Grenada
Name
| Official name | Grenada — no longer form; a Commonwealth realm |
|---|---|
| Former names | Concepción, Columbus's name of 1498; La Grenade under France (1650–1763); the Colony of Grenada (1763–1967); the Associated State of Grenada (1967–1974) |
| Demonym | Grenadian — pronounced gre-NAY-dian |
| Meaning of the name | From Granada in Spain, itself from the pomegranate — granada — the fruit of the city's arms; the French Grenade |
| Motto | "Ever Conscious of God We Aspire, Build and Advance as One People" |
| Nickname | The Spice Isle — the Isle of Spice |
Quick facts
| Capital | St. George's — founded 1650 as Fort Royal; about 5,000 in the town, 40,000 in the parish |
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| Other towns | Gouyave; Grenville; Sauteurs; Victoria; Hillsborough on Carriacou; Grand Anse and the south coast |
| Official language | English; Grenadian Creole English spoken by all; the French patois of the old people nearly gone |
| Currency | East Caribbean dollar — ISO code XCD, EC$; fixed at 2.70 to the U.S. dollar |
| Time zone | Atlantic Standard Time, UTC−4, all year |
| Calling code | +1 473 — the digits spell "GRE" |
| Internet domain | .gd |
| ISO 3166 codes | GD · GRD · 308 |
| Vehicle registration code | WG |
| Driving side | Left |
| Electricity | 230 V, 50 Hz; plug type G |
| Independence | 7 February 1974, from the United Kingdom — Eric Gairy the first prime minister |
| National days | 7 February, Independence Day; 25 October, Thanksgiving Day, for the intervention of 1983; 1 August, Emancipation Day; the Carnival, Spicemas, in August; Carriacou Carnival and the Regatta; the Fisherman's Birthday at Gouyave, 29 June |
| Constitution | 7 February 1974 — the Independence Constitution, suspended by the revolution of 1979 and restored in 1984; the referendums of 2016 and 2018 to amend it failed |
| Population | 105,539 at the census of 2011; about 117,000 (UN, 2025 est.) |
| Area | 344 km² (133 sq mi) — Grenada 306 km², Carriacou 34 km², Petite Martinique 2.4 km² |
Flag & national symbols
| National flag | A red border set with six gold stars, around a field quartered by diagonals into gold and green with a seventh star on a red disc at the center — the seven parishes — and a nutmeg in the hoist triangle for the Spice Isle: the only national flag to carry a spice; designed by Anthony George and hoisted at independence, 7 February 1974.Flag of Grenada |
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| Coat of arms | A shield quartered with the lion of Britain and the Madonna lily, over Columbus's Santa María, supported by an armadillo with a corn stalk and a Grenada dove with a banana plant, under a helmet with a bougainvillea, over the mountains, Grand Etang and the motto — granted 6 December 1973 |
| National anthem | "Hail Grenada" — words by Irva Merle Baptiste, music by Louis Arnold Masanto; adopted 1974; "God Save the King" the royal anthem |
| National motto | "Ever Conscious of God We Aspire, Build and Advance as One People" |
| National colors | Red, gold and green |
| National bird | The Grenada dove — Leptotila wellsi — found nowhere else, about 150 left in the dry forests of the southwest, among the rarest birds on earth; declared 1991 |
| National flower | The bougainvillea — on the arms; widely cited |
| National spice | The nutmeg — and its mace — on the flag; the island the second producer in the world before Ivan |
| National dish | Oil down — breadfruit, salted meat, callaloo and dumplings stewed in coconut milk, the one-pot of the island; declared the national dish |
| Symbol status | The flag, arms and anthem are fixed by law; the dove by declaration; the flower, spice and dish by the nation |
Geography
| Location | The southernmost of the Windward Islands — 150 km north of Venezuela and Trinidad, with St. Vincent and its Grenadines to the north; the Caribbean to the west, the Atlantic to the east |
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| Land borders | None |
| Coastline | 121 km (75 mi) |
| Islands | Grenada; Carriacou, 34 km², the largest of the Grenadines, with about 8,000 people; Petite Martinique, with about 900; the islets of Ronde, Caille and the rest |
| Highest point | Mount St. Catherine, 840 m (2,756 ft), in the north |
| Lowest point | The Caribbean Sea, 0 m |
| Mean elevation | About 270 m |
| Kick 'em Jenny | The submarine volcano 8 km north of the island — the most active in the Caribbean, erupting a dozen times since its discovery in 1939, the last in 2015, its summit about 180 m below the sea; a 1.5 km exclusion zone |
| Rivers and lakes | Grand Etang, the crater lake at 530 m; Lake Antoine, another crater; the Great River, the St. John's and the short streams of the mountains; the falls of Annandale, Concord and Seven Sisters |
| Terrain | Volcanic — the mountains of the interior under rainforest, the crater of St. George's harbor, the dry southwest of the dove, the beaches of Grand Anse and the Grenadines |
| Climate | Tropical — the dry season from January to May, the wet from June to December; the hurricane season, though the island lies at the southern edge of the belt |
| Natural hazards | Hurricanes — Janet 1955, Ivan on 7 September 2004, which damaged 89% of the homes and killed 39, Emily 2005, and Beryl on 1 July 2024, a Category 4 that flattened Carriacou and Petite Martinique, 98% of their buildings damaged; the volcano; landslides |
| Natural resources | Timber; the spice and cocoa lands; fish; the beaches; no minerals |
| Land use | Agricultural land about 32%; forest about 50% |
| National parks | Grand Etang National Park in the mountains; Levera on the north coast, the turtle beach; Mount Hartman, the dove's reserve; the Molinière–Beauséjour marine park with the Underwater Sculpture Park; the Sandy Island reserve of Carriacou |
| UNESCO World Heritage | None inscribed — St. George's fortifications and the Grenadines on the tentative list |
| Administrative divisions | 6 parishes — St. George, St. John, St. Mark, St. Patrick, St. Andrew and St. David — and the dependency of Carriacou and Petite Martinique with its own minister |
People
| Population | 105,539 (census of 2011); about 117,000 (2025 est.) |
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| Population density | About 340 per km² (880 per sq mi) |
| Population growth | About 0.3% a year — emigration takes the rest |
| Median age | About 34 years |
| Life expectancy | About 76 years |
| Fertility rate | About 2 births per woman |
| Urban population | About 37% |
| Adult literacy | About 99% |
| Ethnic groups | Afro-Caribbean about 82%; mixed about 13%; East Indian about 2%; others (census of 2011 and estimates) |
| Languages | English and Grenadian Creole; the French Creole patois of the villages dying out |
| Religion | Christian about 97% — Protestant about 49%, Roman Catholic about 39%, the legacy of the French; Rastafarian, Hindu, a few |
| Human Development Index | 0.791 (2023 data, 2025 report) — high; about 83rd of 193 |
| The university | St. George's University, founded 1976 by Americans on the True Blue peninsula — some 7,000 students, most from the United States, the largest employer and a fifth of the economy; the students the pretext of the invasion of 1983 |
| Sport | Cricket — Grenada within the West Indies; athletics — Kirani James's gold in the 400 meters at London 2012, the country's first Olympic medal, with silver in 2016 and bronze in 2021, and the country among the smallest ever to win a gold; Anderson Peters, twice world champion in the javelin; Lindon Victor |
| Diaspora | More Grenadians abroad than at home — in Britain, the United States, Canada, Trinidad and Venezuela |
Government
| Form of government | Parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the Constitution of 1974 — the King head of state, represented by the Governor-General; the prime minister head of government |
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| Monarch | King Charles III, since 8 September 2022 — King of Grenada |
| Governor-General | Dame Cécile La Grenade, since 7 May 2013 — the first woman in the office; a food scientist |
| Prime Minister | Dickon Mitchell (National Democratic Congress), since 24 June 2022 — the seventh; a lawyer, born 8 October 1977 in St. David; leader of the NDC since October 2021; chairman of CARICOM July–December 2024 |
| The 2022 election | Held 23 June 2022: the National Democratic Congress 51.8% and 9 of 15 seats, the New National Party 47.8% and 6 — the NNP, which had held all fifteen seats since 2013, out after twenty-two years of Keith Mitchell in two spells; turnout 70%; the House at 10 NDC, 4 NNP and 1 Democratic People's Movement by 2026 |
| Parliament | The House of Representatives — 15 members elected for five years, with the speaker; the Senate — 13 appointed, ten by the prime minister and three by the opposition leader |
| The next election | Due on or before 31 August 2027 |
| Opposition | The New National Party under Emmalin Pierre, leader of the opposition since 21 February 2025, after Keith Mitchell, 1989–2024, the longest-serving prime minister in the country's history with more than 22 years |
| The revolution and the invasion | The New Jewel Movement's coup of 13 March 1979 against Eric Gairy — Maurice Bishop's People's Revolutionary Government, the only Marxist state in the English-speaking Caribbean, allied to Cuba; the split of October 1983, Bishop's arrest and, on 19 October, his execution with seven others at Fort George by the Coard faction; the U.S. invasion of 25 October 1983 — Operation Urgent Fury, some 7,000 troops with Caribbean police, 19 Americans, 45 Grenadians and 24 Cubans dead — condemned by the UN General Assembly 108 to 9 and marked at home as Thanksgiving Day; elections restored in 1984 |
| Legal system | Common law from England; the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court; the Caribbean Court of Justice the final appeal since 2023, after the referendum of 2018 rejected it |
| Citizenship by investment | The program of 2013 — a passport for US$235,000 or a hotel investment — among the country's largest revenues; the only Caribbean program with visa-free entry to China; under the scrutiny of the U.S. and the EU with the other four |
| Parishes | 6 and the dependency, without elected local government; the Carriacou and Petite Martinique Affairs ministry |
| United Nations | Member since 17 September 1974 |
| Memberships | CARICOM (1974), the OECS (1981) and its currency union, the Commonwealth, the OAS, the Association of Caribbean States, CELAC, the WTO, the Non-Aligned Movement |
Economy
| GDP (nominal) | About US$1.4 billion (2025, IMF) |
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| GDP per capita | About US$12,200 (2025) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | About US$20,000 (2025) |
| GDP growth | About 3–4% a year (2024–26) — 3.1% forecast for 2026 by the IMF; the rebuilding of Carriacou after Beryl |
| Economy by sector | Services about 80% — tourism, the university, government; industry about 15%; agriculture about 5% |
| Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
| Spices | Nutmeg — the second producer in the world before Ivan felled most of the trees in 2004, about a third of the old output since; mace, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, turmeric; the Grenada Co-operative Nutmeg Association since 1947 |
| Cocoa | Fine-flavor cocoa from the estates — the Grenada Chocolate Company of 1999, the first tree-to-bar maker in the islands; Belmont and the estates of the north |
| Tourism | About 500,000 visitors a year with the cruise ships — Britons, Americans, Canadians and the Caribbean; Grand Anse, the sculpture park, the spice tours, the Carriacou regatta; the Silversands and the new hotels |
| The university | St. George's University — the fees, the rents and the spending of its 7,000 students about a fifth of the economy |
| Citizenship revenue | The investment passports — some 15% of government revenue in the good years |
| Public debt | About 70% of GDP, down from above 100% after the restructuring of 2015; the hurricane clause in its bonds, the first in the world, triggered by Beryl |
| Income classification | Upper-middle income (World Bank) |
Transport & infrastructure
| Main airport | Maurice Bishop International Airport at Point Salines — built with Cuban help in 1979–83, the "runway for Soviet bombers" of the invasion's argument, opened 1984 and renamed for Bishop in 2009; Lauriston on Carriacou |
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| Airlines | No national carrier; American, JetBlue, British Airways, Virgin, Air Canada, Caribbean Airlines and interCaribbean; SVG Air to Carriacou |
| Main port | St. George's — the deep-water port and the cruise terminal at the Carenage; Hillsborough on Carriacou |
| Railways | None |
| Roads | About 1,200 km (750 mi), most paved; the road around the island; the Maurice Bishop Highway to the airport |
| Ferries | The Osprey to Carriacou and Petite Martinique from St. George's |
History in dates
| c. 100 | The Arawaks; the Caribs from the 13th century |
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| 1498 | Columbus sights the island, 15 August, and names it Concepción |
| 1650 | The French buy the island for hatchets and beads; Fort Royal founded |
| 1651 | The last Caribs leap from Leapers' Hill at Sauteurs rather than surrender |
| 1763 | Ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Paris |
| 1795–1796 | Fédon's rebellion |
| 1834 | Emancipation |
| 1843 | The first nutmeg trees, from Banda by way of a passing ship |
| 1951 | Eric Gairy's strike and the vote for all |
| 1967 | An associated state, 3 March |
| 1974 | Independence, 7 February |
| 1979 | The revolution, 13 March — Maurice Bishop |
| 1983 | Bishop executed, 19 October; the U.S. invasion, 25 October |
| 1984 | Elections restored; Herbert Blaize |
| 1995 | Keith Mitchell prime minister, the first of 22 years |
| 2004 | Hurricane Ivan, 7 September |
| 2006 | The Underwater Sculpture Park — the first in the world |
| 2012 | Kirani James's gold at London, 6 August |
| 2022 | Dickon Mitchell prime minister, 24 June |
| 2024 | Hurricane Beryl, 1 July; the CARICOM chair |
| 2027 | The election due by 31 August |
Records & firsts
| The Spice Isle | The only flag with a spice, and the second nutmeg producer once |
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| The first underwater sculpture park | Molinière Bay, 2006 |
| The most active volcano in the Caribbean | Kick 'em Jenny, under the sea |
| Among the smallest countries to win Olympic gold | Kirani James, 2012 |
| The first hurricane clause in a sovereign bond | Triggered by Beryl, 2024 |
| The invasion of 1983 | The last of the Cold War in the Americas |
| A bird found nowhere else | The Grenada dove, about 150 left |
| Leapers' Hill | The Caribs' last stand, 1651 |
| The first tree-to-bar chocolate of the Caribbean | 1999 |
| A capital in a crater | St. George's harbor |
Frequently asked questions
What is the official name of Grenada?
Grenada — with no "republic" or "commonwealth," a realm of the Commonwealth with King Charles III as head of state — independent from Britain since 7 February 1974. Columbus sighted the island in 1498 and named it Concepción; the Spanish sailors who followed called it Granada for their city, the French made it La Grenade, and the British Grenada, pronounced gre-NAY-da, not like the Spanish city. It is not to be confused with Granada in Spain or the grenade, though the fruit, the pomegranate, gave all three their names.
What is the capital of Grenada?
St. George's, on a horseshoe harbor of a drowned volcanic crater on the southwest coast, under the forts of the French and British — founded in 1650 as Fort Royal, the capital since, with about 5,000 people in the town and 40,000 in the parish; the Carenage, its waterfront, among the prettiest harbors in the Caribbean, and Grand Anse beach beyond. Gouyave, the fishing town of the nutmeg coast, Grenville on the east coast and Hillsborough on Carriacou are the other towns.
How big is Grenada, and how many people live there?
About 344 km² (133 sq mi) — twice the size of Washington, D.C. — the island of Grenada itself, 34 km long and 19 km wide, and the two islands of the Grenadines it governs, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, 30 km to the north. The census of 2011 counted 105,539 people; the UN estimates about 117,000 for 2025, fewer than in 1960 by some counts, for the island has sent its children abroad for a century. St. George's University, the American medical school on the south coast, adds some 7,000 students.
What are the highest and lowest points of Grenada?
Mount St. Catherine, 840 m (2,756 ft), a volcano in the rainforest of the north — and the Caribbean. Grand Etang, the crater lake at 530 m in the center, is the country's heart; and 8 km north of the island, under the sea, lies Kick 'em Jenny, the most active volcano in the Caribbean, which has erupted a dozen times since 1939 and rises within 180 m of the surface.
What currency does Grenada use?
The East Caribbean dollar (ISO code XCD, EC$), fixed at 2.70 to the U.S. dollar since 1976 and shared with seven other members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, issued by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank on St. Kitts. Clocks keep Atlantic Standard Time, UTC−4, all year. Grenada drives on the left.
Who governs Grenada?
Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell of the National Democratic Congress, a lawyer in office since 24 June 2022, when his party took 9 of the 15 seats and ended the twenty-two years in power of Keith Mitchell, no relation, the longest-serving prime minister in the country's history; Dame Cécile La Grenade, the first woman in the office, has been Governor-General since 2013, representing King Charles III. The next election is due on or before 31 August 2027; Emmalin Pierre of the New National Party leads the opposition. Grenada held the chair of CARICOM in the second half of 2024.
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