Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Grenada

Data code: GJ

Government type: parliamentary democracy

National capital: Saint George's

Administrative divisions: 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick

Independence: 7 February 1974 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 7 February (1974)

Constitution: 19 December 1973

Legal system: based on English common law

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II of the UK (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
elections: none; the queen is a hereditary monarch; governor general appointed by the queen; prime minister appointed by the governor general from among the members of the House of Assembly

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 20 June 1995 (next to be held by NA October 2000)
election results: House of Representatives percent of vote by party NA; seats by party - NNP 8, NDC 5, GULP 2

Judicial branch: West Indies Associate States Supreme Court, an associate judge resides in Grenada

Political parties and leaders: National Democratic Congress or NDC [George BRIZAN]; Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Jerry SEALES]; The National Party or TNP [Ben JONES]; New National Party or NNP [Keith MITCHELL]; Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement or MBPM [Terrence MARRYSHOW]; The Democratic Labor Party or DLP [Francis ALEXIS]

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WToO, WTrO

Flag description: a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side) with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions

© CIA 1999