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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

VC

Latin America

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is home to 7 documented ethnic groups in Latin America — led by Afro-Vincentian (~71%), Mixed Vincentian (~23%), Kalinago Vincentian (~2%), Indo-Vincentian (~1%). This page blends their phenotype and demographic data into one weighted reference: skin tone, facial features, hair texture and build, drawn from published census and ancestry sources.

Demographic Composition

Composition weights are derived from self-identification in published census and demographic surveys. Each row links to the source ethnic-group atlas page.

Ethnic groupWeightSource
Afro-VincentianAfro-Vincentian71.3%Statistical Office Saint Vincent 2012 Census, self-identified Black/African (~71.3%)
Mixed VincentianMixed Vincentian23.0%Statistical Office 2012 Census, self-identified mixed (~23%); a relatively very high mixed share for any Caribbean country, reflecting the Garífuna-source Black-Carib admixture history (Saint Vincent was the original homeland of the Garífuna prior to 1797 deportation) plus subsequent European-Indo-African admixture
Kalinago VincentianKalinago Vincentian2.2%Statistical Office 2012 Census, self-identified Carib/Kalinago (~2.2%); the contemporary Indigenous Carib-descendant community of Saint Vincent (the Yellow Caribs who remained after the 1797 Black Carib deportation, plus subsequent Carib-descendant self-identification). Concentrated in Greggs, Sandy Bay, and the windward coast communities
Indo-VincentianIndo-Vincentian1.4%Statistical Office 2012 Census, self-identified East Indian (~1.4%); descendants of post-1861 Indian indentured-labor migration
White VincentianWhite Vincentian1.4%Statistical Office 2012 Census, self-identified white (~1.4%); descendants of British and French colonial-era settlers including the Madeiran-Portuguese-Vincentian community plus contemporary expat communities
Other VincentianOther Vincentian0.6%Statistical Office 2012 Census, residual
Indo-Caribbean ImmigrantIndo-Caribbean Immigrant0.1%Statistical Office 2012 Census, small Indo-Caribbean migrant community

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Phenotype Profile

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has a distinctive demographic profile shaped by its history as the original homeland of the Garífuna people prior to the 1797 British deportation. The 2012 Statistical Office census reports a national distribution of approximately 71% Afro-Vincentian, 23% mixed (one of the highest mixed shares in any Caribbean country), 2.2% Kalinago/Carib (the contemporary Indigenous-descendant community of the Yellow Caribs who remained after 1797), 1.4% East Indian, 1.4% white, and 0.6% other. Skin tone across the population spans Fitzpatrick III-VI with IV-V the modal range. Hair texture spans Andre Walker 2C-4C across the broader population. Eye color is predominantly brown.

A descriptive view, not a claim about individuals

This page shows a weighted aggregate of phenotype observations across the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines population, based on demographic composition from published census and ancestry sources. Phenotypes within any country are far more varied than the aggregate suggests; this is a descriptive reference, not a deterministic claim about any individual. For source-level detail on individual ethnic groups, see the constituent atlas pages linked below.

Methodology Notes

Composition weights are derived from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines's 2012 Statistical Office Population and Housing Census. Caveats: (1) the high mixed share reflects the country's unique demographic history as the Garífuna homeland; (2) the Kalinago / Carib self-identification share reflects ongoing cultural-recovery initiatives parallel to the Dominica Kalinago community.

See full project methodology →

Primary Sources

  1. 1.Statistical Office Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. 2012 Population and Housing Census Report. Kingstown: Statistical Office; 2014.
  2. 2.Gonzalez NL. Sojourners of the Caribbean: Ethnogenesis and Ethnohistory of the Garifuna. Urbana: University of Illinois Press; 1988 (foundational on the Saint Vincent Garífuna ethnogenesis).
  3. 3.Young VH. Becoming West Indian: Culture, Self, and Nation in St. Vincent. Washington DC: Smithsonian Institution Press; 1993.
  4. 4.Hulme P, Whitehead NL (eds). Wild Majesty: Encounters with Caribs from Columbus to the Present Day, an Anthology. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 1992.
  5. 5.Kirby IA, Martin CI. The Rise and Fall of the Black Caribs (Garífuna). Toronto: Cybercom; 2004.

Other countries in Latin America

Aggregate phenotype references for neighbouring Latin America nations, weighted by demographic composition.