An Introduction to Grenada
The territory of Grenada includes the island of the same name plus six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. It was first sighted by Europeans in 1498 by Christopher Columbus but was not settled by the Spanish, leaving the indigenous Island Caribs (Kalinago) in peace until 1649 when it became a French colony. The British captured Grenada'during the Seven Years' War in 1762 and held it until 1974 when independence was granted. Two coups then moved the island steadily towards the left and Cuban / Soviet influence, leading to a US invasion in late 1983, followed by the restoration of the pre-revolutionary government. See full country profile.Latest Research News from Latin America
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GOVERNMENT: Constitutional Democracy within the Commonwealth
AREA: 344 sq km
POPULATION: 108,419 (July 2011 est.)
MAJOR LANGUAGE: Official Language: English. French patois also spoken
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The territory of Grenada includes the island of the same name plus six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. It was first sighted by Europeans in 1498 by Christopher Columbus but was not settled by the Spanish, leaving the indigenous Island Caribs (Kalinago) in peace until 1649 when it became a French colony. The British captured Grenada'during the Seven Years' War in 1762 and held it until 1974 when independence was granted. Two coups then moved the island steadily towards the left and Cuban / Soviet influence, leading to a US invasion in late 1983, followed by the restoration of the pre-revolutionary government.
Grenada has a fertile, mountainous interior. Nutmeg trees were introduced to Grenada in 1843, and by the 1990s the country supplied nearly forty percent of the world's annual crop. Hurricane Ivan in September 2004 devastated the crop and destroyed or damaged 90 percent of homes, but both have been substantially restored.
GDP: $1.40bn (2011 est.) - $13,135 per capita
Religions Religion: Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 14%, other protestant 33%, Rastafari/Spiritist 1.3%, others <1%. [Percentages... due to rounding etc..]
Currency: East Caribbean dollar. 2.7 XCD = $US 1
Telephone Code: +1 473
Grenada has a small, open economy which over the past two decades has shifted from domination by agriculture to being more service-oriented. Tourism is the leading foreign exchange earner and main economic force, with ecotourism growing. The country shares a common central bank and a common currency (the East Caribbean dollar) with seven other members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
In addition to nutmeg, of which it now supplies 20% of the world's needs (2nd after Indonesia), Grenada is a leading producer of spices including cinnamon, cloves, ginger, mace, allspice and orange/citrus peels.
1998 exports were $26.8m. In 1991 exports went chiefly to Caribbean partners in trade association Caricom (32.3%), the UK (20%), US (13%) and the Netherlands 8.8%. Imports consist largely of food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals and fuel. 1998 imports were $200m and key suppliers are the US, Caricom, the UK and Japan.
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