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
Saint Lucia
Location:
Caribbean, island between the
Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
Geographic coordinates:
13 53 N, 60 58 W
Map references:
Central America and the
Caribbean
Area:
total: 616 sq km
land: 606 sq km water: 10 sq km
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
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, Wetlands, 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
total: 26 years
male: 25.2 years female: 26.9 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
1.305% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
18.89 births/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Death rate:
4.99 deaths/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
-0.84 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07
male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64
years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.57
male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2008
est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 12.46
deaths/1,000 live births male: 13.56 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 11.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.32
years male: 70.77 years female: 78.12 years (2008
est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.11 children born/woman (2008
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 82.5%, mixed 11.9%, East
Indian 2.4%, other or unspecified 3.1% (2001 census)
Religions:
Roman Catholic 67.5%, Seventh
Day Adventist 8.5%, Pentecostal 5.7%, Rastafarian 2.1%, Anglican 2%,
Evangelical 2%, other Christian 5.1%, 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
Saint Lucia
Country name:
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Saint Lucia
Government type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
name: Castries
geographic coordinates: 14 01 N, 61 00 W time
difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard
Time)
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 Stephenson KING (since 9 September 2007); note - Sir John
COMPTON died in office Friday, 7 September 2007 cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime
minister elections: 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; six members appointed on the advice of the prime
minister, three on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and two
after consultation with religious, economic, and social groups) and the
House of Assembly (17 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve
five-year terms) elections: House of Assembly - last held 11
December 2006 (next to be held in December 2011) election
results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - UWP 50%, SLP
46.9%, other 3.1%; seats by party - UWP 11, SLP 6
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 [Stephenson KING]
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
Economy
Saint Lucia
Economy - overview:
The island nation has been able
to attract foreign business and investment, especially in its offshore
banking and tourism industries, with a surge in foreign direct investment
in 2006, attributed to the construction of several tourism projects.
Tourism is the main source of foreign exchange, with almost 900,000
arrivals in 2007. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the
Eastern Caribbean area, and the government is trying to revitalize the
banana industry. Saint Lucia is vulnerable to a variety of external shocks
including declines in European Union banana preferences, volatile tourism
receipts, natural disasters, and dependence on foreign oil. High debt
servicing obligations constrain the KING administration's ability to
respond to adverse external shocks. Economic fundamentals remain solid,
even though unemployment needs to be reduced.
US 21.1%, Trinidad and Tobago
14.9%, Italy 12.3%, France 11.8%, Venezuela 7.2%, UK 6.9%, Netherlands
5.8% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:
$11.06 million (2005)
Debt - external:
$257 million (2004)
Currency (code):
East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Currency code:
XCD
Exchange rates:
East Caribbean dollars per US
dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003)
Fiscal year:
1 April - 31 March
Communications
Saint Lucia
Telephones - main lines in use:
51,100 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
105,700 (2005)
Telephone system:
general assessment:
adequate system domestic: system is automatically switched
international: country code - 1-758; the East Caribbean Fiber
Optic System (ECFS) and Southern Caribbean fiber optic system (SCF)
submarine cables, along with Intelsat from Martinique, carry calls
internationally; direct microwave radio relay link with Martinique and
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; tropospheric scatter to Barbados
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2003)
Radios:
111,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
2 (1 commercial broadcast
station and 1 community antenna television or CATV channel) (2003)
Televisions:
32,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.lc
Internet hosts:
15 (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
15 (2000)
Internet users:
55,000 (2004)
Transportation
Saint Lucia
Airports:
2 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 2 2,438 to
3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007)
Roadways:
total: 910 km
paved: 48 km unpaved: 862 km (2000)
Ports and terminals:
Castries, Cul-de-Sac,
Vieux-Fort
Military
Saint Lucia
Military branches:
no regular military forces;
Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (includes Special Service Unit, Coast
Guard) (2007)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 48,358
(2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 38,660
(2008 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 16-49: 1,706
(2008 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
NA
Transnational Issues
Saint Lucia
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 eastern Caribbean Sea
Illicit drugs:
transit point for South
American drugs destined for the US and Europe
