Part 643

GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 24% industry: 33.1% services: 42.9% (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): -0.2% (1995)

Labor force: 67,000 (1984 est.) by occupation: agriculture, industry, services, other (1980 est.)

Unemployment rate: 35%-40% (1994 est.)

Budget: revenues: $80 million expenditures: $118 million, including capital expenditures of $39 million (1996 est.)

Industries: food processing, cement, furniture, clothing, starch

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity: capacity: 16,600 kW production: 50 million kWh consumption per capita: 436 kWh (1993)

Agriculture: bananas, coconuts, sweet potatoes, spices; small numbers of cattle, sheep, pigs, goats; small fish catch used locally

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe

Exports: $57.1 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: bananas, eddoes and dasheen (taro), arrowroot starch, tennis racquets partners: UK 54%, Caricom countries 34%, US 10%

Imports: $134.6 million (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, chemicals and fertilizers, minerals and fuels partners: US 36%, Caricom countries 21%, UK 18%, Trinidad and Tobago 13%

External debt: $74.9 million (1993)

Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency: 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Transportation --------------

Railways: 0 km

Highways: total: 1,100 km paved: 330 km unpaved: 770 km

Ports: Kingstown

Merchant marine: total: 611 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,690,104 GRT/9,367,014 DWT ships by type: bulk 106, cargo 305, chemical tanker 20, combination bulk 9, combination ore/oil 4, container 33, liquefied gas tanker 4, livestock carrier 5, oil tanker 58, passenger 1, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 35, roll-on/roll-off cargo 25, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 2 note: a flag of convenience registry; includes ships from 24 countries among which are Croatia 42, Russia 14, Slovenia 9, China 9, Germany 2, Serbia 2, Hong Kong 2, Latvia 1, Ukraine 1, and Poland 1 (1995 est.)

Airports: total: 6 with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 2 with paved runways under 914 m: 4 (1995 est.)

Communications --------------

Telephones: 6,189 (1983 est.)

Telephone system: domestic: islandwide, fully automatic telephone system; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to the other islands of the Grenadines international: VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to Barbados; new SHF radiotelephone to Grenada and to Saint Lucia; access to Intelsat earth station in Martinique through Saint Lucia

Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0

Radios: 76,000 (1992 est.)