Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2003) | West Bank (2001) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick | - |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 28.2% (male 16,755; female 16,163)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 39,308; female 37,149) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 3,215; female 4,222) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
44.61% (male 478,232; female 454,439) 15-64 years: 51.8% (male 552,661; female 530,230) 65 years and over: 3.59% (male 32,629; female 42,522) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 6 (2002) | 3 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
total:
3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
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Area | total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km)
land: 389 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
5,860 sq km land: 5,640 sq km water: 220 sq km note: includes West Bank, Latrun Salient, and the northwest quarter of the Dead Sea, but excludes Mt. Scopus; East Jerusalem and Jerusalem No Man's Land are also included only as a means of depicting the entire area occupied by Israel in 1967 |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Delaware |
Background | Disputed between France and the United Kingdom in the 18th century, Saint Vincent was ceded to the latter in 1783. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979. | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external security and for internal security and public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Permanent status is to be determined through direct negotiations, which resumed in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus. An intifadah broke out in September 2000; the resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability in the Palestinian Authority are undermining progress toward a permanent settlement. |
Birth rate | 17.16 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 35.83 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $94.6 million
expenditures: $85.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$1.6 billion expenditures: $1.73 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
Capital | Kingstown | - |
Climate | tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) | temperate, temperature and precipitation vary with altitude, warm to hot summers, cool to mild winters |
Coastline | 84 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 27 October 1979 | - |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: West Bank |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | new Israeli shekel (ILS); Jordanian dinar (JOD) |
Death rate | 6.08 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 4.37 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $167.2 million (2000) | $108 million (includes Gaza Strip) (1997 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 | - |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ellsworth I. A. JOHN
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6730 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6736 consulate(s) general: New York |
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Disputes - international | protests Venezuela's claim to give full effect to Aves Island, which creates a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation |
Economic aid - recipient | $47.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (1998) | $121 million disbursed (includes Gaza Strip) (2000) |
Economy - overview | Bananas and other agricultural products remain the staple of this lower-middle income country's economy. Although tourism and other services have been growing moderately in recent years, the government has been ineffective at introducing new industries. Unemployment remains high, and economic growth hinges upon seasonal variations in the agricultural and tourism sectors. Tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994, 1995, and 2002, and tourism in the Eastern Caribbean has suffered low arrivals following 11 September 2001. Saint Vincent is home to a small offshore banking sector, but its restrictive secrecy laws have come under international review. As of June 2001, it remained on the Financial Action Task Force's list of noncooperative jurisdictions. Saint Vincent is also the largest producer of marijuana in the Eastern Caribbean and is increasingly being used as a transshipment point for illegal narcotics from South America. | Economic output in the West Bank is governed by the Paris Economic Protocol of April 1994 between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Real per capita GDP for the West Bank and Gaza Strip (WBGS) declined by 36.1% between 1992 and 1996 owing to the combined effect of falling aggregate incomes and rapid population growth. The downturn in economic activity was largely the result of Israeli closure policies - the imposition of border closures in response to security incidents in Israel - which disrupted established labor and commodity market relationships between Israel and the WBGS. The most serious social effect of this downturn was rising unemployment; unemployment in the WBGS during the 1980s was generally under 5%; by 1995 it had risen to over 20%. Since 1997 Israel's use of comprehensive closures has decreased and, in 1998, Israel implemented new policies to reduce the impact of closures and other security procedures on the movement of Palestinian goods and labor. These changes fueled an almost three-year long economic recovery in the West Bank and Gaza Strip; real GDP grew by 5% in 1998 and 6% in 1999. Recovery was upended in the last quarter of 2000 with the outbreak of Palestinian violence, which triggered tight Israeli closures of Palestinian self-rule areas and a severe disruption of trade and labor movements. |
Electricity - consumption | 86 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production | 92.48 million kWh (2001) | NA kWh; note - most electricity imported from Israel; East Jerusalem Electric Company buys and distributes electricity to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and its concession in the West Bank; the Israel Electric Company directly supplies electricity to most Jewish residents and military facilities; at the same time, some Palestinian municipalities, such as Nablus and Janin, generate their own electricity from small power plants |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 69.3%
hydro: 30.7% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel:
NA% hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Soufriere 1,234 m |
lowest point:
Dead Sea -408 m highest point: Tall Asur 1,022 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 | adequacy of fresh water supply; sewage treatment |
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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7% | Palestinian Arab and other 83%, Jewish 17% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999), 2.7 (1998) | new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.0810 (December 2000), 4.0773 (2000), 4.1397 (1999), 3.8001 (1998), 3.4494 (1997), 3.1917 (1996); Jordanian dinars per US dollar - fixed rate of 0.7090 (from 1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Fredrick Nathaniel BALLANTYNE (since 2 September 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Ralph E. 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 |
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Exports | NA (2001) | $682 million (includes Gaza Strip) (f.o.b., 1998 est.) |
Exports - commodities | bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets | olives, fruit, vegetables, limestone |
Exports - partners | France 25.2%, Greece 19.1%, Spain 16.4%, UK 9.5%, US 7.1% (2002) | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year (since 1 January 1992) |
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 | - |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $339 million (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10%
industry: 26% services: 64% (2001 est.) |
agriculture:
9% industry: 28% services: 63% note: includes Gaza Strip (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,900 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -0.5% (2002 est.) | -7.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 15 N, 61 12 W | 32 00 N, 35 15 E |
Geography - note | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is comprised of 32 islands and cays | landlocked; highlands are main recharge area for Israel's coastal aquifers; there are 231 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the West Bank and 29 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) |
Highways | total: 1,040 km
paved: 320 km unpaved: 720 km (1999 est.) |
total:
4,500 km paved: 2,700 km unpaved: 1,800 km (1997 est.) note: Israelis have developed many highways to service Jewish settlements |
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; small-scale cannabis cultivation | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | $2.5 billion (includes Gaza Strip) (c.i.f., 1998 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels | food, consumer goods, construction materials |
Imports - partners | France 32.7%, US 11.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 10.4%, Singapore 10.1%, Spain 7.9%, Greece 4.3% (2002) | Israel, Jordan, Gaza Strip |
Independence | 27 October 1979 (from UK) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.9% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Industries | food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch | generally small family businesses that produce cement, textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale, modern industries in the settlements and industrial centers |
Infant mortality rate | total: 15.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
21.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | -0.4% (2001 est.) | 3% (includes Gaza Strip) (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO | - |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 15 (2000) | 8 (1999) |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) | - |
Labor force | 67,000 (1984 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 26%, industry 17%, services 57% (1980 est.) | services 66%, industry 21%, agriculture 13% (1996) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
404 km border countries: Israel 307 km, Jordan 97 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.26%
permanent crops: 17.95% other: 71.79% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 32% forests and woodland: 1% other: 40% |
Languages | English, French patois | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
Legal system | based on English common 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 March 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3 |
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Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.08 years
male: 71.3 years female: 74.92 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
72.28 years male: 70.58 years female: 74.07 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 96% male: 96% female: 96% (1970 est.) |
definition:
NA total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Middle East, west of Jordan |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Middle East |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 769 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,365,887 GRT/9,665,937 DWT
ships by type: bulk 133, cargo 376, chemical tanker 21, combination bulk 7, container 58, liquefied gas 8, livestock carrier 4, multi-functional large-load carrier 2, passenger 5, petroleum tanker 43, refrigerated cargo 46, roll on/roll off 45, short-sea passenger 10, specialized tanker 10, vehicle carrier 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Albania 1, Anguilla 1, Argentina 1, Australia 2, The Bahamas 1, Bangladesh 1, Barbados 2, Belgium 4, Bulgaria 14, Canada 1, Cayman Islands 1, China 135, Colombia 1, Croatia 12, Cyprus 6, Denmark 16, Egypt 7, Estonia 6, France 27, Germany 12, Greece 156, Guyana 7, Hong Kong 23, Iceland 1, India 11, Indonesia 3, Israel 2, Italy 19, Japan 1, Kenya 4, Latvia 5, Lebanon 9, Liberia 5, Lithuania 1, Malta 1, Man, Isle of 1, Marshall Islands 3, Mexico 1, Monaco 6, Netherlands 14, Netherlands Antilles 1, Nigeria 3, Norway 33, Pakistan 5, Panama 2, Poland 2, Portugal 2, Puerto Rico 2, Russia 8, Saint Kitts and Nevis 1, Saudi Arabia 3, Singapore 4, Slovenia 7, South Korea 4, Spain 1, Sweden 6, Switzerland 10, Syria 2, Taiwan 1, Thailand 1, Trinidad and Tobago 1, Tunisia 1, Turkey 15, Ukraine 8, UAE 45, UK 16, US 25, Vietnam 1 (2002 est.) |
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Military branches | Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard | NA |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $NA | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | NA% |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 October (1979) | - |
Nationality | noun: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s)
adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian |
noun:
NA adjective: NA |
Natural hazards | hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat | droughts |
Natural resources | hydropower, cropland | arable land |
Net migration rate | -7.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 3.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 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) | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
Population | 116,812 (July 2003 est.) | 2,090,713 (July 2001 est.)
note: in addition, there are some 176,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and about 173,000 in East Jerusalem (August 1999 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.34% (2003 est.) | 3.48% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Kingstown | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0
note: the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation broadcasts from an AM station in Ramallah on 675 kHz; numerous local, private stations are reported to be in operation (2000) |
Radios | - | NA; note - most Palestinian households have radios (1999) |
Railways | 0 km | 0 km |
Religions | Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Hindu Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant | Muslim 75% (predominantly Sunni), Jewish 17%, Christian and other 8% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.76 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.77 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 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:
NA domestic: NA international: NA note: Israeli company BEZEK and the Palestinian company PALTEL are responsible for communication services in the West Bank |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,500 (1998) | 95,729 (total for West Bank and Gaza Strip) (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus three repeaters) (1997) | NA |
Terrain | volcanic, mountainous | mostly rugged dissected upland, some vegetation in west, but barren in east |
Total fertility rate | 1.95 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 4.9 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 22% (1997 est.) | 40% (includes Gaza Strip) (yearend 2000) |
Waterways | none | none |