Capital | Saint George's | Dublin |
Climate | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds | temperate maritime; modified by North Atlantic Current; mild winters, cool summers; consistently humid; overcast about half the time |
Coastline | 121 km | 1,448 km |
Constitution | 19 December 1973 | adopted 1 July 1937 by plebiscite; effective 29 December 1937 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Grenada |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Ireland local long form: none local short form: Eire |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | - |
Death rate | 7.31 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 7.85 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $196 million (2000) | $11 billion (1998) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: the US Ambassador to Barbados, Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER, is accredited to Grenada
embassy: Lance-aux-Epines Stretch, 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 James C. KENNY
embassy: 42 Elgin Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [353] (1) 668-8777 FAX: [353] (1) 668-9946 |
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 Noel FAHEY
chancery: 2234 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 462-3939 FAX: [1] (202) 232-5993 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | Ireland, Iceland, and the UK dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $283 million (2001) |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.3 million (1995) | - |
Economy - overview | Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange, especially since the construction of an international airport in 1985. Strong performances in construction and manufacturing, together with the development of an offshore financial industry, have also contributed to growth in national output. | Ireland is a small, modern, trade-dependent economy with growth averaging a robust 7% in 1995-2004. Agriculture, once the most important sector, is now dwarfed by industry and services. Industry accounts for 46% of GDP, about 80% of exports, and 29% of the labor force. Although exports remain the primary engine for Ireland's growth, the economy has also benefited from a rise in consumer spending, construction, and business investment. Per capita GDP is 10% above that of the four big European economies and the second highest in the EU behind Luxembourg. Over the past decade, the Irish Government has implemented a series of national economic programs designed to curb price and wage inflation, reduce government spending, increase labor force skills, and promote foreign investment. Ireland joined in circulating the euro on 1 January 2002 along with 11 other EU nations. |
Electricity - consumption | 128.3 million kWh (2001) | 21.78 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 100 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 600 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 138 million kWh (2001) | 22.88 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Carrauntoohil 1,041 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | water pollution, especially of lakes, from agricultural runoff |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, 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, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | black 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East Indian 5% , and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian | Celtic, English |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999) | euros per US dollar - 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000) |
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: President Mary MCALEESE (since 11 November 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Bertie AHERN (since 26 June 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with previous nomination by the prime minister and approval of the House of Representatives elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 31 October 1997 (next scheduled for October 2011); note - Mary MCALEESE appointed to a second term when no other candidate qualified for the 2004 presidential election; prime minister nominated by the House of Representatives and appointed by the president election results: Mary MCALEESE elected president; percent of vote - Mary MCALEESE 44.8%, Mary BANOTTI 29.6% note: government coalition - Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats |
Exports | NA (2001) | 27,450 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace | machinery and equipment, computers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals; live animals, animal products |
Exports - partners | US 14.9%, Germany 12.8%, Netherlands 8.5%, Saint Lucia 8.5%, Antigua and Barbuda 6.4%, UK 6.4%, Belgium 4.3%, Dominica 4.3%, France 4.3%, Saint Kitts and Nevis 4.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.3% (2003) | US 19.7%, UK 17.7%, Belgium 14.7%, Germany 7.7%, France 6%, Netherlands 4.6%, Italy 4.5% (2004) |
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 equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and orange; similar to the flag of Cote d'Ivoire, which is shorter and has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green; also similar to the flag of Italy, which is shorter and has colors of green (hoist side), white, and red |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $440 million (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7.7%
industry: 23.9% services: 68.4% (2000) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 46% services: 49% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $31,900 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2002 est.) | 5.1% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 07 N, 61 40 W | 53 00 N, 8 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 on major air and sea routes between North America and northern Europe; over 40% of the population resides within 100 km of Dublin |
Highways | total: 1,040 km
paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1999 est.) |
total: 95,736 km
paved: 95,736 km (including 125 km of expressways) unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 27.3% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US | transshipment point for and consumer of hashish from North Africa to the UK and Netherlands and of European-produced synthetic drugs; minor transshipment point for heroin and cocaine destined for Western Europe; despite recent legislation, narcotics-related money laundering using bureaux de change, trusts, and shell companies involving the offshore financial community remains a concern |
Imports | NA (2001) | 178,600 bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel | data processing equipment, other machinery and equipment, chemicals, petroleum and petroleum products, textiles, clothing |
Imports - partners | US 30%, Trinidad and Tobago 26.8%, UK 5.2%, Japan 4.4% (2003) | UK 35.6%, US 13.8%, Germany 8.9%, Netherlands 4.3%, France 4.2% (2004) |
Independence | 7 February 1974 (from UK) | 6 December 1921 (from UK by treaty) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (1997 est.) | 7% (2004 est.) |
Industries | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction | steel, lead, zinc, silver, aluminum, barite, and gypsum mining processing; food products, brewing, textiles, clothing; chemicals, pharmaceuticals; machinery, rail transportation equipment, passenger and commercial vehicles, ship construction and refurbishment; glass and crystal; software, tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 14.62 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 5.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2001 est.) | 2.2% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO | Australia Group, BIS, CE, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister and cabinet) |
Labor force | 42,300 (1996) | 1.92 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 24%, industry 14%, services 62% (1999 est.) | agriculture 8%, industry 29%, services 63% (2002 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 360 km
border countries: UK 360 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.88%
permanent crops: 29.41% other: 64.71% (2001) |
arable land: 15.2%
permanent crops: 0.03% other: 84.77% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | English (official) is the language generally used, Irish (official) (Gaelic or Gaeilge) spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on English common law, substantially modified by indigenous concepts; judicial review of legislative acts in Supreme Court; 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 27 November 2003 (next to be held by NA November 2008) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NNP 8, NDC 7 |
bicameral Parliament or Oireachtas consists of the Senate or Seanad Eireann (60 seats - 49 elected by the universities and from candidates put forward by five vocational panels, 11 are nominated by the prime minister; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Dail Eireann (166 seats; members are elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 16 and 17 July 2002 (next to be held by July 2007); House of Representatives - last held 17 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Fianna Fail 30, Fine Gael 15, Labor Party 5, Progressive Democrats 4, independents and others 6; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - Fianna Fail 41.5%, Fine Gael 22.5%, Labor Party 10.8%, Sinn Fein 6.5%, Progressive Democrats 4.0%, Green Party 3.8%, others 10.9%; seats by party - Fianna Fail 81, Fine Gael 31, Labor Party 21, Progressive Democrats 8, Green Party 6, Sinn Fein 5, others 14 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 64.52 years
male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 77.56 years
male: 74.95 years female: 80.34 years (2005 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: 98% (1981 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Western Europe, occupying five-sixths of the island of Ireland in the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Great Britain |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none | total: 39
by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 27, chemical tanker 1, container 1, passenger/cargo 4, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 11 (Germany 3, Italy 3, Norway 1, Switzerland 1, United Kingdom 3) registered in other countries: 18 (2005) |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Royal Grenada Police Force | Army (includes Naval Service and Air Corps) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $700 million (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 0.9% (FY00/01) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) | Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March |
Nationality | noun: Grenadian(s)
adjective: Grenadian |
noun: Irishman(men), Irishwoman(women), Irish (collective plural)
adjective: Irish |
Natural hazards | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November | NA |
Natural resources | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors | natural gas, peat, copper, lead, zinc, silver, barite, gypsum, limestone, dolomite |
Net migration rate | -13.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 4.93 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,795 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]; People Labor Movement or PLM [leader NA] | Fianna Fail [Bertie AHERN]; Fine Gael [Enda KENNY]; Green Party [Trevor SARGENT]; Labor Party [Pat RABITTE]; Progressive Democrats [Mary HARNEY]; Sinn Fein [Gerry ADAMS]; Socialist Party [Joe HIGGINS]; The Workers' Party [Sean GARLAND] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 89,357 (July 2004 est.) | 4,015,676 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 32% (2000) | 10% (1997 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.14% (2004 est.) | 1.16% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Grenville, Saint George's | Cork, Dublin, New Ross, Shannon Foynes, Waterford |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 9, FM 106, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 3,312 km
broad gauge: 1,947 km 1.600-m gauge (46 km electrified) narrow gauge: 1,365 km 0.914-m gauge (operated by the Irish Peat Board to transport peat to power stations and briquetting plants) (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% | Roman Catholic 88.4%, Church of Ireland 3%, other Christian 1.6%, other 1.5%, unspecified 2%, none 3.5% (2002 census) |
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: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 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: country code - 1-473; new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
general assessment: modern digital system using cable and microwave radio relay
domestic: microwave radio relay international: country code - 353; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 33,500 (2002) | 1.955 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,600 (2002) | 3.4 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1997) | 4 (many low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | volcanic in origin with central mountains | mostly level to rolling interior plain surrounded by rugged hills and low mountains; sea cliffs on west coast |
Total fertility rate | 2.41 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.87 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 12.5% (2000) | 4.3% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | - | 753 km (pleasure craft only) (2004) |