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Introduction |
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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.
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Geography |
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Location: |
Caribbean, island
between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad
and Tobago
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Geographic
coordinates: |
12 07 N, 61 40 W
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Map references: |
Central America and
the Caribbean
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Area: |
total: 344
sq km
land: 344 sq km
water: 0 sq km
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Area -
comparative: |
twice the size of
Washington, DC
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Land boundaries: |
0 km
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Coastline: |
121 km
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Maritime claims: |
territorial sea:
12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
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Climate: |
tropical; tempered
by northeast trade winds
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Terrain: |
volcanic in origin
with central mountains
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Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m
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Natural
resources: |
timber, tropical
fruit, deepwater harbors
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Land use: |
arable land:
5.88%
permanent crops: 29.41%
other: 64.71% (2001)
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Irrigated land: |
NA sq km
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Natural hazards: |
lies on edge of
hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November
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Environment -
current issues: |
NA
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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
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Geography -
note: |
the administration
of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada
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People |
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Population: |
89,502 (July 2005
est.)
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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.)
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Median age: |
total: 21.26
years
male: 21.73 years
female: 20.76 years (2005 est.)
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Population
growth rate: |
0.19% (2005 est.)
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Birth rate: |
22.3 births/1,000
population (2005 est.)
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Death rate: |
7.17 deaths/1,000
population (2005 est.)
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Net migration
rate: |
-13.25 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2005 est.)
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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.)
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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.)
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Life expectancy
at birth: |
total
population: 64.53 years
male: 62.74 years
female: 66.31 years (2005 est.)
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Total fertility
rate: |
2.37 children
born/woman (2005 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult
prevalence rate: |
NA
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HIV/AIDS -
people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA
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HIV/AIDS -
deaths: |
NA
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Nationality: |
noun:
Grenadian(s)
adjective: Grenadian
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Ethnic groups: |
black 82%, mixed
black and European 13%, European and East Indian 5%, and trace
of Arawak/Carib Amerindian
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Religions: |
Roman Catholic 53%,
Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2%
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Languages: |
English (official),
French patois
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Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 98%
female: 98% (1970 est.)
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Government |
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Country name: |
conventional
long form: none
conventional short form: Grenada
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Government type: |
constitutional
monarchy with Westminster-style parliament
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Capital: |
Saint George's
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Administrative
divisions: |
6 parishes and 1
dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew,
Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick
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Independence: |
7 February 1974
(from UK)
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National
holiday: |
Independence Day, 7
February (1974)
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Constitution: |
19 December 1973
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Legal system: |
based on English
common law
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Suffrage: |
18 years of age;
universal
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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
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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
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Judicial branch: |
West Indies
Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in
Grenada)
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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]
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Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
NA
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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
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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
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Economy |
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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.
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GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $440 million (2002 est.)
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GDP - real
growth rate: |
2.5% (2002 est.)
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GDP - per
capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $5,000 (2002 est.)
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GDP -
composition by sector: |
agriculture:
7.7%
industry: 23.9%
services: 68.4% (2000)
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Labor force: |
42,300 (1996)
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Labor force - by
occupation: |
agriculture 24%,
industry 14%, services 62% (1999 est.)
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Unemployment
rate: |
12.5% (2000)
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Population below
poverty line: |
32% (2000)
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Household income
or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA
highest 10%: NA
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Inflation rate
(consumer prices): |
2.8% (2001 est.)
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Budget: |
revenues:
$85.8 million
expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital
expenditures of $28 million (1997)
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Agriculture -
products: |
bananas, cocoa,
nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn,
vegetables
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Industries: |
food and beverages,
textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction
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Industrial
production growth rate: |
0.7% (1997 est.)
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Electricity -
production: |
149 million kWh
(2002)
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Electricity -
production by source: |
fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
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Electricity -
consumption: |
138.6 million kWh
(2002)
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Electricity -
exports: |
0 kWh (2002)
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Electricity -
imports: |
0 kWh (2002)
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Oil -
production: |
0 bbl/day (2001
est.)
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Oil -
consumption: |
1,000 bbl/day (2001
est.)
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Oil - exports: |
NA
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Oil - imports: |
NA
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Exports: |
$46 million (2002
est.)
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Exports -
commodities: |
bananas, cocoa,
nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace
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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)
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Imports: |
$208 million (2002
est.)
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Imports -
commodities: |
food, manufactured
goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel
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Imports -
partners: |
US 27.7%, Trinidad
and Tobago 25.4%, UK 5.2% (2004)
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Debt - external: |
$196 million (2000)
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Currency (code): |
East Caribbean
dollar (XCD)
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Currency code: |
XCD
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Exchange rates: |
East Caribbean
dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7
(2001), 2.7 (2000)
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Fiscal year: |
calendar year
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Communications |
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Telephones -
main lines in use: |
33,500 (2002)
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Telephones -
mobile cellular: |
7,600 (2002)
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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
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Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 2, FM 13,
shortwave 0 (1998)
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Radios: |
57,000 (1997)
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Television
broadcast stations: |
2 (1997)
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Televisions: |
33,000 (1997)
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Internet country
code: |
.gd
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Internet hosts: |
18 (2003)
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Internet Service
Providers (ISPs): |
14 (2000)
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Internet users: |
15,000 (2002)
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Transportation |
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Highways: |
total: 1,040
km
paved: 638 km
unpaved: 402 km (1999 est.)
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Ports and
harbors: |
Saint George's
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Airports: |
3 (2004 est.)
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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.)
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Military |
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Military
branches: |
no regular military
forces; Royal Grenada Police Force
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Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
NA
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Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
NA
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Transnational Issues |
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Disputes -
international: |
none
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Illicit drugs: |
small-scale
cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana
and cocaine to US
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