Demographics of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

This article is about the demographics of the population of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, including population density, ethnicity, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Census population and average annual growth rate
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1871	35,688	—
1881	40,548	+1.28%
1891	41,054	+0.12%
1911	41,877	+0.10%
1921	44,447	+0.60%
1931	47,961	+0.76%
1946	61,647	+1.69%
1960	79,948	+1.87%
1970	86,944	+0.84%
1980	97,845	+1.19%
1991	106,499	+0.77%
2001	106,253	−0.02%
2011		—
Source:[1]

Population

Population of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Data of FAO, year 2005; Number of inhabitants in thousands

According to the 2001 population census Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has a population of 106,253, a decrease of 256 since the 1991 census.^[1] The population decrease of St. Vincent is caused by a high rate of emigration, as natural growth is positive. The estimated mid-year population of 2014 is 109,400 (medium fertility scenario of The 2012 Revision of the World Population Prospects).^[2]

Vital statistics^[3][4][5]

	Average population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate	Infant mortality rate
1950	67	2 662	1 022	1 640	39.7	15.3	24.5
1951	68	2 930	990	1 940	43.0	14.5	28.5
1952	69	2 906	1 117	1 789	42.0	16.1	25.8
1953	71	3 069	1 127	1 942	43.5	16.0	27.5
1954	72	3 117	1 125	1 992	43.3	15.6	27.7
1955	74	3 607	1 102	2 505	49.1	15.0	34.1
1956	75	3 601	937	2 664	48.0	12.5	35.5
1957	77	4 261	985	3 276	55.6	12.9	42.7
1958	78	3 930	1 223	2 707	50.3	15.6	34.6
1959	80	4 051	1 141	2 910	50.9	14.3	36.6
1960	81	3 985	1 210	2 775	49.2	14.9	34.3
1961	82	3 968	1 024	2 944	48.3	12.5	35.8
1962	83	3 727	957	2 770	44.8	11.5	33.3
1963	84	3 637	1 006	2 631	43.2	12.0	31.3
1964	85	3 678	821	2 857	43.2	9.7	33.6
1965	86	3 770	831	2 939	43.9	9.7	34.2
1966	87	3 809	829	2 980	43.9	9.5	34.3
1967	88	3 574	775	2 799	40.7	8.8	31.9
1968	89	3 324	825	2 499	37.5	9.3	28.2
1969	90	3 093	883	2 210	34.6	9.9	24.7
1970	90	3 327	737	2 590	36.8	8.1	28.6
1971	91	3 714	734	2 980	40.6	8.0	32.6
1972	92	3 705	890	2 815	40.1	9.6	30.4
1973	94	3 243	990	2 253	34.7	10.6	24.1
1974	95	3 373	716	2 657	35.7	7.6	28.1
1975	96	3 398	724	2 674	35.5	7.6	28.0
1976	97	3 786	724	3 062	39.2	7.5	31.7
1977	98	3 152	732	2 420	32.3	7.5	24.8
1978	99	3 275	745	2 530	33.2	7.6	25.7
1979	100	3 409	693	2 716	34.2	7.0	27.3
1980	101	3 075	724	2 351	30.6	7.2	23.4
1981	101	3 227	772	2 455	31.8	7.6	24.2
1982	102	3 352	717	2 635	32.8	7.0	25.8
1983	103	3 295	779	2 516	32.0	7.6	24.4
1984	104	2 831	703	2 128	27.3	6.8	20.5
1986	105	2 708	655	2 053	25.7	6.2	19.5
1988	107	2 537	712	1 825	23.8	6.7	17.1
1990	108	2 552	686	1 866	23.7	6.4	17.4
1991	108	2 591	654	1 937	24.0	6.1	18.0
1992	108	2 686	714	1 972	24.9	6.6	18.3
1993	108	2 687	680	2 007	24.9	6.3	18.6
1994	108	2 549	732	1 817	23.6	6.8	16.8
1995	108	2 614	730	1 884	24.2	6.8	17.4
1996	108	2 338	792	1 546	21.6	7.3	14.3
1997	108	2 311	736	1 575	21.4	6.8	14.6
1998	108	2 112	830	1 282	19.6	7.7	11.9
1999	108	2 171	833	1 338	20.1	7.7	12.4
2000	108	2 149	700	1 449	19.9	6.5	13.4
2001	108	2 109	765	1 344	19.5	7.1	12.4
2002	108	1 985	766	1 219	18.4	7.1	11.3
2003	108	1 923	790	1 133	17.7	7.3	10.5
2004	109	1 804	812	992	16.6	7.5	9.1
2005	109,374	1 779	813	966	17.6	8.0	9.6	2.1	16.3
2006	109,462	1 796	777	1 019	17.9	7.7	10.2	2.2	27.8
2007	109,551	1 822	779	1 043	18.2	7.8	10.4	2.2	18.7
2008	109,639	1 901	851	1 050	18.9	8.4	10.5	2.3	19.4
2009	109,727	1 905	766	1 139	18.9	7.6	11.3	2.3	18.3
2010	109,815	1 765	856	909	17.4	8.3	9.1	2.2	21.3
2011	109,903								21.8
2012			858			7.8
2013		1 738			15.8

Structure of the population ^[6]

Structure of the population (01.07.2008) (Estimates) :

Age Group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	50 009	49 077	99 086	100
0-4	4 782	4 520	9 302	9,39
5-9	5 352	5 332	10 684	10,78
10-14	5 269	5 122	10 391	10,49
15-19	5 293	5 238	10 531	10,63
20-24	4 639	4 420	9 060	9,14
25-29	4 057	3 884	7 941	8,01
30-34	3 747	3 408	7 155	7,22
35-39	3 911	3 614	7 525	7,59
40-44	3 214	3 029	6 243	6,30
45-49	2 252	2 158	4 410	4,45
50-54	1 807	1 674	3 481	3,51
55-59	1 299	1 296	2 595	2,62
60-64	1 222	1 328	2 550	2,57
65-69	1 143	1 236	2 379	2,40
70-74	831	989	1 819	1,84
75-79	591	821	1 412	1,43
80-84	359	520	879	0,89
85+	241	488	729	0,74

Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0-14	15 403	14 974	30 377	30,66
15-64	31 441	30 049	61 490	62,06
65+	3 165	4 054	7 219	7,29

Ethnic groups

Saint Vincents's population is predominantly African/black (77,390 in 2001; 72.8% of the total population) or of mixed African-European descent (21,303; 20%).^[1] 1.4% of the population is East Indian (1,436 residents in 2001) and 1.4% white (608 Portuguese and 870 other white).

Saint Vincent & the Grenadines also has a small Black Carib population. During the past decades the Black Caribs increased from 3,347 at the 1991 census (3.1% of the population) to 3,818 at the 2001 census (3.6% of the population). Black Caribs are indigenous from the island of Saint Vincent, formed in the 18th century by the mixture between Carib Amerindians and black slaves. A part of their community (now known as Garifuna) was expelled from St. Vincent in 1797 and exported to the island of Roatán, Honduras, from where they migrated to the Caribbean coast of the mainland of Central America and spread as far as Belize and Nicaragua.^[7] While the Garifuna have retained their Carib language,^[8] the Black Caribs of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines speak Creole English.^[9]

The remaining 0.8% of the population includes Chinese and people from the Middle East.

Ethnic groups in the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines [10]
Ethnic groups			percent
Black			66%
Mixed			19%
East Indian			6%
European			4%
Other			3%
Carib Amerindian			2%

Language

While the official language is English most Vincentians speak Vincentian Creole.^[11] English is used in education, government, religion, and other formal domains, while Creole (or "dialect" as it is referred to locally) is used in informal situations such as in the home and among friends.^[12]

Religion

Ethnic groups in the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines [10]
Ethnic groups			percent
Protestant			75%
Anglican			47%
Methodist			28%
Roman Catholic			13%
Other (includes Hindu, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant)			12%

Protestant 75% (Anglican 47%, Methodist 28%), Roman Catholic 13%, other (includes Hindu, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant) 12%.^[10]

According to the 2001 census, 81.5% of the population of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is considered Christian, 6.7% has another religion and 8.8% has no religion or did not state a religion (1.5%).^[1]

Anglicanism constitutes the largest religion, with 47.8% of the population. Methodists are the second largest group (28%). The next largest group are Roman Catholics (13% of the population), followed by other religions including Hindu, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Protestant (12% of the population)

Between 1991 and 2001 the number of Anglicans, Brethren, Methodists and Roman Catholics decreased, while the number of Pentecostals, Evangelicals and Seventh-day Adventists increased.

References

1. Population and housing census report 2001
2. Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, World Population Prospects: The 2012 Revision
3. United nations. Demographic Yearbooks
5. http://caricomstats.org/Files/Databases/Demography/VC.pdf
6. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2.htm
7. Garifuna reach: Historia de los garífunas. Posted by Itarala.
10. "Central America and Caribbean :: SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES". CIA The World Factbook.
11. http://www.ethnologue.com/language/svc
12. http://www.sil.org/resources/publications/entry/43481