from
CIA World Factbook 2006
Saint Lucia
Introduction
Background: The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries,
was contested between England and France throughout the
17th and early 18th centuries (changing possession 14
times); it was finally ceded to the UK in 1814. Even
after the abolition of slavery on its plantations in
1834, Saint Lucia remained an agricultural island,
dedicated to producing tropical commodity crops.
Self-government was granted in 1967 and independence in
1979.
Geography
Location: Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North
Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
Geographic 13 53 N, 60 58 W
coordinates:
Map Central America and the Caribbean
references:
Area: total: 616 sq km
land: 606 sq km
water: 10 sq km
Area - 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
comparative:
Land 0 km
boundaries:
Coastline: 158 km
Maritime territorial sea: 12 nm
claims: contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the
continental margin
Climate: tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry
season January to April, rainy season May to August
Terrain: volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile
valleys
Elevation lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
extremes: highest point: Mount Gimie 950 m
Natural forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral
resources: springs, geothermal potential
Land use: arable land: 6.45%
permanent crops: 22.58%
other: 70.97% (2005)
Irrigated 30 sq km (2003)
land:
Natural hurricanes and volcanic activity
hazards:
Environment - deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the
current northern region
issues:
Environment - party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
international Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
agreements: Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements
Geography - the twin Pitons (Gros Piton and Petit Piton), striking
note: cone-shaped peaks south of Soufriere, are one of the
scenic natural highlights of the Caribbean
People
Population: 168,458 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 29.8% (male 25,941/female 24,319)
15-64 years: 65% (male 53,916/female 55,582)
65 years and over: 5.2% (male 3,186/female 5,514) (2006
est.)
Median age: total: 25.2 years
male: 24.4 years
female: 26.1 years (2006 est.)
Population 1.29% (2006 est.)
growth rate:
Birth rate: 19.68 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 5.08 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration -1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
rate:
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.58 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant total: 13.17 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 14.29 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 11.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 73.84 years
expectancy at male: 70.29 years
birth: female: 77.65 years (2006 est.)
Total 2.18 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - NA
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - NA
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - NA
deaths:
Nationality: noun: Saint Lucian(s)
adjective: Saint Lucian
Ethnic groups: black 90%, mixed 6%, East Indian 3%, white 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 67.5%, Seventh Day Adventist 8.5%,
Pentecostal 5.7%, Anglican 2%, Evangelical 2%, other
Christian 5.1%, Rastafarian 2.1%, other 1.1%,
unspecified 1.5%, none 4.5% (2001 census)
Languages: English (official), French patois
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 90.1%
male: 89.5%
female: 90.6% (2001 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Lucia
Government parliamentary democracy
type:
Capital: name: Castries
geographic coordinates: 14 01 N, 61 00 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC
during Standard Time)
Administrative 11 quarters; Anse-la-Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin,
divisions: Dennery, Gros-Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin,
Soufriere, Vieux-Fort
Independence: 22 February 1979 (from UK)
National Independence Day, 22 February (1979)
holiday:
Constitution: 22 February 1979
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February
branch: 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Pearlette
LOUISY (since September 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Kenneth Davis
ANTHONY (since 24 May 1997) and Deputy Prime Minister
Mario MICHEL (since 24 May 1997)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on
the advice of the prime minister
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the
governor general is appointed by the monarch; following
legislative elections, the leader of the majority party
or the leader of a majority coalition is usually
appointed prime minister by the governor general;
deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general
Legislative bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (11 seats;
branch: 6 members appointed on the advice of the prime
minister, 3 on the advice of the leader of the
opposition, and 2 after consultation with religious,
economic, and social groups) and the House of Assembly
(17 seats; members are elected by popular vote from
single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 3 December
2001 (next to be held in December 2006)
election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote
by party - SLP 55%, UWP 37%, NA 3.5%; seats by party -
SLP 14, UWP 3
Judicial Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (jurisdiction extends
branch: to Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin
Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and
Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines)
Political National Alliance or NA [George ODLUM]; Saint Lucia
parties and Freedom Party or SFP [Martinus FRANCOIS]; Saint Lucia
leaders: Labor Party or SLP [Kenneth ANTHONY]; Sou Tout Apwe
Fete Fini or STAFF [Christopher HUNTE]; United Workers
Party or UWP [Sir John COMPTON]
Political NA
pressure
groups and
leaders:
International ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt
organization (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO,
participation: IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS,
OECS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Sonia Merlyn JOHNNY
representation chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC
in the US: 20016
telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795
FAX: [1] (202) 364-6723
consulate(s) general: Miami, New York
Diplomatic the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US
representation Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia
from the US:
Flag blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black
description: arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a
white border
Economy
Economy - Changes in the EU import preference regime and the
overview: increased competition from Latin American bananas have
made economic diversification increasingly important in
Saint Lucia. The island nation has been able to attract
foreign business and investment, especially in its
offshore banking and tourism industries. The
manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern
Caribbean area, and the government is trying to
revitalize the banana industry. Economic fundamentals
remain solid, even though unemployment needs to be cut.
GDP $866 million (2002 est.)
(purchasing
power parity):
GDP (official $825 million
exchange
rate):
GDP - real 5.1% (2005 est.)
growth rate:
GDP - per $4,800 (2005 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: 7%
composition by industry: 20%
sector: services: 73% (2002 est.)
Labor force: 43,800 (2001 est.)
Labor force - agriculture: 21.7%
by occupation: industry: 24.7%
services: 53.6% (2002 est.)
Unemployment 20% (2003 est.)
rate:
Population NA%
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: NA%
income or highest 10%: NA%
consumption by
percentage
share:
Inflation rate 2.9% (2005 est.)
(consumer
prices):
Budget: revenues: $141.2 million
expenditures: $146.7 million; including capital
expenditures of $25.1 million (2000 est.)
Agriculture - bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops,
products: cocoa
Industries: clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages,
corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism; lime processing,
coconut processing
Industrial -8.9% (1997 est.)
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 281 million kWh (2003)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 100%
production by hydro: 0%
source: nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - 261.4 million kWh (2003)
consumption:
Electricity - 0 kWh (2003)
exports:
Electricity - 0 kWh (2003)
imports:
Oil - 0 bbl/day (2003 est.)
production:
Oil - 2,520 bbl/day (2003 est.)
consumption:
Oil - exports: NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: NA bbl/day
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2003 est.)
production:
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2003 est.)
consumption:
Exports: $82 million (2004 est.)
Exports - bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits,
commodities: coconut oil
Exports - France 29.3%, US 17.4%, China 17%, UK 13.1%, Brazil
partners: 6.2% (2005)
Imports: $410 million (2004 est.)
Imports - food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and
commodities: transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels
Imports - US 24.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 15.5%, Netherlands 14.5%,
partners: Venezuela 5.6%, UK 5.6%, France 4.7% (2005)
Debt - $257 million (2004)
external:
Economic aid - $-21.5 million (2004)
recipient:
Currency East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
(code):
Currency code: XCD
Exchange East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2005), 2.7
rates: (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Communications
Telephones - 51,100 (2002)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 93,000 (2004)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: adequate system
system: domestic: system is automatically switched
international: country code - 1-758; direct microwave
radio relay link with Martinique and Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines; tropospheric scatter to Barbados;
international calls beyond these countries are carried
by Intelsat from Martinique
Radio AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2004)
broadcast
stations:
Radios: 111,000 (1997)
Television 2 (of which one is a commercial broadcast station and
broadcast one is a community antenna television or CATV channel)
stations: (2004)
Televisions: 32,000 (1997)
Internet .lc
country code:
Internet 21 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 15 (2000)
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 55,000 (2005)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 2 (2006)
Airports - total: 2
with paved 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006)
Roadways: total: 910 km
paved: 48 km
unpaved: 862 km (2000)
Ports and Castries, Cul-de-Sac, Vieux-Fort
terminals:
Military
Military no regular military forces; Royal Saint Lucia Police
branches: Force (includes Special Service Unit, Coast Guard)
(2006)
Manpower males age 18-49: 42,742 (2005 est.)
available for
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 18-49: 33,539 (2005 est.)
for military
service:
Manpower males age 18-49: 1,651 (2005 est.)
reaching
military
service age
annually:
Military NA
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military NA
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's
international: claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a
criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to
extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion
of the Caribbean Sea
Illicit drugs: transit point for South American drugs destined for the
US and Europe