Grenada

Airports

3 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

Highways

1,000 km total; 600 km paved, 300 km otherwise improved; 100 km unimproved

Ports

Saint George's

Telecommunications

automatic, islandwide telephone system with 5,650 telephones; new SHF links to Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent; VHF and UHF links to Trinidad and Carriacou; stations--1 AM, no FM, 1 TV

Branches

Royal Grenada Police Force

Defense expenditures

NA

Military manpower

NA

Agriculture

accounts for 20% of GDP and 90% of exports; bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, and mace account for two-thirds of total crop production; world's second-largest producer and fourth-largest exporter of nutmeg and mace; small-size farms predominate, growing a variety of citrus fruits, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, and vegetables

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY84-88), $60 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $61 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $32 million

Budget

revenues $74.2 million; expenditures $82.3 million, including capital expenditures of $27.8 million (1989 est.)

Currency

East Caribbean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Electricity

11,400 kW capacity; 24 million kWh produced, 280 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1--2.70 (fixed rate since 1976)

Exports

$31.8 million (f.o.b., 1988 est.); commodities--nutmeg 35%, cocoa beans 15%, bananas 13%, mace 7%, textiles; partners--US 4%, UK, FRG, Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago

External debt

$108 million (1989 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

$129.7 million, per capita $1,535; real growth rate 5% (1988)

Imports

$92.6 million (c.i.f., 1988 est.); commodities--machinery 24%, food 22%, manufactured goods 19%, petroleum 8%; partners--US 32%, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada

Industrial production

growth rate 5.8% (1989 est.)

Industries

food and beverage, textile, light assembly operations, tourism, construction

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

5.0% (1989 est.)

Overview

The economy is essentially agricultural and centers on the traditional production of spices and tropical plants. Agriculture accounts for about 20% of GDP and 90% of exports and employs 24% of the labor force. Tourism is the leading foreign exchange earner, followed by agricultural exports. Manufacturing remains relatively undeveloped, but with a more favorable private investment climate since 1983, it is expected to grow. Despite an impressive average annual growth rate for the economy of 5.5% during the period 1984-88, unemployment remains high at about 26%.

Unemployment rate

26% (1988)

Climate

tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds

Coastline

121 km

Comparative area

slightly less than twice the size of Washington, DC

Environment

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

Extended economic zone

200 nm;

Land boundaries

none

Land use

15% arable land; 26% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures; 9% forest and woodland; 47% other

Natural resources

timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors

Note

islands of the Grenadines group are divided politically with St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Terrain

volcanic in origin with central mountains

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

340 km2; land area: 340 km2

Administrative divisions

6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Little Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick

Capital

Saint George's

Communists

about 450 members of the New Jewel Movement (pro-Soviet) and the Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement (pro-Cuban)

Constitution

19 December 1973

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Albert O. XAVIER; Chancery at 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington DC 20009; telephone (202) 265-2561; there is a Grenadian Consulate General in New York; US--Charge d'Affaires James F. COOPER; Embassy at Ross Point Inn, Saint George's (mailing address is P. O. Box 54, Saint George's); telephone [440] 1731 or 1734

Executive branch

British monarch, governor general, prime minister, Ministers of Government (cabinet)

Flag

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

Independence

7 February 1974 (from UK)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Paul SCOON (since 30 September 1978); Head of Government--Prime Minister Nicholas BRATHWAITE (since 13 March 1990)

Legal system

based on English common law

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives

Long-form name

none

Member of

ACP, CARICOM, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, ITU, NAM, OAS, OECS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO

National holiday

Independence Day, 7 February (1974)

Political parties and leaders

National Democratic Congress (NDC), Nicholas Brathwaite; Grenada United Labor Party (GULP), Sir Eric Gairy; The National Party (TNP), Ben Jones; New National Party (NNP), Keith Mitchell; Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement (MBPM), Terrence Merryshow; New Jewel Movement (NJM), Bernard Coard

Suffrage

universal at age 18 House of Representatives--last held on 13 March 1990 (next to be held by March 1996); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(15 total) NDC 8, GULP 3, TNP 2, NNP 2

Type

parliamentary democracy

Birth rate

36 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

7 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

mainly of black African descent

Infant mortality rate

30 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

36,000; 31% services, 24% agriculture, 8% construction, 5% manufacturing, 32% other (1985)

Language

English (official); some French patois

Life expectancy at birth

69 years male, 74 years female (1990)

Literacy

85%

Nationality

noun--Grenadian(s); adjective--Grenadian

Net migration rate

- 33 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

20% of labor force

Population

84,135 (July 1990), growth rate - 0.4% (1990)

Religion

largely Roman Catholic; Anglican; other Protestant sects

Total fertility rate

4.9 children born/woman (1990)