nty of two border
villages, Bagys and Turkestan, and around the Arnasay dam; dispute over
access to Sokh and other Uzbek enclaves in Kyrgyzstan mars progress on
international boundary delimitation; Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan
and Uzbekistan wrestle with sharing limited water resources and the
regional environmental degradation caused by the shrinking Aral Sea;
the undemarcated northern and western border with Uzbekistan is mined
in many sections

Illicit drugs: limited illicit cultivation of cannabis and very small
amounts of opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption, almost entirely
eradicated by an effective government eradication program; increasingly
used as transshipment point for illicit drugs from Afghanistan to Russia
and Western Europe and for acetic anhydride destined for Afghanistan

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002

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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Introduction Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Background: Disputed between France and the United Kingdom in the 18th
century, Saint Vincent was ceded to the latter in 1783. Autonomy was
granted in 1969, and independence in 1979.

Geography Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Location: Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad
and Tobago

Geographic coordinates: 13 15 N, 61 12 W

Map references: Central America and the Caribbean

Area: total: 389 sq km (Saint Vincent 344 sq km) water: 0 sq km land:
389 sq km

Area - comparative: twice the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 84 km

Maritime claims: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: Climate: tropical;
little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)

Terrain: volcanic, mountainous

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point:
Soufriere 1,234 m

Natural resources: hydropower, cropland

Land use: arable land: 10% permanent crops: 18% other: 72% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 10 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: hurricanes; Soufriere volcano on the island of Saint
Vincent is a constant threat

Environment - current issues: pollution of coastal waters and shorelines
from discharges by pleasure yachts and other effluents; in some areas,
pollution is severe enough to make swimming prohibitive

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Desertification, Endan