Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2001) | Eritrea (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick | 6 regions (regions, singular - region); Central, Anelba, Southern Red Sea, Northern Red Sea, Southern, Gash-Barka |
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: 42.9% (male 958,564; female 955,625)
15-64 years: 53.9% (male 1,192,454; female 1,213,313) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 73,017; female 72,678) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish | sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish |
Airports | 6 (2000 est.) | 21 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
5 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total:
389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km) land: 389 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 121,320 sq km
land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Pennsylvania |
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. | Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two and a half year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices on 12 December 2000. Eritrea currently hosts a UN peacekeeping operation that will monitor the border region until an international commission determines and demarcates the boundary between the two countries. |
Birth rate | 17.91 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 42.25 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: $206.4 million
expenditures: $615.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Kingstown | Asmara (formerly Asmera) |
Climate | tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) | hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September except in coastal desert |
Coastline | 84 km | 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km |
Constitution | 27 October 1979 | the transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
conventional long form: State of Eritrea
conventional short form: Eritrea local long form: Hagere Ertra local short form: Ertra former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | nakfa (ERN) |
Death rate | 6.16 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 11.82 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $99.3 million (1998) | $281 million (2000 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 Donald J. McCONNELL
embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt Street, Asmara mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291] (1) 127584 |
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 GIRMA Asmerom
chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304 consulate(s) general: Oakland (California) |
Disputes - international | none | Eritrea and Ethiopia have expressed general approval of the April 2002 arbitration commission ruling re-delimiting the boundary, the focus of their 1998-2000 war; United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) will monitor activities within the 25-km wide temporary security zone in Eritrea until demarcation and de-mining are complete; Yemen has asserted traditional fishing rights to islands ceded to Eritrea in ICJ ruling |
Economic aid - recipient | $47.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (1998) | $77 million (1999) (1999) |
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. | Since independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993, Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 1998-2000 severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth in 1999 fell to less than 1%, and GDP decreased by 8.2% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into northern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%. Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war damaged roads and bridges. Eritrea's economic future remains mixed. The cessation of Ethiopian trade, which mainly used Eritrean ports before the war, leaves Eritrea with a large economic hole to fill. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master fundamental social problems like illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, and to convert the diaspora's money and expertise into economic growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 76.3 million kWh (1999) | 195.3 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh NA kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh NA kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 82 million kWh (1999) | 210 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
73.17% hydro: 26.83% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Soufriere 1,234 m |
lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m
highest point: Soira 3,018 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 | deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare |
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, Desertification, Endangered Species
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2% | ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - 9.5 (January 2000), 7.6 (January 1999), 7.2 (March 1998 est.) |
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 Afworki ISAIAS (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly
head of government: President Afworki ISAIAS (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority; members appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 8 June 1993 (next election date uncertain as the National Assembly did not hold a presidential election in December 2001 as anticipated) election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95% |
Exports | $53.7 million (2000 est.) | $34.8 million f.o.b. (2000) |
Exports - commodities | bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets | livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures |
Exports - partners | Caricom countries 49%, UK 16%, US 10% (1995) | Sudan 27.2%, Ethiopia 26.5%, Japan 13.2%, UAE 7.3%, Italy 5.3% (1998) |
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 | red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $322 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10.6% industry: 17.5% services: 71.9% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 17%
industry: 29% services: 54% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,800 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $740 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2000 est.) | 7% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 15 N, 61 12 W | 15 00 N, 39 00 E |
Geography - note | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada | strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993 |
Highways | total:
1,040 km paved: 320 km unpaved: 720 km (1996) |
total: 3,850 km
paved: 810 km unpaved: 3,040 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe | - |
Imports | $185.6 million (2000 est.) | $470.5 million c.i.f. (2000) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels | machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | US 36%, Caricom countries 28%, UK 13% (1995) | Italy 17.4%, UAE 16.2%, Germany 5.7%, UK 4.5%, Korea 4.4% (1998) |
Independence | 27 October 1979 (from UK) | 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.9% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch | food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 16.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 73.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (1999 est.) | 15% (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 | ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 15 (2000) | 5 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1993 est.) | 220 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) | High court, regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts |
Labor force | 67,000 (1984 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 26%, industry 17%, services 57% (1980 est.) | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,626 km
border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km |
Land use | arable land:
10% permanent crops: 18% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 36% other: 31% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 3.87%
permanent crops: 0.02% other: 96.11% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, French patois | Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages |
Legal system | based on English common law | primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957, with revisions; new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been promulgated; also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted laws and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Sharia law |
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 |
unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; term limits not established)
elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member Constituent Assembly which had been established in 1997 to discuss and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as the country's legislative body until countrywide elections to a National Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of the Transitional National Assembly were elected, the constitution stipulates that once past the transition stage, all members of the National Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of all eligible voters; National Assembly elections scheduled for December 2001 were postponed indefinately |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
72.56 years male: 70.83 years female: 74.34 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 56.57 years
male: 54.09 years female: 59.13 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 96% male: 96% female: 96% (1970 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 25% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 NM |
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: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 19,100 GRT/23,399 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 2, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $138.3 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 19.8% (FY01) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 October (1979) | Independence Day, 24 May (1993) |
Nationality | noun:
Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s) adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian |
noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean |
Natural hazards | hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat | frequent droughts; locust swarms |
Natural resources | hydropower, cropland | gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish |
Net migration rate | -7.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: UNHCR began repatriating about 150,000 Eritrean refugees from Sudan in 2001 following the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2000 (2002 est.) |
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) | People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [Afworki ISAIAS]; note - a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January 2001, but the full National Assembly had not yet debated or voted on it as of December 2001 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ; Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean Liberation Front-Revolutionary Council or ELF-RC [Ahmed NASSER]; Eritrean Liberation Front-United Organization or ELF-UO [Mohammed Said NAWD]; Eritrean Public Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob] |
Population | 115,942 (July 2001 est.) | 4,465,651 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.4% (2001 est.) | 3.8% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kingstown | Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000) |
Radios | 77,000 (1997) | 345,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 317 km
narrow gauge: 317 km 0.950-m gauge note: links Ak'ordat and Asmara with the port of Massawa; nonoperational since 1978 except for about a 5 km stretch that was reopened in Massawa in 1994; rehabilitation of the remainder and of the rolling stock is under way (2001 est.) |
Religions | Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Seventh-Day Adventist, Hindu, other Protestant | Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant |
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: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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: inadequate
domestic: very inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system (2002) international: NA; note - international connections exist |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,500 (1998) | 30,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | NA; note - mobile cellular service was introduced in May 2001 |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus three repeaters) (1997) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | volcanic, mountainous | dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | 2.06 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.8 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 22% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | none |