Saint Vincent & the Grenadines

Success of the economy hinges upon seasonal variations in agriculture, tourism, and construction activity as well as remittance inflows. Much of the workforce is employed in banana production and tourism, but persistent high unemployment has prompted many to leave the islands. This lower-middle-income country is vulnerable to natural disasters - tropical storms wiped out substantial portions of crops in 1994, 1995, and 2002. In 2008, the islands had more than 200,000 tourist arrivals, mostly to the Grenadines, a drop of nearly 20% from 2007. Saint Vincent is home to a small offshore banking sector and has moved to adopt international regulatory standards. The government’s ability to invest in social programs and respond to external shocks is constrained by its high public debt burden, which was over 90% of GDP at the end of 2010. Following the global downturn, St. Vincent and the Grenadines saw an economic decline in 2009, after slowing since 2006, when GDP growth reached a 10-year high of nearly 7%. The GONSALVES administration is directing government resources to infrastructure projects, including a new international airport that is expected to be completed in 2011.

$1.107 billion (2010 est.)

$1.102 billion (2009 est.)

$1.112 billion (2008 est.)

$583 million (2010 est.)

0.5% (2010 est.)

-1% (2009 est.)

-0.6% (2008 est.)

$10,600 (2010 est.)

$10,500 (2009 est.)

$10,600 (2008 est.)

57,520 (2007 est.)

15% (2001 est.)

NA%

0.8% (2009 est.)

5.3% (2008 est.)

6.5% (31 December 2009)

6.5% (31 December 2008)

9.19% (31 December 2009 est.)

9.52% (31 December 2008 est.)

$133 million (31 December 2009)

$138.7 million (31 December 2008)

$444.4 million (31 December 2009)

$453.5 million (31 December 2008)

$417.4 million (31 December 2008 est.)

$387.8 million (31 December 2007 est.)

bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; fish

food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch

133.8 million kWh (2007 est.)

124.4 million kWh (2007 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

0 kWh (2008 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

2,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2007 est.)

1,451 bbl/day (2007 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (2008 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2010 est.)

-$149 million (2007 est.)

$193 million (2006)

bananas, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch; tennis racquets

Greece 40.04%, Poland 11.78%, France 9.05%, China 8.53%, India 4.71% (2009)

$578 million (2006)

foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels

Singapore 16.16%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.71%, US 13.41%, China 10.9%, Italy 8.89%, Turkey 6.6%, France 5.64%, Romania 4.44% (2009)

$479 million (2010 est.)

$223 million (2004)

East Caribbean dollars (XCD) per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003)