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: 344 sq km; land: 344 sq km; water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative:  twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:  0 km

Coastline:  121 km

Maritime claims:   territorial sea: 12 nm; exclusive economic zone: 200 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: 5.88%; permanent crops: 29.41%; other: 64.71% (2001)

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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, 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

Population: 89,502 (July 2005 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 33.9% (male 15,329/female 14,997)

15-64 years: 62.7% (male 29,711/female 26,436)

65 years and over: 3.4% (male 1,431/female 1,598) (2005 est.)

Median age:  total: 21.26 years; male: 21.73 years; female: 20.76 years (2005 est.)

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: 1 male(s)/female; under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female; 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female; 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female; total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

Infant mortality rate:  total: 14.62 deaths/1,000 live births; male: 14.18 deaths/1,000 live births; female: 15.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 64.53 years; male: 62.74 years; female: 66.31 years (2005 est.)

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: Grenadian(s); adjective: Grenadian

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

Government

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

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 language

Suffrage:18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:     chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (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 monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general

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 27 November 2003 (next to be held by November 2008); election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NNP 8, NDC 7

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

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: 7.7%; industry: 23.9%; services: 68.4% (2000)

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%: NA; highest 10%: NA

Inflation rate (consumer prices):     2.8% (2001 est.)

Budget: revenues: $85.8 million; expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997)

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 - 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 11.8%, US 11.6%, Netherlands 8.1%, Antigua and Barbuda 8%, Germany 7.7%, Saint Kitts and Nevis 7.2%, Dominica 7.2%, France 4.5% (2004)

Imports: $208 million (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities: food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel

Imports - partners: US 27.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 25.4%, UK 5.2% (2004)

Debt - external: $196 million (2000)

Economic aid - recipient: $8.3 million (1995)

Currency (code):  East Caribbean dollar (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: automatic, islandwide telephone system; domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links; international: country code - 1-473; new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad

Radio broadcast stations:  AM 2, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)

Television broadcast stations: 2 (1997)

Internet country code: .gd

Internet hosts: 18 (2003)

Internet users: 15,000 (2002)

Transportation

Highways: total: 1,040 km; paved: 638 km; unpaved: 402 km (1999 est.)

Ports and harbors: Saint George's

Airports: 3 (2004 est.)

Airports - with paved runways: total: 3; 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 ; 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 ; under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:  none

Illicit drugs: small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US