Grenada
source: CIA World Factbook 1998

Grenada Government, History, Population & Geography

Geography

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Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates: 12 07 N, 61 40 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 340 sq km
land: 340 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area—comparative: twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 121 km

Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds

Terrain: volcanic in origin with central mountains

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m

Natural resources: timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors

Land use:
arable land: 15%
permanent crops: 18%
permanent pastures: 3%
forests and woodland: 9%
other: 55% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Natural hazards: lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November

Environment—current issues: NA

Environment—international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography—note: the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada

People

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Population: 96,217 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 43% (male 21,077; female 20,378)
15-64 years: 52% (male 26,959; female 23,403)
65 years and over: 5% (male 2,061; female 2,339) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.77% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 28.1 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 5.33 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: -15.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.15 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 11.37 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.36 years
male: 68.77 years
female: 74 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.64 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Grenadian(s)
adjective: Grenadian

Ethnic groups: black

Religions: Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant sects 33.2%

Languages: English (official), French patois

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 98%
female: 98% (1970 est.)

Government

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Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Grenada

Data code: GJ

Government type: parliamentary democracy

National capital: Saint George's

Administrative divisions: 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick

Independence: 7 February 1974 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 7 February (1974)

Constitution: 19 December 1973

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II of the UK (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
elections: none; the queen is a hereditary monarch; governor general appointed by the queen; prime minister appointed by the governor general from among the members of the House of Assembly

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 20 June 1995 (next to be held by NA October 2000)
election results: House of Representatives—percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party - NNP 8, NDC 5, GULP 2

Judicial branch: West Indies Associate States Supreme Court, an associate judge resides in Grenada

Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Congress or NDC [George BRIZAN]; Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Jerry SEALES]; The National Party or TNP [Ben JONES]; New National Party or NNP [Keith MITCHELL]; Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement or MBPM [Terrence MARRYSHOW]; The Democratic Labor Party or DLP [Francis ALEXIS]

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Denis G. ANTOINE
chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada
embassy: Point Salines, Saint George's
mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies
telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1178
FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820

Flag description: a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side) with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions

Economy

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Economy—overview: The agriculturally based economy was hurt in 1996 by the emergence of the pink mealy bug, which destroyed much of the cocoa harvest. Bananas, a major foreign exchange earner, also suffered due to falling prices, low production, and poor quality. Tourism, the leading foreign exchange earner, continued to do well, as did manufacturing. Construction boomed in 1996 due to concessions for low and middle income mortgages. The government introduced a 5% tax on electricity and telephones and doubled the general consumption tax, which caused a small rise in the inflation rate. The tourist industry faces stiff competition over the next few years.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$300 million (1996 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: 3.1% (1996 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$3,200 (1996 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 10.2%
industry: 40.3%
services: 49.5% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate—consumer price index: 3.2% (1996 est.)

Labor force:
total: 36,000
by occupation: services 31%, agriculture 24%, construction 8%, manufacturing 5%, other 32% (1985)

Unemployment rate: 20% (1 October 1996)

Budget:
revenues: $75.7 million (1996 est.)
expenditures: $126.7 million, including capital expenditures of $51 million (1996 est.)

Industries: food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction

Industrial production growth rate: 1.8% (1992 est.)

Electricity—capacity: 9,000 kW (1995)

Electricity—production: 70 million kWh (1995)

Electricity—consumption per capita: 741 kWh (1995)

Agriculture—products: bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables

Exports:
total value: $24 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace
partners: Caricom 32.3%, UK 20%, US 13%, Netherlands 8.8% (1991)

Imports:
total value: $128 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: food 25%, manufactured goods 22%, machinery 20%, chemicals 10%, fuel 6% (1989)
partners: US 31.2%, Caricom 23.6%, UK 13.8%, Japan 7.1% (1991)

Debt—external: $97 million (1996 est.)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1—2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

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Telephones: 5,650 (1988 est.)

Telephone system: automatic, islandwide telephone system
domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links
international: new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad

Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 80,000 (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 1 (1988 est.)

Televisions: 30,000 (1993 est.)

Transportation

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Railways: 0 km

Highways:
total: 1,040 km
paved: 638 km
unpaved: 402 km (1996 est.)

Ports and harbors: Grenville, Saint George's

Merchant marine: none

Airports: 3 (1997 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (1997 est.)