Nine out of ten residents live on the main island of Saint Vincent, while the rest of the population is found on the seven inhabited islands of the Grenadines. The majority of the population are descendants of African slaves.
The population is young, almost every quarter of the population is under 15. Nevertheless, the number of residents has remained fairly constant for several decades. This is due to large emigration, mainly to Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Many of the emigrants are highly educated.
- COUNTRYAAH.COM: Key populations estimated size and data of St. Vincent and The Grenadines, including population density of how many people per square mile. Also included are facts for population and language.
Around a fifth of the residents are of mixed origin. A smaller group identifies themselves as urinals, either caribou or “black caribou”. The latter derives from the mixture of people who started a slave ship from Africa in 1675 stranded off the island of Bequia in the Grenadines. The slaves formed families with caribas that then lived on the islands (see Older history). At the end of the 18th century, British colonial rulers relocated the majority of the rebellious black Caribbean to a few islands off Central America, in what is now Honduras. Some black caribers today call themselves garifuna, which is a term used about the group in Central America. Of those who identify as original caribers, some prefer the term kalinago.
Among other small groups are Europeans and descendants of labor migrants from India who were recruited to the islands in the 19th century.
The official language of the country is English. Most also speak a mixed language, Creole, with elements of, among others, French.
FACTS – POPULATION AND LANGUAGE
Population
black 65.5%, persons of mixed origin 19%, indians 5.5%, white 3.5%, descendants of indigenous / black 2%, other 5.5%
Number of residents
109 897 (2017)
Number of residents per square kilometer
282 (2017)
Percentage of residents in the cities
51.8 percent (2017)
Nativity / birth
15.5 per 1000 residents (2016)
Mortality / mortality
7.2 per 1000 residents (2016)
POPULATION GROWTH
0.2 percent (2017)
fertility rate
1.9 number of births per woman (2016)
Percentage of women
49.6 percent (2017)
Life expectancy
73 years (2016)
Life expectancy for women
75 years (2016)
Life expectancy for men
71 years (2016)
Language
English is the official language.