City North America
Kingstown
Kingstown is the capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It is a port town beside a Caribbean bay.
Kingstown is the capital and main port of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It lies on the southwest coast of the island of Saint Vincent. The 2023 census counted 10,690 people in the Kingstown census division.
Kingstown, capital and chief port of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Universalis), lies on Saint Vincent's southwest coast, sheltered by Berkshire Hill and Cane Garden Point. Census night 15 June 2023: 10,690 in the Kingstown census division (Statistical Office).
Photo: Ian Mackenzle, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Kingstown
Kingstown is the capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. It sits beside a bay on a green island.
Ships come to its port.
Kingstown is the capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a country of islands in the Lesser Antilles, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. Universalis calls it the country's most important port. The town lies on the southwest coast of Saint Vincent, the main island.
The census of 15 June 2023 counted 10,690 people in the Kingstown census division.
Universalis: capital and most important port of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, an island state of the Lesser Antilles; Kingstown lies in the south of Saint Vincent's west coast, overlooking the harbor, sheltered by Berkshire Hill to the north and Cane Garden Point to the south. Larousse: on the southwest coast of Saint Vincent; the island's main port and main town. Statistical Office, 2023 Population and Housing Census (census night 15 June 2023): Kingstown census division 10,690; Suburbs of Kingstown 15,705.
- Country
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (capital)
- People in the Kingstown census division (census, 15 June 2023)
- 10,690
- Port
- the country's most important port (Universalis)
- Coast
- southwest coast of the island of Saint Vincent (Larousse)
A bay between green hills
In this photo, a town spreads along a bay. Boats float on the water, and clouds fill the sky.
This photo was taken on 6 March 2005 from a hillside above Kingstown. On the left, the town's buildings line the shore and climb the green slopes. A wooded headland reaches out into the sea, and a few boats sit on the bay under clouds.
Universalis says the town looks over its harbor, sheltered by Berkshire Hill to the north and Cane Garden Point to the south.
Commons: 'Kingston harbour' (the file's own spelling; description 'Harbour in Kingstown, St Vincent and Grenadines'), by Ian Mackenzle (as the uploader wrote the name), from Flickr, CC BY 2.0, license confirmed by FlickreviewR; taken 6 March 2005, 17:38; category 'Views of Kingstown'. In the picture: buildings along the shore and on the slopes, a wooded headland, boats on the bay, clouds. No camera location is given.
Universalis: the town overlooks the harbor, sheltered by Berkshire Hill (north) and Cane Garden Point (south).
- Photo
- Kingstown and its harbor from a hillside, 6 March 2005, by Ian Mackenzle
- Shelter
- Berkshire Hill to the north, Cane Garden Point to the south (Universalis)
- Botanical garden
- founded in 1765, the oldest in the West Indies (Universalis)
A garden and a census
Kingstown has a very old garden. Long ago, breadfruit trees were first grown there.
Universalis says Kingstown's botanical garden, founded in 1765, is the oldest in the West Indies. In 1793 a ship's captain brought breadfruit plants from the Pacific, and the garden was the first to grow breadfruit trees.
Today fewer people live in the town itself. Censuses counted 13,857 people in the Kingstown census division in 2001, 12,909 in 2012 and 10,690 in 2023.
Universalis: the botanical garden (1765), the oldest in the Antilles, was the first to grow breadfruit trees, from plants brought back from the Pacific in 1793 by a ship's captain. Statistical Office (2023 census report, Table 1-3): Kingstown census division 13,857 (2001), 12,909 (2012), 10,690 (2023), on 1.9 square miles (its Table 1-2, household population, gives 13,526 and 12,712 for 2001 and 2012); density fell from 7,293 to 5,626 people per square mile. The report reads the fall as sustained out-migration from the urban core, while the Suburbs of Kingstown grew 14.0% from 2012 to 2023.
- 1765
- the botanical garden is founded (Universalis)
- 1793
- breadfruit plants arrive from the Pacific; the garden is the first to grow breadfruit trees (Universalis)
- Censuses
- 13,857 (2001), 12,909 (2012), 10,690 (2023) in the Kingstown census division
A port for ships and farm goods
Ships carry bananas and other foods from Kingstown. Cruise ships bring visitors too.
Kingstown's port sends out mostly farm products. Universalis lists bananas, arrowroot, coconuts, sweet potatoes, plantains, yams, taro and tannia, a root vegetable much like taro.
The port also has a pier where cruise ships can tie up, built to help tourism grow. Larousse adds that the town has an international airport.
Universalis: the port has a quay able to take cruise ships, built to help develop tourism; it exports mainly agricultural products such as bananas, arrowroot (maranta), coconuts, sweet potatoes, plantains, yams, taro and tannia. Larousse: main port of the island (exports of bananas, cocoa and coconuts); tourism developing (botanical garden); international airport. The two encyclopedias' export lists differ slightly; both are given as written.
- Cruise pier
- built to help tourism grow (Universalis)
- Exports
- mostly farm products: bananas, arrowroot, coconuts, sweet potatoes, plantains, yams, taro and tannia (Universalis)
- Airport
- international (Larousse)
Trade winds and a rainy season
Kingstown is warm all year. Some months are dry, and some are rainy.
Universalis says Saint Vincent has a tropical maritime climate, under the trade winds. At Kingstown the average temperature varies between 18 and 32 °C.
The dry season lasts from January to May, and the rainy season from May to October. Rain is heavier in the mountains: about 1,500 millimeters a year on the coast but 3,800 millimeters in the island's center.
Universalis (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines): under the trade winds, the island has a tropical maritime climate; precipitation and temperature vary with altitude, from about 1,500 mm a year on the coast to 3,800 mm in the central mountains; mean temperature at Kingstown between 18 and 32 °C; dry season January to May, rainy season May to October. No WMO, DWD or JMA station table for Saint Vincent could be opened, so no monthly table is given.
- Climate
- tropical maritime, under the trade winds (Universalis)
- Average temperature at Kingstown
- between 18 and 32 °C (Universalis)
- Seasons
- dry January to May, rainy May to October (Universalis)
Town and suburbs
Many families now live just outside Kingstown. More people live in the suburbs than in the town.
Kingstown's center is small and crowded: in 2023 its census division had 5,626 people per square mile. But more and more people now live just outside it.
The census report says the Suburbs of Kingstown grew by 14 percent between 2012 and 2023, to 15,705 people, while the town itself shrank. It says this was likely driven by housing and better transport links.
Statistical Office (2023 census report): household population of the country 108,764 (2023); Kingstown division 10,690 (9.8%), Suburbs of Kingstown 15,705 (14.4%), Calliaqua 26,560 (24.4%). The report calls Kingstown among the most densely populated divisions (5,626 per square mile) and describes suburbanization, 'likely driven by housing availability and improved transport connectivity' (its words).
- Suburbs of Kingstown (census 2023)
- 15,705 people, up 14.0% since 2012 (Statistical Office)
- Crowded center
- 5,626 people per square mile in 2023 (Statistical Office)
- Country
- 108,764 people in households in 2023 (Statistical Office)
Kingstown on the map
Find the Caribbean Sea on the globe. Kingstown is on a small island at its eastern edge.
Kingstown lies at about 13.2° north and 61.2° west, on the island of Saint Vincent in the Lesser Antilles. Universalis says the island is 29 kilometers long and up to 17.7 kilometers wide, about 34 kilometers southwest of Saint Lucia.
The town is on the island's southwest coast, facing the Caribbean Sea.
Kingstown lies at about 13.16° N, 61.23° W (Wikidata point Q41474; the Natural Earth/sheet point is 1.83 km ESE of it). Universalis: Saint Vincent is about 34 km SW of Saint Lucia and 160 km W of Barbados; 29 km long, at most 17.7 km wide, 344 km². Larousse: Kingstown is on the southwest coast.
- Latitude
- about 13.2° north
- Longitude
- about 61.2° west
- Island
- Saint Vincent: 29 km long and up to 17.7 km wide (Universalis)
Amazing facts
-
Kingstown has one of the oldest gardens in the Caribbean!
Universalis says Kingstown's botanical garden, founded in 1765, is the oldest in the West Indies.
Universalis: the botanical garden (1765), the oldest in the Antilles.
-
Breadfruit trees were first grown in Kingstown's garden!
Universalis says Kingstown's garden was the first to grow breadfruit trees, from plants brought from the Pacific in 1793.
Universalis: first garden to grow breadfruit trees, from plants brought back from the Pacific in 1793.
-
More people live around Kingstown than in the town itself!
In 2023 the Suburbs of Kingstown had 15,705 people, more than the 10,690 in Kingstown's own census division.
2023 census: Suburbs of Kingstown 15,705 (up 14.0% from 2012) vs Kingstown 10,690 (down 15.9%, household population).
Words to know
- port
- a town or city with a harbor where ships load and unload goods
- botanical garden
- a garden where plants are grown to study them and show them to visitors
- breadfruit
- a large, round tropical fruit that is cooked and eaten like a vegetable
- suburb
- an area where people live on the edge of a town or city
- trade winds
- steady winds that blow toward the equator over the tropical oceans
- census
- an official count of all the people in a country
Discovery challenge
-
Kingstown is the capital of which country?
Kingstown is the capital of which Caribbean country?
Kingstown is the capital and chief port of which island state of the Lesser Antilles?
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Jamaica
- Cuba
Show the answer
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines!
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
-
Which fruit tree was first grown in Kingstown's garden?
According to Universalis, Kingstown's botanical garden was the first to grow which tree?
Universalis: from plants brought from the Pacific in 1793, Kingstown's garden was the first to grow which tree?
- Breadfruit
- Apple
- Maple
Show the answer
Breadfruit
Breadfruit!
Breadfruit.
Breadfruit.
-
In which year was Kingstown's botanical garden started?
In which year was Kingstown's botanical garden founded?
Universalis dates Kingstown's botanical garden, the oldest in the Antilles, to which year?
- 1765
- 1965
- 2023
Show the answer
1765
1765!
1765.
1765.
-
Where do more people live: in Kingstown or around it?
In 2023, did more people live in Kingstown's census division or in the Suburbs of Kingstown?
2023 census: which had more people, the Kingstown census division or the Suburbs of Kingstown?
- Around it, in the suburbs
- In the town itself
- The same number
Show the answer
Around it, in the suburbs
Around it, in the suburbs!
The suburbs: 15,705 people, against 10,690 in the town.
Suburbs of Kingstown 15,705; Kingstown 10,690.
-
When is the dry season on Saint Vincent?
According to Universalis, when is the dry season on Saint Vincent?
Universalis: Saint Vincent's dry season runs during which months?
- January to May
- June to October
- All year
Show the answer
January to May
January to May!
January to May; the rainy season is May to October.
January to May (rainy season May to October).
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate Kingstown on Saint Vincent in the eastern Caribbean.
- Explain what a port exports and why farm goods matter to an island.
- Use census numbers to describe a town shrinking while its suburbs grow.
- Describe a tropical climate with dry and rainy seasons.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might families move from a crowded town center to the suburbs?
- What could a botanical garden teach visitors about plants from far away?
- Why would an island country build a pier for cruise ships?
Try at home or in class
- Fruit hunt: look for breadfruit, plantains, taro or yams at a grocery store and compare them.
- Bar chart: draw Kingstown's census counts for 2001, 2012 and 2023, and the suburbs' 2023 count.
- Island map: cut a paper island 29 cm long and 17.7 cm wide and mark Kingstown on its southwest coast.
Key vocabulary: port, botanical garden, breadfruit, suburb, trade winds, census
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Natural Earth vector data , Natural Earth (NACIS) (Public domain)
- Kingstown , Encyclopædia Universalis
- Saint-Vincent-et-les-Grenadines , Encyclopædia Universalis
- Kingstown , Encyclopédie Larousse
- 2023 Population and Housing Census Report , Statistical Office, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- File:Kingston harbour.jpg (Ian Mackenzle) , Wikimedia Commons
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated November 1, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.