appointed by the
governor general on the advice of the prime minister

Legislative branch: unicameral House of Assembly (21 seats, 15
elected representatives and 6 appointed senators; representatives
are elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies to
serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 15 June 1998 (next to be held by NA May 2003)
election results: percent of vote by party--NA; seats by party--NDP 8,
ULP 7

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint
Lucia); one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Vincent

Political parties and leaders: New Democratic Party or NDP [James
Party or SVLP and the Movement for National Unity or MNU)

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB,
ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFRCS, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, OAS,
OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Kingsley C. A. LAYNE
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016

Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an
embassy in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; the Ambassador to Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines resides in Bridgetown (Barbados)

Flag description: three vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold
(double width), and green; the gold band bears three green diamonds
arranged in a V pattern

Economy

Economy--overview: Agriculture, dominated by banana 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 high unemployment rates of 35%-40%
continue. 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. Recent growth has been stimulated by strong activity in the
construction sector and an improvement in tourism.

GDP: purchasing power parity--$289 million (1998 est.)

GDP--real growth rate: 4% (1998 est.)

GDP--per capita: purchasing power parity?$2,400 (1998 est.)

GDP--composition by sector: