Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2006) | Tuvalu (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick | none |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 26.7% (male 16,007/female 15,426)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 40,676/female 38,155) 65 years and over: 6.4% (male 3,315/female 4,269) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 31.3% (male 1,828; female 1,761)
15-64 years: 63.7% (male 3,530; female 3,770) 65 years and over: 5% (male 227; female 352) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish | coconuts; fish |
Airports | 6 (2006) | 1 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
- |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km)
land: 389 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 26 sq km
land: 26 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | twice the size of Washington, DC | 0.1 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Resistance by native Caribs prevented colonization on St. Vincent until 1719. Disputed between France and the United Kingdom for most of the 18th century, the island was ceded to the latter in 1783. Between 1960 and 1962, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was a separate administrative unit of the Federation of the West Indies. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979. | In 1974, ethnic differences within the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands caused the Polynesians of the Ellice Islands to vote for separation from the Micronesians of the Gilbert Islands. The following year, the Ellice Islands became the separate British colony of Tuvalu. Independence was granted in 1978. In 2000, Tuvalu negotiated a contract leasing its Internet domain name ".tv" for $50 million in royalties over the next dozen years. |
Birth rate | 16.18 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 21.63 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $94.6 million
expenditures: $85.8 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $22.5 million
expenditures: $11.2 million, including capital expenditures of $4.2 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Kingstown
geographic coordinates: 13 09 N, 61 14 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Funafuti; note - administrative offices are located in Vaiaku Village on Fongafale Islet |
Climate | tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) | tropical; moderated by easterly trade winds (March to November); westerly gales and heavy rain (November to March) |
Coastline | 84 km | 24 km |
Constitution | 27 October 1979 | 1 October 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tuvalu former: Ellice Islands note: "Tuvalu" means "group of eight," referring to the country's eight traditionally inhabited islands |
Currency | - | Australian dollar (AUD); note - there is also a Tuvaluan dollar |
Death rate | 5.98 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 7.24 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $223 million (2004) | NA |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | the US does not have an embassy in Tuvalu; the US ambassador to Fiji is accredited to Tuvalu |
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 |
Tuvalu does not have an embassy in the US - the country's only diplomatic post is in Fiji - Tuvalu does, however, have a UN office located at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400D, New York, New York 10017, telephone: [1] (212) 490-0534 |
Disputes - international | joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $10.5 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (2004) | $13 million ; note - major donors are Australia, Japan, and the US (1999 est.) |
Economy - overview | Economic growth in this lower-middle-income country 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 and has moved to adopt international regulatory standards. Saint Vincent is also a producer of marijuana and is being used as a transshipment point for illegal narcotics from South America. | Tuvalu consists of a densely populated, scattered group of nine coral atolls with poor soil. The country has no known mineral resources and few exports. Subsistence farming and fishing are the primary economic activities. Fewer than 1,000 tourists, on average, visit Tuvalu annually. Government revenues largely come from the sale of stamps and coins and worker remittances. About 1,000 Tuvaluans work in Nauru in the phosphate mining industry. Nauru has begun repatriating Tuvaluans, however, as phosphate resources decline. Substantial income is received annually from an international trust fund established in 1987 by Australia, NZ, and the UK and supported also by Japan and South Korea. Thanks to wise investments and conservative withdrawals, this Fund has grown from an initial $17 million to over $35 million in 1999. The US government is also a major revenue source for Tuvalu, because of payments from a 1988 treaty on fisheries. In an effort to reduce its dependence on foreign aid, the government is pursuing public sector reforms, including privatization of some government functions and personnel cuts of up to 7%. In 1998, Tuvalu began deriving revenue from use of its area code for "900" lines and in 2000, from the lease of its ".tv" Internet domain name. Royalties from these new technology sources could increase substantially over the next decade. With merchandise exports only a fraction of merchandise imports, continued reliance must be placed on fishing and telecommunications license fees, remittances from overseas workers, official transfers, and investment income from overseas assets. |
Electricity - consumption | 88.35 million kWh (2003) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | - |
Electricity - production | 95 million kWh (2003) | - |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: La Soufriere 1,234 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 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 | since there are no streams or rivers and groundwater is not potable, most water needs must be met by catchment systems with storage facilities (the Japanese Government has built one desalination plant and plans to build one other); beachhead erosion because of the use of sand for building materials; excessive clearance of forest undergrowth for use as fuel; damage to coral reefs from the spread of the Crown of Thorns starfish; Tuvalu is very concerned about global increases in greenhouse gas emissions and their effect on rising sea levels, which threaten the country's underground water table; in 2000, the government appealed to Australia and New Zealand to take in Tuvaluans if rising sea levels should make evacuation necessary |
Environment - international agreements | party to: 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, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7% | Polynesian 96%, Micronesian 4% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001) | Tuvaluan dollars or Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.5419, (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999) |
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 |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Faimalaga LUKA (since 9 September 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Maatia TOAFA (since 11 October 2004) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister elected by and from the members of Parliament; election last held 11 October 2004 (next to be held following parliamentary elections in 2006) election results: Saufatu SOPOANGA resigned parliamentary seat on 27 August 2004 following no-confidence vote on 25 August 2004; succeeded by Deputy Prime Minister Maatia TOAFA in an acting capacity on 27 August 2004; Maatia TOAFA confirmed Prime Minister in a Parliamentary election (8-7 vote) on 11 Ocotober 2004 |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $1 million f.o.b. (2002) |
Exports - commodities | bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch; tennis racquets | copra, fish |
Exports - partners | France 50.3%, Italy 21%, Greece 11%, US 4.2% (2005) | UK 37.5%, Poland 19.1%, Philippines 9.2%, Australia 9.1%, Fiji 6.2% (2003) |
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 | light blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the outer half of the flag represents a map of the country with nine yellow five-pointed stars symbolizing the nine islands |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $12.2 million NA (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 10%
industry: 26% services: 64% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2005 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 15 N, 61 12 W | 8 00 S, 178 00 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 | one of the smallest and most remote countries on Earth; six of the coral atolls - Nanumea, Nui, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Funafuti, and Nukulaelae - have lagoons open to the ocean; Nanumaya and Niutao have landlocked lagoons; Niulakita does not have a lagoon |
Highways | - | total: 8 km
paved: 0 km unpaved: 8 km (1999 est.) |
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 bbl/day | $79 million c.i.f. (2002) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels | food, animals, mineral fuels, machinery, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | France 36.1%, Singapore 12.5%, Italy 11.9%, Trinidad and Tobago 7.9%, US 7.2% (2005) | Fiji 47.3%, Australia 13.9%, Poland 10.8%, Germany 10.2%, Japan 8%, New Zealand 6.2% (2003) |
Independence | 27 October 1979 (from UK) | 1 October 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -0.9% (1997 est.) | NA |
Industries | food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch | fishing, tourism, copra |
Infant mortality rate | total: 14.4 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 20.69 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.63 deaths/1,000 live births female: 17.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2005 est.) | 5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTO | ACP, AsDB, C, FAO, IFRCS (observer), IMO, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WHO |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (2003) | 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) | High Court (a chief justice visits twice a year to preside over its sessions; its rulings can be appealed to the Court of Appeal in Fiji); eight Island Courts (with limited jurisdiction) |
Labor force | 41,680 (1991 est.) | 7,000 (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 26%
industry: 17% services: 57% (1980 est.) |
people make a living mainly through exploitation of the sea, reefs, and atolls and from wages sent home by those abroad (mostly workers in the phosphate industry and sailors) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 17.95%
permanent crops: 17.95% other: 64.1% (2005) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
Languages | English, French patois | Tuvaluan, English, Samoan, Kiribati (on the island of Nui) |
Legal system | based on English common law | NA |
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 7 December 2005 (next to be held 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - ULP 55.26%, NDP 44.68%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3 |
unicameral Parliament or Fale I Fono, also called House of Assembly (15 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 July 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - independents 15 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.85 years
male: 71.99 years female: 75.77 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 67.66 years
male: 65.47 years female: 69.96 years (2004 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 | Oceania, island group consisting of nine coral atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 589 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,449,699 GRT/8,051,250 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 106, cargo 351, chemical tanker 5, container 20, liquefied gas 7, livestock carrier 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 15, petroleum tanker 18, refrigerated cargo 38, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 3 foreign-owned: 529 (Bangladesh 1, Barbados 1, Belgium 3, Bulgaria 17, Canada 6, China 103, Croatia 9, Cyprus 1, Czech Republic registered in other countries: 1 (Comoros 1) (2006) |
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 54,993 GRT/86,048 DWT
by type: cargo 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: Germany 4, Singapore 1, Thailand 1 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard (2005) | no regular military forces; Police Force (includes Maritime Surveillance Unit for search and rescue missions and surveillance operations) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | NA |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 October (1979) | Independence Day, 1 October (1978) |
Nationality | noun: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s)
adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian |
noun: Tuvaluan(s)
adjective: Tuvaluan |
Natural hazards | hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat | severe tropical storms are usually rare, but, in 1997, there were three cyclones; low level of islands make them very sensitive to changes in sea level |
Natural resources | hydropower, cropland | fish |
Net migration rate | -7.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | New Democratic Party or NDP [Arnhim EUSTACE]; 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) | there are no political parties but members of Parliament usually align themselves in informal groupings |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 117,848 (July 2006 est.) | 11,468 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 0.26% (2006 est.) | 1.44% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Funafuti, Nukufetau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1999) |
Religions | Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, Hindu, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant | Church of Tuvalu (Congregationalist) 97%, Seventh-Day Adventist 1.4%, Baha'i 1%, other 0.6% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 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: country code - 1-784; 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: serves particular needs for internal communications
domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands international: country code - 688 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 22,500 (2005) | 700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 70,600 (2005) | 0 (1994) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus three repeaters) (2004) | 0 (1997) |
Terrain | volcanic, mountainous | very low-lying and narrow coral atolls |
Total fertility rate | 1.83 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 3.02 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (2001 est.) | NA |