1987 Edition

Climate

tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds

Coastline

121 km

Comparative area

about twice the size of Washington, D.C.

Environment

lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November

Extended economic zone

200 nm

Land use

15% arable land; 26% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures; 9% forest and woodland; 47% other

Special notes

islands of the Grenadines group are divided politically with St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Terrain

volcanic in origin with central mountains

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

ase ZB 2 “s Carriacou s of Caribbean Ka 3 Sea & Oe g Caribbean Sea

340 km?; land area: 340 km?

Ethnic divisions

mainly of black African descent

Infant mortality rate

16.7/1,000 (1985)

Labor force

36,000; 31% services, 24% agriculture, 8% construction, 5% manufacturing, 31% other; 35-40% unemployment (1985)

Language

English (official); some French patois

Life expectancy

69

Literacy

85%

Nationality

noun—Grenadian(s); adjective—Grenadian

Organized labor

80% of labor force

Population

84,748 (July 1987), average annual growth rate —0.49%

Religion

largely Roman Catholic; Anglican; other Protestant sects

Administrative divisicns

6 parishes

Branches

bicameral legislature (15-member elected House of Representatives and 18-member appointed Senate); executive is Cabinet led by the Prime Minister; judiciary consists of Grenada Supreme Court, composed of the High Court of Justice and two-tier Court of Appeals

Capital

St. George’s

Communists

the New Jewel Movement (which is currently trying to revitalize) and the less hardline Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement

Elections

last general election held 3 December 1984 Political parties and leaders: New National Party (NNP) is ruling party and was formed in 1984 as a three-party centrist coalition—Grenada National Party (GNP), National Democratic Party (NDP), and Grenada Democratic Movement (GDM); currently the NDP, led by George Brizan, and the GDM, led by Francis Alexis, are not represented in the NNP; former Prime Minister Sir Eric Gairy revived his Grenada United Labor Party (GULP) in 1984; Grenada Democratic Labor Party (GDLP) was formed by Marcel Peters, who was elected as a GULP candidate but changed parties after assuming his seat in the House of Representatives; Democratic Labor Congress (DLC) was formed in 1986 by disaffected NNP member Kenny Lalsingh and Winston Whyte of Christian Democratic Labor Party (CDLP); the Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement (MBPM) was formed in May 1984 and is composed of pro-Cuban Socialists; the New Jewel Movement (NJM) consists of supporters of Bernard Coard and other hardliners accused of killing Bishop in 1983; GDLP and DLC form the official opposition; Marcel Peters was recently replaced as leader of the parliamentary opposition by Phinsley St. Louis, leader of the newly formed Organization for National Equality (ONE)

Government leaders

Sir Paul SCOON, Governor General (since 1978); Herbert BLAIZE, Prime Minister (since December 1984)

Legal system

based on English common law

Member of

CARICOM, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, ITU, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO

National holiday

Independence Day, 7 February

Official name

Grenada

Suffrage

universal adult

Type

independent state; recognizes Elizabeth II as Chief of State

Voting strength

(1984 election) NNP 59%, GULP 36%, MBPM 5%; parliamentary seats—NNP, 14; GDLP, 1

Agriculture

cocoa, nutmeg, mace, and bananas

Budget

revenues, $32 million; expenditures, $61 million (1984)

Electric power

11,380 kW capacity; 24 million kWh produced, 280 kWh per capita (1986)

Exports

$22.1 million (f.0.b., 1985); cocoa beans, nutmeg, bananas, mace

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

$86.8 million (1984 est.), $1,000 per capita; real growth rate 3.0% (1986 est.); average inflation rate 6.0% (1985 est.)

Imports

$62.6 million (f.0.b., 1985); food, machinery and transport equipment, oil, building materials

Major trade partners

exports—35% UK, 9% FRG, 6% Netherlands, 6% US, (1984 est.); imports—20% UK, 17% US, 17% Trinidad and Tobago (1983)

Monetary conversion rate

2.70 East Caribbean dollars=US$1 (November 1986)

Airfields

3 total, 3 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways, } with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

Highways

1,000 km total; 600 km paved, 800 km otherwise improved; 100 km unimproved

Ports

1 major (St. George’s), 1 minor

Railroads

none

Telecommunications

automatic, islandwide telephone system with 5,650 telephones (5.1 per 100 popl.); new SHF links to Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent; VHF and UHF links to Trinidad and Carriacou; 1 AM and 1 TV stations

Branches

Royal Grenada Police Force