Part of the Windward Islands group, and bounded by clear blue seas and submerged coral reefs, St. Vincent and the Grenadines is the Caribbean playground of the international celebrity circuit. Tourism and bananas are the economic mainstays, and St. Vincent is also the world's largest arrowroot producer. St. Vincent is mostly volcanic; the one remaining active volcano, La Soufrière, last erupted in 1979. The Grenadines are flat, mainly bare, coral islands.

Family life on St. Vincent is heavily influenced by the Anglican Church. Racial tensions are few, and intermarriage has meant that the original communities of descendants of African slaves, Europeans, and the few indigenous Caribs can no longer be distinguished. Many locals fear that traditional island life is being threatened by the expanding tourist industry.

Strengths

Bananas, but preferential access to EU markets will end in 2006. Great tourist potential. Currency stability. Leading producer of arrowroot starch. Improving infrastructure.

Weaknesses

Little diversification. Strong potential competition from Central and South American banana producers.

In March 2001, 17 years of rule by the NDP ended with a crushing electoral defeat. The leader of the long-term opposition ULP, Ralph Gonsalves, was appointed prime minister. A new Caribbean Court of Justice was agreed in 2001, but constitutional ties to the British monarchy remain, despite a strong republican movement.

The successful US bid to end the EU's preferential treatment of Caribbean banana imports has strained relations. St. Vincent supports a united move by Caricom members to promote a presidential system of government in place of the British monarchy.

St. Vincent has no army. Its small police force, trained by the USA and the UK, is part of the Windward and Leeward Islands' Regional Security System.

There is a hydroelectric plant on the Cumberland river. Virtually all other energy requirements have to be imported. Some of the Grenadines have no fresh water sources.

Hurricanes are the main environmental threat, sometimes destroying as much as 70% of the banana crop. The former inaccessibility of St. Vincent and the Grenadines meant that tourism was a minor environmental threat, and the untouched, idyllic landscape of islands such as Mustique was their attraction. Mustique is reasonably well protected – buildings have been restricted and further development is limited, since fresh water has to be shipped in. On Bequia, the new airport and consequent increase in visitors are seen as a mixed blessing. Schemes to develop Canouan have been opposed by locals.

Access by air is via neighboring islands. Paved roads encompass most of St. Vincent's coast. Port improvements have been completed in recent years. In 1992, an airport capable of taking executive jets was completed on Bequia.

Doctors train at the University of the West Indies. The system is a mixture of state and private hospitals and clinics; facilities are scarcer on the Grenadines.

State schools follow the former British 11-plus selective system. There are a few private schools. University students go on to the regional University of the West Indies in Jamaica, although increasing numbers are also studying in the USA and the UK.

The incidence of rape and robbery cause most concern, although on the outlying islands both are very rare. St. Vincent is used for narcotics transshipment to the USA.

Jet-set wealth in the islands coexists with the low wages paid to most local workers. Union Island and Mustique in particular attract the wealthy, who favor jeeps and motor yachts.

Tourism is targeted at celebrities and cruise ships rather than the mass market, and is concentrated on the Grenadines. Mustique, long associated with Princess Margaret, has its rock music clientele. Union Island draws the yachting rich, and luxury villas, apartments, a golf course, and a casino have been built on Canouan. Layou, on St. Vincent, is the site of pre-Columbian Amerindian petroglyphs.

In 1795, the local Carib population staged a revolt against the British, who deported them, leaving a largely black African population.

• 1951 Universal suffrage.
• 1969 Internal self-government.
• 1972 James Mitchell premier; holds balance of power between People's Political Party (PPP) and St. Vincent Labour Party (SVLP).
• 1974 PPP–SVLP coalition.
• 1979 Full independence under Milton Cato of SVLP. La Soufrière volcano erupts.
• 1984 NDP, founded by Mitchell in 1975, wins first of four terms.
• 2000 Mitchell resigns premiership.
• 2001 ULP wins landslide victory. Ralph Gonsalves prime minister.