St. Vincent & the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles, an island arc seperating the eastern Caribbean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. Its 389-square-kilometre (150 sq mi) territory consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines whose administration is shared with Grenada. The Grenadines is a chain of small islands stretching south from Saint Vincent to Grenada. North of St. Vincent lies St. Lucia while to the south you'll find Grenada and almost directly to the east sits Barbados. The island is volcanic and mountainous in nature with its dominant geographic feature being La Soufrière, a volcano which sits on the northern part of the island.

The island has about 84 km of coastline with many coves and beaches scattered about the coast. The climate of Saint Vincent is tropical with little seasonal temperature variation, the temperature hovers around 85 degrees each day. During the rainy season from May to November there is almost a daily rain shower varying from light to torrential.


St. Vincent and the Grenadines is situated in the Eastern Caribbean at the southern end of the Windward Islands chain. It is an archipelago of islands, St. Vincent being the largest, with the smaller Grenadines comprising Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, Mayreau, Union Island, Palm Island, Petit St. Vincent and a number of small islets. The country lies approximately sixty one degrees West (61° W) longitude and thirteen degrees North (13° N) latitude, with its nearest neighbours being Barbados one hundred (100) miles to the East; St. Lucia twenty one (21) miles to the North and Grenada twenty eight (28) miles to the south.

The country covers approximately 384km², and has a total population of 111,380 (1998) updated figure). The capital, Kingstown has a population of 25,000. The topography is quite mountainous, with average temperature of 27° C, and annual rainfall of 2100 mm. The official language is English, with approximately 85% of the population being functionally literate. The currency used is the Eastern Caribbean dollar (EC$), with an exchange rate of EC$1 = US$0.37.


The country gained independence from Britain on October 27, 1979, instituted a Parliamentary Democracy on the Westminister model, and has remained a part of the Commonwealth. Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state and is represented by the Governor General, Sir Frederick Ballantyne. The Prime Minister is Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, whose party, the Unity Labour Party, was elected to office in March 2001. The legal system is based on English common law.