A small international airport is at Arnos Vale. Agriculture is the major element of the economy, employing almost 60 percent of the work force. Bananas are the chief cash crop and the most valuable export. Saint Vincent is the world's largest producer of arrowroot. Other crops include copra, coconuts, yams, sweet potatoes, cassavas, and carrots.
Food processing is the chief manufacturing activity.
Fishing, lumbering, and tourism are also significant. Christopher Columbus visited Saint Vincent in 1498. It was ceded to Great Britain in 1763 and was made part of the Windward Island colony in 1871. The islands gained full independence in 1979. The country is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary type of government.