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Grenada - Society

KEY FACTS 2005

  • Birth rate: 22 per 1,000
  • Population per sq km: 260
  • Life expectancy: 65 years (2004)
  • Infant mortality: 17 per 1,000
  • Adult illiteracy: 4% (1995–2005)

Population: 106,000 (2007); 41% lives in urban areas; population declined at 0.2% p.a. 1970–90 and grew by 0.4% p.a. 1990–2004; birth rate (2005) 22 per 1,000 people; life expectancy 65 years.

Most of the population is of African (82%) or mixed African/European descent (13%). The remainder is made up of small European and East Indian groups.

Religion: Mainly Christians (Roman Catholics 53%, Anglicans 14%, Seventh Day Adventists, Methodists).

Language: English is spoken by almost everyone. French Creole is also spoken.

Media: The freedom of Grenada’s media is safeguarded by statute. There are no daily newspapers, but The Grenada Guardian, The Grenada Informer, The Grenada Times, Grenada Today and The Grenadian Voice are weeklies. All are in English.

There are three TV stations, including MTV, which is privately owned, and GBN TV, which is operated by the Grenada Broadcasting Network. Five radio stations offer a range of speech and music broadcasts.

There are 155 personal computers and 186 internet users per 1,000 people (2004/2005).

Education: Public spending on education was 5.1% of GDP in 2002/03. There are 12 years of compulsory education starting at age five. The net enrolment ratio is 84% for primary and 79% for secondary (2005). The pupil–teacher ratio for primary is 18:1 and for secondary 15:1 (2005). The school year starts in September.

Tertiary education facilities include the T A Marryshow Community College, a branch of the extra-mural department of the regional University of the West Indies and St George’s University, an offshore American university specialising in medicine. The University of the West Indies has its main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Health: There are three hospitals: General Hospital (St George’s), Princess Alice Hospital (St Andrew’s) and Princess Royal Hospital (Carriacou). There are homes for handicapped children and geriatric patients. Health centres and district medical stations undertake maternity and child welfare work under the charge of a nurse/midwife. Government hospitals and clinics provide free medical and dental treatment. There is a piped-water supply to all the towns and to many of the villages and 95% of the population uses an improved drinking water source and 96% in urban areas have adequate sanitation facilities (2004/2005). Infant mortality was 17 per 1,000 live births in 2005.

Communications: Country code 1 473. Coin and card payphones are widely available and most hotels have international dialling. Mobile roaming is only possible for those with TDMA digital compatible phones; coverage is variable.

The internet is widely available and internet cafes can be found in St George’s. The main post office is in St George’s.

There are 318 main telephone lines and 421 mobile phones per 1,000 people (2004).

Public holidays: New Year’s Day, Independence Day (7 February), Labour Day (1 May), Emancipation Day (first Monday in August), Carnival (second Monday and Tuesday in August), Thanksgiving Day (25 October), Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Religious festivals whose dates vary from year to year include Good Friday, Easter Monday, Whit Monday and Corpus Christi.

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