St Vincent and the Grenadines

• Brief Description
• Economy
• Locations
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Brief description

St Vincent and the Grenadines is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles chain of the Caribbean Sea. Its 389-square-kilometre (150 sq mi) territory consists of the main island of St Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines. The country has a British colonial history and is now part of the Commonwealth of Nations and CARICOM.

Carib Indians aggressively prevented European settlement on St Vincent until the 18th century. Enslaved Africans - whether shipwrecked or escaped from Barbados, St. Lucia and Grenada and seeking refuge in mainland St Vincent, or Hairouna as it was originally named by the Caribs - intermarried with the Caribs and became known as Garifuna or Black Caribs. Beginning in 1719, French settlers cultivated coffee, tobacco, indigo, cotton, and sugar on plantations worked by enslaved Africans. In 1763, St. Vincent was ceded to Britain.

Economy

Agriculture, dominated by production, is the most important sector of this lower-middle-income economy. The services sector, based mostly on a growing tourist industry, is also important. The government has been relatively unsuccessful at introducing new industries, and a high unemployment rate of 22% continues. The continuing dependence on a single crop represents the biggest obstacle to the islands' development; tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in both 1994 and 1995.

The tourism sector has considerable potential for development over the next decade. The recent filming of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies on the island has also helped to increase tourism and expose the country to the wider world. Recent growth has been stimulated by strong activity in the construction sector and an improvement in tourism. There is a small manufacturing sector and a small offshore financial sector whose particularly restrictive secrecy laws have caused some international concern. In addition, the natives of Bequia are permitted to hunt up to four Humpback Whales per year under IWC subsistence quotas.

Interesting locations

St Vincent and the Grenadines lies between Saint Lucia and Grenada in the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, an island arc of the Caribbean Sea. The islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines include the main island of St Vincent (344 km²/133 sq mi) and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines (45 km²/17 sq mi), a chain of small islands stretching south from St Vincent to Grenada.

Article from Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, St Vincent and the Grenadines

Links

• BBC News Country Profile - St Vincent and the Grenadines
• US Department of State - St Vincent and the Grenadines
• CIA World Factbook - St Vincent and the Grenadines

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