Guide to Grenada Introduction Background: One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year.
Geography 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
Area - comparative: twice the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 121 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea
Climate: tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds
Terrain: volcanic in origin with central mountains
Elevation extremes: lowest point
Natural resources: timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors
Land use: arable land
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
Geography - note: the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada
People Population: 89,502 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 0.19% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 22.3 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 7.17 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: -13.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 2.37 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: NA
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
Nationality: noun
Ethnic groups: black 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East Indian 5%, and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian
Religions: Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2%
Languages: English (official), French patois
Literacy: definition
Government Country name: conventional long form
Government type: constitutional monarchy with Westminster-style parliament
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
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
Judicial branch: West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada)
Political parties and leaders: Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Gloria Payne BANFIELD]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [Tillman THOMAS]; New National Party or NNP [Keith MITCHELL]; People Labor Movement or PLM [Dr. Francis ALEXIS]
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
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 Economy - overview: Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange, especially since the construction of an international airport in 1985. Strong performances in construction and manufacturing, together with the development of an offshore financial industry, have also contributed to growth in national output.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $440 million (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.5% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 42,300 (1996)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 24%, industry 14%, services 62% (1999 est.)
Unemployment rate: 12.5% (2000)
Population below poverty line: 32% (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.8% (2001 est.)
Budget: revenues
Agriculture - products: bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables
Industries: food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction
Industrial production growth rate: 0.7% (1997 est.)
Electricity - production: 149 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 138.6 million kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 1,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA
Oil - imports: NA
Exports: $46 million (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities: bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace
Exports - partners: Saint Lucia 12.7%, US 12.2%, Antigua and Barbuda 8.7%, Netherlands 7.9%, Saint Kitts and Nevis 7.8%, Dominica 7.8%, Germany 7.1%, France 4.6% (2004)
Imports: $208 million (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities: food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel
Imports - partners: Trinidad and Tobago 29.6%, US 27.8%, UK 4.8% (2004)
Debt - external: $196 million (2000)
Economic aid - recipient: $8.3 million (1995)
Currency (code): East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Currency code: XCD
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 33,500 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 7,600 (2002)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 57,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 2 (1997)
Televisions: 33,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .gd
Internet hosts: 18 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 14 (2000)
Internet users: 15,000 (2002)
Transportation Highways: total
Ports and harbors: Saint George's
Airports: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Military Military branches: no regular military forces; Royal Grenada Police Force
Military expenditures - dollar figure: NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
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