Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2001) | Bolivia (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick | 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
29.61% (male 17,466; female 16,865) 15-64 years: 64.04% (male 38,074; female 36,179) 65 years and over: 6.35% (male 3,162; female 4,196) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 37.8% (male 1,626,596; female 1,565,124)
15-64 years: 57.7% (male 2,383,852; female 2,491,823) 65 years and over: 4.5% (male 169,583; female 208,156) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish | soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber |
Airports | 6 (2000 est.) | 1,109 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 12
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1,069 1,096
over 3,047 m: 1 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 64 65 914 to 1,523 m: 225 236 under 914 m: 776 790 (2002) |
Area | total:
389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km) land: 389 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 1,098,580 sq km
land: 1,084,390 sq km water: 14,190 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than three times the size of Montana |
Background | Disputed between France and Great Britain in the 18th century, Saint Vincent was ceded to the latter in 1783. Autonomy was granted in 1969, and independence in 1979. | Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and counter-coups. Comparatively democratic civilian rule was established in the 1980s, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and drug production. Current goals include attracting foreign investment, strengthening the educational system, continuing the privatization program, and waging an anticorruption campaign. |
Birth rate | 17.91 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 26.41 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$85.7 million expenditures: $98.6 million, including capital expenditures of $25.7 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $4 billion
expenditures: $4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.) |
Capital | Kingstown | La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary) |
Climate | tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) | varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid |
Coastline | 84 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 27 October 1979 | 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form: Bolivia local long form: Republica de Bolivia local short form: Bolivia |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | boliviano (BOB) |
Death rate | 6.16 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.05 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $99.3 million (1998) | $5.8 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | chief of mission: Ambassador David N. GREENLEE
embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032 telephone: [591] (2) 2430120, 2430251 FAX: [591] (2) 2433900 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ellsworth JOHN chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6736 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jaime APARICIO Otero
chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410 FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York, and San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | continues to demand a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama region was lost to Chile in 1884 |
Economic aid - recipient | $47.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (1998) | $588 million (1997) (1997) |
Economy - overview | Agriculture, dominated by banana production, is the most important sector of this lower-middle-income economy. The services sector, based mostly on a growing tourist industry, is also important. The government has been relatively unsuccessful at introducing new industries, and a high unemployment rate persists. The continuing dependence on a single crop represents the biggest obstacle to the islands' development; tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in both 1994 and 1995. The tourism sector has considerable potential for development over the next decade. Recent growth has been stimulated by strong activity in the construction sector and an improvement in tourism. There is a small manufacturing sector and a small offshore financial sector whose particularly restrictive secrecy laws have caused some international concern. | Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, has made considerable progress toward the development of a market-oriented economy. Successes under President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (1993-97) included the signing of a free trade agreement with Mexico and becoming an associate member of the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur), as well as the privatization of the state airline, telephone company, railroad, electric power company, and oil company. Growth slowed in 1999, in part due to tight government budget policies, which limited needed appropriations for anti-poverty programs, and the fallout from the Asian financial crisis. In 2000, major civil disturbances in April, and again in September and October, held down overall growth to 2.5%. Bolivia's GDP failed to grow in 2001 due to the global slowdown and laggard domestic activity. Growth is expected to pick up in 2002, but the fiscal deficit and debt burden will remain high. |
Electricity - consumption | 76.3 million kWh (1999) | 3.605 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 5 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 11 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 82 million kWh (1999) | 3.87 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
73.17% hydro: 26.83% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 48%
hydro: 50% nuclear: 0% other: 2% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Soufriere 1,234 m |
lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection |
Ethnic groups | black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2% | Quechua 30%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, white 15% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | bolivianos per US dollar - 6.8613 (January 2002), 6.6069 (2001), 6.1835 (2000), 5.8124 (1999), 5.5101 (1998), 5.2543 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General David JACK (since 29 September 1989) head of government: Prime Minister Ralph 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 |
chief of state: President Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante (since 4 August 2002); Vice President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert (since 4 August 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA Bustamante (since 4 August 2002); Vice President Carlos Diego MESA Gisbert (since 4 August 2002); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 30 June 2002 (next to be held NA June 2007) election results: the new president was chosen by Congress, a result of no candidate winning a majority in the 30 June 2002 election; Congressional votes - Gonzalo SANCHEZ de Lozada 84, Evo MORALES 43 |
Exports | $53.7 million (2000 est.) | $1.2 billion (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets | soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood |
Exports - partners | Caricom countries 49%, UK 16%, US 10% (1995) | US 32%, Colombia 18%, UK 15%, Brazil 15%, Peru 6% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold (double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds arranged in a V pattern | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $322 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $21.4 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10.6% industry: 17.5% services: 71.9% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 14%
industry: 31% services: 55% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,800 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2000 est.) | 0% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 15 N, 61 12 W | 17 00 S, 65 00 W |
Geography - note | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada | landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru |
Highways | total:
1,040 km paved: 320 km unpaved: 720 km (1996) |
total: 49,400 km
paved: 2,500 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 46,900 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 46% (1997) (1997) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe | world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru) with an estimated 24,400 hectares under cultivation in June 2002, a 23% increase from June 2001; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to the US and other international drug markets; eradication and alternative crop programs under the SANCHEZ DE LOZADA administration have been unable to keep pace with farmers' attempts to increase cultivation after significant reductions in 1998 and 1999; money-laundering activity related to narcotics trade, especially along the borders with Brazil and Paraguay |
Imports | $185.6 million (2000 est.) | $1.5 billion (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels | capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food |
Imports - partners | US 36%, Caricom countries 28%, UK 13% (1995) | US 24%, Argentina 17%, Brazil 15%, Chile 9%, Peru 5% (2000) |
Independence | 27 October 1979 (from UK) | 6 August 1825 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.9% (1997 est.) | 3.9% (1998) (1998) |
Industries | food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch | mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing |
Infant mortality rate | 16.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 57.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (1999 est.) | 2% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO | CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 15 (2000) | 9 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,280 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges appointed for 10-year terms by National Congress); District Courts (one in each department); provincial and local courts (to try minor cases) |
Labor force | 67,000 (1984 est.) | 2.5 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 26%, industry 17%, services 57% (1980 est.) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 6,743 km
border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km |
Land use | arable land:
10% permanent crops: 18% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 36% other: 31% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 1.73%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 98.06% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, French patois | Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official) |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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 28 March 2001 (next to be held by NA March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3 |
bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - some members are drawn from party lists, thus not directly elected)
elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 30 June 2002 (next to be held NA June 2007) election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNR 11, MAS 8, MIR 5, NFR 2, other 1; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MNR 36, MAS 27, MIR 26, NFR 25, others 16 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
72.56 years male: 70.83 years female: 74.34 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 64.42 years
male: 61.86 years female: 67.1 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 96% male: 96% female: 96% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.1% male: 90.5% female: 76% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Central South America, southwest of Brazil |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | South America |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
800 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,705,336 GRT/10,134,002 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 131, cargo 395, chemical tanker 29, combination bulk 12, combination ore/oil 1, container 46, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier 3, multi-functional large-load carrier 4, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 56, refrigerated cargo 42, roll on/roll off 49, short-sea passenger 11, specialized tanker 10, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: China 4, Ireland 1, France 1, Greece 3, Hong Kong 1, Croatia 10, India 1, Japan 2, Monaco 1, Netherlands 1, Norway 2, Netherlands Antilles 1, Pakistan 1, Russia 1, Slovenia 5, UAE 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 36 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 196,399 GRT/320,137 DWT
ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 15, chemical tanker 2, container 1, petroleum tanker 13, roll on/roll off 2 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of Belize 2, China 2, Cuba 1, Cyprus 1, Egypt 1, Honduras 1, Latvia 2, Liberia 2, Panama 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Saudi Arabia 1, Singapore 1, South Korea 3, Switzerland 1, Ukraine 1, United Arab Emirates 5, United States 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard | Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $147 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.8% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,062,321 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,343,755 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 90,120 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 October (1979) | Independence Day, 6 August (1825) |
Nationality | noun:
Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s) adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian |
noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat | flooding in the northeast (March-April) |
Natural resources | hydropower, cropland | tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -7.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -1.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 1,800 km; petroleum products 580 km; natural gas 1,495 km |
Political parties and leaders | National Reform Party or NRP [Joel MIGUEL]; New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Ken BOYEA]; Progressive Labor Party or PLP [leader NA]; United People's Movement or UPM [Adrian SAUNDERS]; 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) | Bolivian Socialist Falange or FSB [Otto RICHTER]; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Conscience of the Fatherland or CONDEPA [Remedios LOZA Alvarado]; Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Franz BARRIOS]; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ Zamora]; Movement to Socialism or MAS [leader NA]; Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN [Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez]; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]; New Republican Force or NFR [Manfred REYES-VILLA]; United Left or IU [Marcos DOMIC]
note: the ADN, MIR, and UCS comprise the ruling coalition |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions; Sole Confederation of Campesino Workers of Bolivia or CSUTCB [Felipe QUISPE] |
Population | 115,942 (July 2001 est.) | 8,445,134 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 70% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.4% (2001 est.) | 1.69% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kingstown | Puerto Aguirre (on the Paraguay/Parana waterway, at the Bolivia/Brazil border); also, Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999) |
Radios | 77,000 (1997) | 5.25 million (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 3,691 km
narrow gauge: 3,652 km 1.000-m gauge; 39 km 0.760-m gauge (13 km electrified) (1995 est.) |
Religions | Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Seventh-Day Adventist, Hindu, other Protestant | Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single) |
Telephone system | general assessment:
adequate system domestic: islandwide, fully automatic telephone system; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to the other islands of the Grenadines international: 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 |
general assessment: new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile cellular telephone use expanding rapidly
domestic: primary trunk system, which is being expanded, employs digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic cable; mobile cellular systems are being expanded international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,500 (1998) | 327,600 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 116,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus three repeaters) (1997) | 48 (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic, mountainous | rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin |
Total fertility rate | 2.06 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.37 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 22% (1997 est.) | 7.6% (2000)
note: widespread underemployment (2000) |
Waterways | none | 10,000 km (commercially navigable) |