Saint Lucia

§1. 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.
  Self-government was granted in 1967 and independence in 1979.

§2. Saint Lucia Geography

Location:
  Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north
  of Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates:
  13 53 N, 60 68 W

Map references:
  Central_America_and_the_Caribbean

Area:
  total: 616 km²
  land: 606 km²
  water: 10 km²

Area - comparative:
  3.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
  0 km

Coastline:
  158 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 12 nm
  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 extremes:
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Mount Gimie 950 m

Natural resources:
  forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal
  potential

Land use:
  arable land: 6.45%
  permanent crops: 22.58%
  other: 70.97% (2005)

Irrigated land:
  30 km² (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
  hurricanes and volcanic activity

Environment - current issues:
  deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region

Environment - international agreements:
  party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
    Desertification, Endangered 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 - note:
  the twin Pitons (Gros Piton and Petit Piton), striking cone-shaped peaks
  south of Soufriere, are one of the scenic natural highlights of the
  Caribbean

§3. Saint Lucia 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 growth rate:
  1.29% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  19.68 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  5.08 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  -1.73 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

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 mortality rate:
  total: 13.17 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 14.29 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 11.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 73.84 years
  male: 70.29 years
  female: 77.65 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  2.18 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  NA

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.)

§4. Saint Lucia Government

Country name:
  conventional long form: none
  conventional short form: Saint Lucia

Government type:
  Westminster-style parliamentary democracy

Capital:
  Castries

Administrative divisions:
  11 quarters; Anse-la-Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery,
  Gros-Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin, Soufriere, Vieux-Fort

Independence:
  22 February 1979 (from UK)

National holiday:
  Independence Day, 22 February (1979)

Constitution:
  22 February 1979

Legal system:
  based on English common law

Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 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 branch:
  bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (11 seats; 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 branch:
  Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (jurisdiction extends 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 parties and leaders:
  National Alliance or NA [George ODLUM]; Saint Lucia Freedom Party or SFP
  [Martinus FRANCOIS]; Saint Lucia Labor Party or SLP [Kenneth ANTHONY]; Sou
  Tout Apwe Fete Fini or STAFF [Christopher HUNTE]; United Workers Party or
  UWP [Dr. Morella JOSEPH]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  NA

International organization participation:
  ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU,
  ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, 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 representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Sonia Merlyn JOHNNY
  chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
  telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795
  FAX: [1] (202) 364-6723
  consulate(s) general: Miami, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador to
  Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia

Flag description:
  blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper
  edges of the arrowhead have a white border

§5. Saint Lucia Economy

Economy - overview:
  Changes in the EU import preference regime and the 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 (purchasing power parity):
  $866 million (2002 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  NA

GDP - real growth rate:
  3.3% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $5,400 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 7%
  industry: 20%
  services: 73% (2002 est.)

Labor force:
  43,800 (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture 21.7%, industry, commerce, and manufacturing 24.7%, services
  53.6% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate:
  20% (2003 est.)

Population below poverty line:
  NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: NA%
  highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  3% (2001 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $141.2 million
  expenditures: $146.7 million; including capital expenditures of $25.1
    million (2000 est.)

Agriculture - products:
  bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa

Industries:
  clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated
  cardboard boxes, tourism; lime processing, coconut processing

Industrial production growth rate:
  -8.9% (1997 est.)

Electricity - production:
  281 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
  261.4 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
  0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
  2,520 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
  NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Exports:
  $82 million (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil

Exports - partners:
  UK 41.4%, US 16.5%, Brazil 11.6%, Barbados 5.8%, Antigua and Barbuda 4.6%,
  Dominica 4.5% (2004)

Imports:
  $410 million (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment
  19%, chemicals, fuels

Imports - partners:
  US 27.8%, Trinidad and Tobago 20.4%, UK 8%, Venezuela 7.6%, Finland 7%
  (2004)

Debt - external:
  $214 million (2000)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $51.8 million (1995)

Currency (code):
  East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

Exchange rates:
  East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003),
  2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001)

Fiscal year:
  1 April - 31 March

§6. Saint Lucia Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  51,100 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  93,000 (2004)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: adequate 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 broadcast stations:
  AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2004)

Television broadcast stations:
  2 (of which one is a commercial broadcast station and one is a community
  antenna television or CATV channel) (2004)

Internet country code:
  .lc

Internet hosts:
  25 (2005)

Internet users:
  55,000 (2005)

§7. Saint Lucia Transportation

Airports:
  2 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 2
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2005)

Roadways:
  total: 910 km
  paved: 48 km
  unpaved: 862 km (2000)

Ports and terminals:
  Castries, Cul-de-Sac, Vieux-Fort

§8. Saint Lucia Military

Military branches:
  no regular military forces; Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (includes
  Special Service Unit, Coast Guard) (2003)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  NA

§9. Saint Lucia Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's 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


<Factbook 2006>
