Thailand (2005) | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 76 provinces (changwat, singular and plural); Amnat Charoen, Ang Thong, Buriram, Chachoengsao, Chai Nat, Chaiyaphum, Chanthaburi, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Chon Buri, Chumphon, Kalasin, Kamphaeng Phet, Kanchanaburi, Khon Kaen, Krabi, Krung Thep Mahanakhon (Bangkok), Lampang, Lamphun, Loei, Lop Buri, Mae Hong Son, Maha Sarakham, Mukdahan, Nakhon Nayok, Nakhon Pathom, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Ratchasima, Nakhon Sawan, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Nan, Narathiwat, Nong Bua Lamphu, Nong Khai, Nonthaburi, Pathum Thani, Pattani, Phangnga, Phatthalung, Phayao, Phetchabun, Phetchaburi, Phichit, Phitsanulok, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Phrae, Phuket, Prachin Buri, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Ranong, Ratchaburi, Rayong, Roi Et, Sa Kaeo, Sakon Nakhon, Samut Prakan, Samut Sakhon, Samut Songkhram, Sara Buri, Satun, Sing Buri, Sisaket, Songkhla, Sukhothai, Suphan Buri, Surat Thani, Surin, Tak, Trang, Trat, Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, Uthai Thani, Uttaradit, Yala, Yasothon | 6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 23.9% (male 7,988,529/female 7,633,405)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 22,195,625/female 22,731,767) 65 years and over: 7.5% (male 2,251,112/female 2,643,933) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 25.9% (male 15,596/female 15,027)
15-64 years: 67.6% (male 41,259/female 38,620) 65 years and over: 6.5% (male 3,358/female 4,289) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, cassava (tapioca), rubber, corn, sugarcane, coconuts, soybeans | bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish |
Airports | 109 (2004 est.) | 6 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 65
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 19 under 914 m: 6 (2004 est.) |
total: 5
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 44
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 28 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: 514,000 sq km
land: 511,770 sq km water: 2,230 sq km |
total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km)
land: 389 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Wyoming | twice the size of Washington, DC |
Background | A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century. Known as Siam until 1939, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a constitutional monarchy. In alliance with Japan during World War II, Thailand became a US ally following the conflict. Thailand is currently facing armed violence in its three Muslim-majority southernmost provinces. | 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. |
Birth rate | 15.7 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 16.02 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $30.86 billion
expenditures: $31.94 billion, including capital expenditures of $5 billion (2004 est.) |
revenues: $94.6 million
expenditures: $85.8 million (2000 est.) |
Capital | Bangkok | name: Kingstown
geographic coordinates: 13 09 N, 61 14 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; rainy, warm, cloudy southwest monsoon (mid-May to September); dry, cool northeast monsoon (November to mid-March); southern isthmus always hot and humid | tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) |
Coastline | 3,219 km | 84 km |
Constitution | new constitution signed by King PHUMIPHON on 11 October 1997 | 27 October 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: Kingdom of Thailand
conventional short form: Thailand former: Siam |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
Death rate | 7.02 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 5.97 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $50.59 billion (2004 est.) | $223 million (2004) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph L. BOYCE
embassy: 120/22 Wireless Road, Bangkok mailing address: APO AP 96546 telephone: [66] (2) 205-4000 FAX: [66] (2) 254-2990, 205-4131 consulate(s) general: Chiang Mai |
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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: KASIT Piromya
chancery: 1024 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Suite 401, Washington, DC 20007-3681 telephone: [1] (202) 944-3600 FAX: [1] (202) 944-3611 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
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 |
Disputes - international | separatist violence in Thailand's predominantly Muslim southern provinces prompt border closures and controls with Malaysia to stem terrorist activities; southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; Laos and Thailand pledge to complete demarcation of their boundary in 2005; despite continuing border committee talks, significant differences remain with Burma over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities; Cambodia and Thailand dispute sections of boundary with missing boundary markers; Cambodia claims Thai encroachments into Cambodian territory and obstructing access to Preah Vihear temple ruins awarded to Cambodia by ICJ decision in 1962; ethnic Karens from Burma flee into Thailand to escape fighting between Karen rebels and Burmese troops resulting in Thailand sheltering about 118,000 Burmese refugees in 2004; Karens also protest Thai support for a Burmese hydroelectric dam construction on the Salween River near the border; environmentalists in Burma and Thailand remain concerned about China's construction of hydroelectric dams upstream on the Nujiang/Salween River in Yunnan Province | 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 eastern Caribbean Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $72 million (2002) | $4.89 million (1995); note - EU $34.5 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Thailand has a well developed infrastructure, a free-enterprise economy, and welcomes foreign investment. Thailand has fully recovered from the 1997-98 Asian Financial Crisis and was one of East Asia's best performers in 2002-04. Increased consumption and investment spending and strong export growth pushed GDP growth up to 6.9% in 2003 and 6.1% in 2004 despite a sluggish global economy. The highly popular government's expansionist policy, including major support of village economic development, has raised concerns about fiscal discipline and the health of financial institutions. Bangkok has pursued preferential trade agreements with a variety of partners in an effort to boost exports and maintain high growth, and in 2004 began negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement with the US. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took 8,500 lives in Thailand and caused massive destruction of property in the southern provinces of Krabi, Phangnga, and Phuket. | 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 suffered low arrivals in the immediate aftermath of 11 September 2001. The islands had more than 160,000 tourist arrivals in 2005, mostly to the Grenadines. 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 106.1 billion kWh (2003) | 107 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 188 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 600 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 118.9 billion kWh (2003) | 115 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Gulf of Thailand 0 m
highest point: Doi Inthanon 2,576 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: La Soufriere 1,234 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from organic and factory wastes; deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by illegal hunting | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
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 |
Ethnic groups | Thai 75%, Chinese 14%, other 11% | black 66%, mixed 19%, East Indian 6%, Carib Amerindian 2%, other 7% |
Exchange rates | baht per US dollar - 40.222 (2004), 41.485 (2003), 42.96 (2002), 44.432 (2001), 40.112 (2000) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state: King PHUMIPHON Adunyadet (since 9 June 1946)
head of government: Prime Minister THAKSIN Chinnawat (since 9 February 2001) and Deputy Prime Ministers CHITCHAI Wannasathi (since 11 March 2005), PHINIT Charusombat (since 6 October 2004), SOMKHIT Chatusiphithak (since 11 March 2005), SURAKIAT Sathianthai (since 11 March 2005); SURIYA Chungrungruankit (since 3 August 2005), SUWAT Liptapanlop (since 3 August 2005), WISANU Kruangam (since 8 November 2003) cabinet: Council of Ministers note: there is also a Privy Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister is designated from among the members of the House of Representatives; following national elections for the House of Representatives, the leader of the party that can organize a majority coalition usually is appointed prime minister by the king |
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 |
Exports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | textiles and footwear, fishery products, rice, rubber, jewelry, automobiles, computers and electrical appliances | bananas 39%, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch; tennis racquets |
Exports - partners | US 15.9%, Japan 13.9%, China 7.3%, Singapore 7.2%, Malaysia 5.4%, Hong Kong 5.1% (2004) | France 26.2%, Greece 21.3%, Italy 18.9%, Russia 7.2%, UK 6.8% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | calendar year |
Flag description | five horizontal bands of red (top), white, blue (double width), white, and red | 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 - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 44.3% services: 46.7% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 10%
industry: 26% services: 64% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,100 (2004 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.1% (2004 est.) | 4.9% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 00 N, 100 00 E | 13 15 N, 61 12 W |
Geography - note | controls only land route from Asia to Malaysia and Singapore | 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 |
Heliports | 3 (2004 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 57,403 km
paved: 56,542 km unpaved: 861 km (2000 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | a minor producer of opium, heroin, and marijuana; illicit transit point for heroin en route to the international drug market from Burma and Laos; eradication efforts have reduced the area of cannabis cultivation and shifted some production to neighboring countries; opium poppy cultivation has been reduced by eradication efforts; also a drug money-laundering center; minor role in amphetamine production for regional consumption; increasing indigenous abuse of methamphetamine | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; small-scale cannabis cultivation |
Imports | NA | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | capital goods, intermediate goods and raw materials, consumer goods, fuels | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels |
Imports - partners | Japan 23.6%, China 8.6%, US 7.6%, Malaysia 5.8%, Singapore 4.4%, Taiwan 4.1% (2004) | Singapore 17.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 12.1%, US 11.1%, Italy 11%, Spain 9.5%, Turkey 4.6%, Germany 4.4% (2006) |
Independence | 1238 (traditional founding date; never colonized) | 27 October 1979 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8.5% (2004 est.) | -0.9% (1997 est.) |
Industries | tourism, textiles and garments, agricultural processing, beverages, tobacco, cement, light manufacturing such as jewelry, electric appliances and components, computers and parts, integrated circuits, furniture, plastics, world's second-largest tungsten producer, and third-largest tin producer | food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch |
Infant mortality rate | total: 20.48 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 21.83 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 14.01 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.25 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.72 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2004 est.) | 1% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, BIS, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 47,490 sq km (1998 est.) | 10 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Sandika (judges appointed by the monarch) | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) |
Labor force | 36.43 million (November 2004 est.) | 41,680 (1991 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 49%, industry 14%, services 37% (2000 est.) | agriculture: 26%
industry: 17% services: 57% (1980 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 4,863 km
border countries: Burma 1,800 km, Cambodia 803 km, Laos 1,754 km, Malaysia 506 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 29.36%
permanent crops: 6.46% other: 64.18% (2001) |
arable land: 17.95%
permanent crops: 17.95% other: 64.1% (2005) |
Languages | Thai, English (secondary language of the elite), ethnic and regional dialects | English, French patois |
Legal system | based on civil law system, with influences of common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Assembly or Rathasapha consists of the Senate or Wuthisapha (200 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and the House of Representatives or Sapha Phuthaen Ratsadon (500 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 4 March, 29 April, 4 June, 9 July, and 22 July 2000 (next to be held by March 2006); House of Representatives - last held 6 February 2005 (next to be held in February 2009) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - TRT 376, DP 97, TNP 25, PP 2 |
unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15 elected representatives and six appointed senators; representatives are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 7 December 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - ULP 55.3%, NDP 44.7%; seats by party - ULP 12, NDP 3 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 71.95 years
male: 69.65 years female: 74.37 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 74.09 years
male: 72.21 years female: 76.04 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.6% male: 94.9% female: 90.5% (2002) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 96% male: 96% female: 96% (1970 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand, southeast of Burma | Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 386 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 2,038,597 GRT/3,104,712 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 57, cargo 142, chemical tanker 12, combination ore/oil 1, container 21, liquefied gas 25, passenger 3, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 89, refrigerated cargo 30, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 foreign-owned: 55 (Indonesia 1, Japan 3, Norway 45, Singapore 6) registered in other countries: 35 (2005) |
total: 582 ships (1000 GRT or over) 5,598,917 GRT/8,255,014 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 92, cargo 353, carrier 19, chemical tanker 4, container 17, liquefied gas 6, livestock carrier 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 11, petroleum tanker 19, refrigerated cargo 31, roll on/roll off 21, specialized tanker 3 foreign-owned: 536 (Austria 2, Bangladesh 1, Barbados 1, Belgium 9, Bulgaria 13, Canada 6, China 106, Croatia 7, Cyprus 3, Czech Republic 1, Denmark 16, Egypt 4, Estonia 20, France 7, Germany 3, Greece 81, Guyana 2, Hong Kong 7, Iceland 15, India 5, Iran 1, Israel 4, Italy 19, Kenya 2, Latvia 20, Lebanon 7, Lithuania 7, Malta 1, Monaco 6, Montenegro 1, Netherlands 5, Norway 19, Pakistan 1, Philippines 1, Poland 1, Portugal 1, Puerto Rico 1, Romania 1, Russia 19, Singapore 6, Slovenia 5, Sweden 2, Switzerland 12, Syria 11, Turkey 20, Ukraine 12, UAE 12, UK 9, US 21) (2007) |
Military branches | Royal Thai Army, Royal Thai Navy (includes Royal Thai Marine Corps), Royal Thai Air Force | no regular military forces; Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, Coast Guard (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.775 billion (FY00) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.8% (2003) | NA |
National holiday | Birthday of King PHUMIPHON, 5 December (1927) | Independence Day, 27 October (1979) |
Nationality | noun: Thai (singular and plural)
adjective: Thai |
noun: Saint Vincentian(s) or Vincentian(s)
adjective: Saint Vincentian or Vincentian |
Natural hazards | land subsidence in Bangkok area resulting from the depletion of the water table; droughts | hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat |
Natural resources | tin, rubber, natural gas, tungsten, tantalum, timber, lead, fish, gypsum, lignite, fluorite, arable land | hydropower, cropland |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -7.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 3,112 km; refined products 265 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democrat Party or DP (Prachathipat Party) [ABHISIT Wetchachiwa]; People's Party or PP (Mahachon Party) [ANEK Laothamatas]; Thai Nation Party or TNP (Chat Thai Party) [BARNHARN SILPA-ARCHA]; Thai Rak Thai Party or TRT [THAKSIN Chinnawat] | 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) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 65,444,371
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) |
118,149 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 10% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.87% (2005 est.) | 0.248% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bangkok, Laem Chabang, Prachuap Port, Si Racha | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 204, FM 334, shortwave 6 (1999) | AM 1, FM 6, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Railways | total: 4,071 km
narrow gauge: 4,071 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
- |
Religions | Buddhist 94.6%, Muslim 4.6%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.1% (2000 census) | Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%, Roman Catholic 13%, other (includes Hindu, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant) 12% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.068 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.783 male(s)/female total population: 1.039 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: high quality system, especially in urban areas like Bangkok; WTO requirement for privatization of telecom sector is planned to be complete by 2006
domestic: fixed line system provided by both a government owned and commercial provider; wireless service expanding rapidly and outpacing fixed lines international: country code - 66; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean); landing country for APCN submarine cable |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6,617,400 (2003) | 22,600 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 26.5 million (2005) | 87,600 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 5 (all in Bangkok; plus 131 repeaters) (1997) | 1 (plus 3 repeaters) (2004) |
Terrain | central plain; Khorat Plateau in the east; mountains elsewhere | volcanic, mountainous |
Total fertility rate | 1.88 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.81 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 1.5% (November 2004 est.) | 15% (2001 est.) |
Waterways | 4,000 km
note: 3,701 km navigable by boats with drafts up to 0.9 m (2003) |
- |