Saint Vincent and the Grenadines facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Pax et Justitia" (Latin) "Peace and Justice"
Anthem: "Saint Vincent, Land so Beautiful"
Capital and largest city	Kingstown 13°10′N 61°14′W / 13.167°N 61.233°W / 13.167; -61.233
Official languages	English
Vernacular language	Vincentian Creole
Ethnic groups	66% Black (African) 19% Mixed 6% Indian 4% European 2% Kalinago 3% Others
Religion (2010)	82.1% Christianity 7.5% No religion 1.1% Rastafari 4.6% Others 4.7% Unspecified
Demonym(s)	Saint Vincentian or Vincentian Vincy (colloquial)
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Charles III
• Governor-General	Susan Dougan
• Prime Minister	Ralph Gonsalves
Legislature	House of Assembly
Independence
• Associated State	27 October 1969
• from the United Kingdom	27 October 1979
Area
• Total	389 km2 (150 sq mi) (184th)
• Water (%)	negligible
Population
• 2018 estimate	110,211 (179th)
• 2021 census	100,455
• Density	307/km2 (795.1/sq mi) (39th)
GDP (PPP)	2019 estimate
• Total	$1.373 billion
• Per capita	$12,431
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$864 million
• Per capita	$7,827
HDI (2019)	0.738 high · 97th
Currency	East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Time zone	UTC-4 (AST)
Driving side	left
Calling code	+1 784
ISO 3166 code	VC
Internet TLD	.vc

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country in the Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean.

Its 369 km² (142 sq mi) territory consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and, south of that, two-thirds of the northern part of the Grenadines, a chain of 32 smaller islands. Some of the Grenadines are inhabited—Bequia, Mustique, Union Island, Canouan, Petit Saint Vincent, Palm Island, Mayreau, Young Island—while others are not: Tobago Cays, Baliceaux, Battowia, Quatre, Petite Mustique, Savan and Petit Nevis. Most of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines lies within the Hurricane Alley.

To the north of Saint Vincent lies Saint Lucia, to the east is Barbados, and Grenada lies to the south. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has a population density of over 300 inhabitants/km² (700 per sq. mi.), with approximately 110,211 total inhabitants.

Kingstown is the capital and main port. Saint Vincent has a British colonial history, and is now part of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, CARICOM, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas and the Community of Latin American and the Caribbean States (CELAC).

In April 2021, the La Soufrière volcano erupted several times with "explosive events" continuing. By 12 April, 16,000 residents had evacuated the areas of their homes. Assistance and emergency financial support was being provided by several nearby islands, the United Kingdom and agencies such as the United Nations. The first significant offer of long-term funding, of US$20 million, was announced on 13 April 2021 by the World Bank.

Government and politics

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, with Charles III as King of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. He does not reside in the islands and is represented as head of state in the country by the Governor-General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, currently Susan Dougan (since 1 August 2019).

The office of Governor-General has mostly ceremonial functions including the opening of the islands' House of Assembly and the appointment of various government officials. Control of the government rests with the elected Prime Minister and their cabinet. The current Prime Minister is Ralph Gonsalves, elected in 2001 as head of the Unity Labour Party.

The legislative branch of government is the unicameral House of Assembly of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, seating 15 elected members representing single-member constituencies and six appointed members known as Senators. The parliamentary term of office is five years, although the Prime Minister may call elections at any time.

The judicial branch of government is divided into district courts, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court and the Privy Council of the United Kingdom in London being the court of last resort.

History

The island now known as Saint Vincent was originally named Youloumain by the native Caribs. The Caribs inhabited Saint Vincent before the Europeans arrived, and it is possible still to find Carib artifacts in the island.

Christopher Columbus explored in 1498 the main island on Saint Vincent's Day. The Caribs did not allowed Europeans to settle in Saint Vincent until 1719 when some French people came from Martinique and began to grow coffee, tobacco, indigo, cotton and sugar cane with the help of African slaves.

In 1763 by the Treaty of Paris, France gave control of Saint Vincent to Britain; France took the island again in 1779, but the British then regained Saint Vincent under the Treaty of Versailles (1783).

In 1834 slavery was abolished and people from the Portuguese island of Madeira and from India came to work as agricultural workers.

In 1871 the group of islands became part of the Windward Islands Colony and in 1956 a member of the Federation of the Windward Islands. In 1958 Saint Vincent joined the Federation of the West Indies and in 1969 it got full internal self-government. Finally in 1979 it became an Independent Sovereign State within the Commonwealt.

Population

Demographics

The estimated population in 2003 was 103,220. The population density is 265 persons per square kilometre.

The ethnic composition was 66% Black, 19% Mixed, 6.0% East Indian, 4.0% European (mainly Portuguese), 2.0% Carib Amerindian, 3.0% others.

Language

The official language of the islands is English but most people use the Vicentian Creole English.

Religion

The people of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was 75% Protestant (47% Anglicans, 28% Methodists), 13% Catholics, 12% other (Hindu, Seventh-Day Adventists, other Protestant).

Geography

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a group of islands of the Caribbean Sea. It lies to the west of Barbados, south of Saint Lucia and north of Grenada in the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.

There are 32 islands and cays, including the main island of Saint Vincent (344 square kilometres (133 sq mi)) and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines (45 square kilometres (17 sq mi)), which are a chain of small islands stretching south from Saint Vincent to Grenada. The largest and most populated Grenadines islands are Bequia, Mustique, Canouan and Union Island.

The main island of Saint Vincent, at 13°15′N 61°12′W / 13.250°N 61.200°W / 13.250; -61.200 (Saint Vincent), is 18 kilometres (11 mi) long and 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) wide, and has an area of 344 square kilometres (133 sq mi), or about 88% of the total country area, 19 times that of the country's second largest island Bequia. It is dominated by the highest mountain in the country and an active volcano, La Soufrière (1,234 metres (4,049 ft)), which erupted violently in 1812 and 1902. The most recent eruption was on April 13, 1979. The island has many mountains and forests. The island is tropical humid, with an average of between 18 and 31 °C depending on the altitude.

The Saint Vincent Passage is between the Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent islands, and the Bequia Channel is between the Grenadines and Saint Vincent islands.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

The Grenadines islands lie between the islands of Saint Vincent in the north and Grenada in the south. Neither Saint Vincent nor Grenada are Grenadine islands. The islands north of the Martinique Channel belong to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the islands south of the channel belong to Grenada.

Islands

These islands make up the Grenadines Parish

• Bequia, at 13°00′N 61°14′W / 13.000°N 61.233°W / 13.000; -61.233 (Bequia), is the largest of the Grenadines. The capital of the Grenadines parish, Port Elizabeth , is here.
• Petit Nevis
• Isle à Quatre
• Bettowia
• Baliceaux
• Mustique
• Petit Mustique
• Savan
• Petit Canouan
• Canouan
• Mayreau
• Tobago Cays
• Union Island
• Petit Saint Vincent
• Palm Island

Administrative divisions

Administratively, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is divided into six parishes. Five parishes are on Saint Vincent, while the sixth is made up of the Grenadine islands. Kingstown is located in the Parish of Saint George and is the capital city and central administrative centre of the country.

• 5 parishes on Saint Vincent:
  • Charlotte - 149 km² (capital: Georgetown)
  • Saint George - 52 km² (capital: Kingstown)
  • Saint Andrew - 29 km² (capital: Layou)
  • Saint Patrick - 37 km² (capital: Barrouallie)
  • Saint David - 80 km² (capital: Chateaubelair)
• 1 parish made up of the Grenadine islands:
  • Grenadines - 43 km² (capital: Port Elizabeth on the Bequia island)

Climate

Tropical rainforest climate is a type of tropical climate in which there is no dry season - all months have mean precipitation values of at least 60 millimetres (2.4 in). Tropical rainforest climates have no pronounced summer or winter; it is typically hot and wet throughout the year and rainfall is both heavy and frequent.

The Köppen climate classification subtype for this climate is Af (Tropical Rainforest Climate).

The average yearly temperature is 27 °C (81 °F). The coolest months are between November and February. During the rainy season, May through October, rain is frequent in the mountains of St. Vincent with the annual average rainfall being 380 centimetres (150 in) away from the coast and 200 centimetres (79 in) on the coast.

Related pages

• List of rivers of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• List of Vincentian people
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines at the Olympics
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines national football team

Images for kids

• 

  Depiction of the 1773 treaty negotiations between the British and the Black Caribs

• 

  Residents of Saint Vincent making casabe (casava bread) in the 1910s

• 

  James Fitz-Allen Mitchell, the Vincentian prime minister from 1984 to 2000

• 

  Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines since 2001

• 

  A proportional representation of St Vincent and the Grenadines' exports

• 

  Assumption Cathedral, Kingstown

• 

  The island of Mustique in the Grenadines

See also

In Spanish: San Vicente y las Granadinas para niños