Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Resistance from native Caribs prevented colonization on Saint Vincent until 1719. France and England disputed the island for most of the 18th century, but it was ceded to England in 1783. The British prized Saint Vincent because of its fertile soil, which allowed for thriving slave-run plantations of sugar, coffee, indigo, tobacco, cotton, and cocoa. In 1834, the British abolished slavery. Immigration of indentured servants eased the ensuing labor shortage, as did subsequent immigrant waves from Portugal and East India. Conditions remained harsh for both former slaves and immigrant agricultural workers, however, as depressed world sugar prices kept the economy stagnant until the early 1900s. The economy then went into a period of decline, with many landowners abandoning their estates and leaving the land to be cultivated by liberated slaves. <br><br>Between 1960 and 1962, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was a separate administrative unit of the Federation of the West Indies. Autonomy was granted in 1969 and independence in 1979. In 2021, the eruption of the La Soufrière volcano in the north of Saint Vincent destroyed much of Saint Vincent’s most productive agricultural lands. Unlike most of its tourism-dependent neighbors, the Vincentian economy is primarily agricultural. 

Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago

13 15 N, 61 12 W

Central America and the Caribbean

twice the size of Washington, D.C.

84 km

tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)

volcanic, mountainous

hydropower, arable land

10 sq km (2012)

most of the population is concentrated in and around the capital of Kingstown

hurricanes; La Soufrière volcano on the island of Saint Vincent is a constant threat<br><br><strong>volcanism:</strong> La Soufrière (1,234 m) last erupted in 1979; the island of Saint Vincent is part of the volcanic-island arc of the Lesser Antilles that extends from Saba in the north to Grenada in the south

the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is composed of 32 islands and cays

African descent 71.2%, mixed 23%, Indigenous 3%, East Indian/Indian 1.1%, European 1.5%, other 0.2% (2012 est.)

English, Vincentian Creole English, French patois

Protestant 75% (Pentecostal 27.6%, Anglican 13.9%, Seventh Day Adventist 11.6%,&nbsp; Baptist 8.9%, Methodist 8.7%, Evangelical 3.8%, Salvation Army 0.3%, Presbyterian/Congregational 0.3%), Roman Catholic 6.3%,&nbsp; Rastafarian 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 0.8%, other 4.7%, none 7.5%, unspecified 4.7% (2012 est.)

-0.15% (2025 est.)

11.72 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

7.75 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-5.43 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

most of the population is concentrated in and around the capital of Kingstown

27,000 KINGSTOWN (capital) (2018)

56 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

1.73 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.85 (2025 est.)

0.66 physicians/1,000 population (2012)

4.2 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)

23.7% (2016)

pollution of coastal waters and shorelines from boats; poor land-use planning; deforestation; watershed management; squatter settlement control

tropical; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)

9.5 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

100 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

6 parishes; Charlotte, Grenadines, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint Patrick

English common law

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

New Democratic Party or NDP<br>SVG Green Party or SVGP<br>Unity Labor Party or ULP (formed in 1994 by the coalition of Saint Vincent Labor Party or SVLP and the Movement for National Unity or MNU)

ACP, ACS, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CDB, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, Petrocaribe, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WTO

27 October 1979 (from the UK)

Independence Day, 27 October (1979)

<strong>description:</strong> three vertical bands of blue (left side), gold (double-width), and green; the gold band has three green diamonds arranged in a "V" pattern that stands for "Vincent" <br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> the diamonds represent the islands as "the Gems of the Antilles" and are set slightly lowered in the gold band to reflect the country's position in the Antilles; blue stands for the tropical sky and sea, yellow for the sand, and green for vegetation

Saint Vincent parrot

blue, gold, green

upper middle-income Caribbean island economy; key agriculture and tourism sectors; environmentally fragile; diversifying economy across services, science and knowledge, and creative industries; CARICOM member and US Caribbean Basin Initiative beneficiary

$1.157 billion (2024 est.)

bananas, root vegetables, plantains, spices, coconuts, fruits, apples, vegetables, mangoes/guavas, sweet potatoes (2023)

tourism; food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch

7.3% (2024 est.)

52,100 (2024 est.)

23.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Croatia 16%, Barbados 14%, USA 10%, St. Lucia 10%, St. Kitts &amp; Nevis 8% (2023)

ships, wheat flours, animal food, shellfish, construction vehicles (2023)

USA 37%, Italy 7%, Trinidad &amp; Tobago 7%, China 6%, UK 6% (2023)

ships, refined petroleum, wheat, coal, poultry (2023)

St. Vincent and the Grenadines Broadcasting Corporation operates 1 TV station and 5 repeater stations that provide near total coverage to the multi-island state; multi-channel cable TV service available; a partially government-funded national radio service broadcasts on 1 station and has 2 repeater stations; about a dozen privately owned radio stations and repeater stations

.vc

J8

5 (2025)

no regular military forces; Ministry of National Security: Royal Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVPF) (2025)

the country has been a member of the Caribbean Regional Security System (RSS) since its creation in 1982; RSS signatories (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia) agreed to prepare contingency plans and assist one another, on request, in national emergencies, prevention of smuggling, search and rescue, immigration control, fishery protection, customs and excise control, maritime policing duties, protection of off-shore installations, pollution control, national and other disasters, and threats to national security (2025)