Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Grenada
etymology: probably named for the Spanish city of Granada; in Spanish "granada" means "pomegranate"

Government type:
parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

Capital:
name: Saint George's
geographic coordinates: 12 03 N, 61 45 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

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

Independence:
7 February 1974 (from the UK)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 7 February (1974)

Constitution:
previous 1967; latest presented 19 December 1973, came into operation 7 February 1974, suspended 1979 following a revolution, but restored in 1983; amended 1991 (Constitutional Judicature Act, 1991); note - in early 2014, the prime minister launched a constitutional reform committee but progress toward actual constitutional reform has stalled (2015)

Legal system:
common law based on English model

International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: yes
citizenship by descent: yes
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 7 years for persons from a non-Caribbean state and 4 years for a person from a Caribbean state

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Cecile LA GRENADE (since 7 May 2013)
head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 20 February 2013)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the governor general

Legislative branch:
description: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (13 seats; members appointed by the governor general - 10 on the advice of the prime minister and 3 on the advice of the opposition party leader; members serve 5-year terms) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)
elections: last held on 19 February 2013 (next to be held in 2018)
election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NNP 59%, NDC 41%; seats by party - NNP 15

Judicial branch:
highest court(s): Supreme Court of Grenada (consists of the High Court with 3 justices and a 2-tier Court of Appeal with NA justices); note - the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is the itinerant superior court of record for the 9-member Organization of Eastern Caribbean States to include Grenada; the ECSC - with its headquarters on St. Lucia - is headed by the chief justice and is comprised of the Court of Appeal with 3 justices and the High Court with 16 judges; sittings of the Court of Appeal and High Court rotate among the member states
judge selection and term of office: justice selection and tenure NA
subordinate courts: magistrates' courts; Court of Magisterial Appeals

Political parties and leaders:
Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Wilfred HAYES] National Democratic Congress or NDC [Tillman THOMAS] New National Party or NNP [Keith MITCHELL]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Committee for Human Rights in Grenada or CHRG New Jewel Movement Support Group The British Grenada Friendship Society The New Jewel 19 Committee

International organization participation:
ACP, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CDB, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, ITUC, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, Petrocaribe, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ethelstan A. FRIDAY (since 3 September 2013)
chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561
FAX: [1] (202) 265-2468
consulate(s) general: Miami

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: the US does not have an embassy in Grenada; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada
embassy: Lance-aux-Epines Stretch, Saint George's
mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's
telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176
FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820

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 stand for the seven administrative divisions, with the central star denoting the capital, St. George; yellow represents the sun and the warmth of the people, green stands for vegetation and agriculture, and red symbolizes harmony, unity, and courage

National symbol(s):
Grenada dove, Bougainvillea flower; national colors: red, yellow, green

National anthem:
name: "Hail Grenada"
lyrics/music: Irva Merle BAPTISTE/Louis Arnold MASANTO
note: adopted 1974