| Grenada |
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| Background: Carib Indians inhabited Grenada when COLUMBUS discovered the island in 1498, but it remained uncolonized for more than a century. The French settled Grenada in the 17th century, established sugar estates, and imported large numbers of African slaves. Britain took the island in 1762 and vigorously expanded sugar production. In the 19th century, cacao eventually surpassed sugar as the main export crop; in the 20th century, nutmeg became the leading export. In 1967, Britain gave Grenada autonomy over its internal affairs. Full independence was attained in 1974 making Grenada 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 and have continued since that time. Hurricane Ivan struck Grenada in September of 2004 causing severe damage. |
| Geography and Environmental |
Capital: name: Saint George's
geographic coordinates: 12 03 N, 61 45 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Area Total: 344 sq km |
| Area Land: 344 sq km |
| Area Water: 0 sq km |
| Area Comparative: twice the size of Washington, DC |
| Coastline: 121 km |
| Climate: tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds |
| Terrain: volcanic in origin with central mountains |
| Elevation Extremes Lowest Point: Caribbean Sea 0 m |
| Elevation Extremes Highest Point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 m |
| Natural Resources: timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors |
| Land Use Arable Land: 5.88% |
| Land Use Permanent Crops: 29.41% |
| Land Use Other: 64.71% (2005) |
| Irrigated Land: NA |
| Natural Hazards: lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November |
| Environment Current Issues: NA |
| Geography Note: the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada |
| Population |
| Population: 89,971 (July 2007 est.) |
| Age Structure 0 to 14 Years: 32.8% (male 14,876/female 14,641) |
| Age Structure 15 to 64 Years: 64.1% (male 30,522/female 27,137) |
| Age Structure 65 Years And Over: 3.1% (male 1,353/female 1,442) (2007 est.) |
| Median Age Total: 22.1 years |
| Median Age Male: 22.6 years |
| Median Age Female: 21.6 years (2007 est.) |
| Population Growth Rate: 0.336% (2007 est.) |
| Birth Rate: 21.87 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death Rate: 6.61 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex Ratio At Birth: 1 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Under 15 Years: 1.016 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 15 to 64 Years: 1.125 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 65 Years And Over: 0.938 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Total Population: 1.082 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate Total: 13.92 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Male: 13.57 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Female: 14.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life Expectancy At BirthTotalPopulation: 65.21 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Male: 63.38 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Female: 67.05 years (2007 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate: 2.3 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: NA |
| HIV AIDS People Living With HIV AIDS: NA |
| HIV AIDS Deaths: NA |
| 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 |
| Literacy Total Population: 96% |
| Literacy Male: NA% |
| Literacy Female: NA% (2003 est.) |
| Administrative Divisions: 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick |
| Legal System: based on English common law |
| 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: 0.9% (2005 est.) |
| GDP Composition By Sector Agriculture: 5.4% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Industry: 18% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Services: 76.6% (2003) |
| Labor Force: 42,300 (1996) |
Labor Force By Occupation: agriculture: 24%
industry: 14%
services: 62% (1999 est.) |
| Unemployment Rate: 12.5% (2000) |
Household Income Or Consumption By Percentage Share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation Rate Consumer Prices: 3% (2005 est.) |
| Industries: food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction |
| Industrial Production Growth Rate: 0.7% (1997 est.) |
| Energy |
| Electricity Production: 171.3 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Production By Source Fossil Fuel: 100% |
| Electricity Production By Source Hydro: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Other: 0% (2001) |
| Electricity Consumption: 159.3 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Exports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Imports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Oil Production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Oil Consumption: 1,800 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Exports: $40 million (2004 est.) |
| Exports Commodities: bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace |
| Exports Partners: Saint Lucia 12.3%, US 11.4%, Antigua and Barbuda 8.3%, Germany 8%, Netherlands 7.9%, Saint Kitts & Nevis 7.5%, Dominica 7.5%, UK 6.8%, France 4.2% (2005) |
| Imports: $276 million (2004 est.) |
| Imports Commodities: food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel |
| Imports Partners: Trinidad and Tobago 27.6%, US 26.8%, UK 5.9% (2005) |
| Debt External: $347 million (2004) |
| Economic Aid Recipient: $15.4 million (2004) |
| Communications |
| Telephones Main Lines In Use: 32,700 (2004) |
| TelephonesMobileCellular: 43,300 (2004) |
| Telephone System General Assessment: automatic, islandwide telephone system |
| Telephone System Domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links |
| Telephone System 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) |
| Radios: 57,000 (1997) |
| Television Broadcast Stations: 2 (1997) |
| Televisions: 33,000 (1997) |
| Internet Service Providers-ISPs: 14 (2000) |
| Internet Users: 19,000 (2005) |
| Transportation |
| Airports: 3 (2006) |
| Military Expenditures Percent Of GDP: NA |
| Disputes International: none |
| IllicitDrugs: small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US |