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.

Geographic coordinates: 13 53 N 60 58 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 616 km²
Land: 606 km²
Water: 10 km²
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
Extremes 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 (2003)

Natural hazards: hurricanes and volcanic activity

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

Population: 159,585 (July 2008 est.)
Growth rate: 0.436% (2008 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Saint Lucian
Adjective: Saint Lucian

Ethnic groups: black 82.5% mixed 11.9% East Indian 2.4% other or unspecified 3.1% (2001 census)

Languages: English (official) French patois

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)

Age structure
0-14 years: 25.2% (male 20,614/female 19,559)
15-64 years: 65.8% (male 50,897/female 54,140)
65 years and over: 9% (male 6,481/female 7,894) (2008 est.)

Median age
Total: 29.2 years
Male: 28.2 years
Female: 30.2 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.436% (2008 est.)

Birth rate: 15.4 births/1000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 6.71 deaths/1000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate: -4.33 migrant(s)/1000 population (2008 est.)

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; soil erosion particularly in the northern region
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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male/female
Total population: 0.96 male/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 13.8 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 12.75 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 14.9 deaths/1000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.25 years
Male: 73.59 years
Female: 79.05 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.86 children born/woman (2008 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Education expenditures: 6.6% of GDP (2006)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
Total population: 90.1%
Male: 89.5%
Female: 90.6% (2001 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 14 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 14 years (2006)

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)

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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

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 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
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]

International organization participation: ACP C Caricom CDB FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICCt (signatory) ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC ISO ITU ITUC 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 Michael LOUIS
In the us chancery: 3,216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,016
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 364-6,792 through 6,795
In the us fax: [1] (202) 364-6,723
In the us consulates general: Miami, New York
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 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $1.794 billion (2007 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 3.2% (2007 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $10,700 (2007 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 5%
Industry: 15%
Services: 80% (2005 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.)

Labor force: 43,800 (2001 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 21.7%
By occupation industry: 24.7%
By occupation services: 53.6% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate: 20% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $141.2 million
Expenditures: $146.7 million (2000 est.)

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.9% (2007 est.)

Central bank discount rate: 6.5% (31 December 2007)

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 10.12% (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit: $1.217 billion (31 December 2007)

Current account balance: -$199 million (2007 est.)

Exports: $288 million (2006)
Commodities: bananas 41% clothing cocoa vegetables fruits coconut oil
Partners: US 24.5% France 23.2% UK 19.3% Antigua and Barbuda 5% Dominica 4.9% Barbados 4.4% Trinidad and Tobago 4.1% (2007)

Imports: $791 million (2006)
Commodities: food 23% manufactured goods 21% machinery and transportation equipment 19% chemicals fuels
Partners: Brazil 63.6% US 10.2% Trinidad and Tobago 8.2% (2007)

Debt external: $257 million (2004)

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (XCD) per US dollar - 2.7 (2007) 2.7 (2006) 2.7 (2005) 2.7 (2004) 2.7 (2003)

Electricity
Production: 325 million kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption: 289.2 million kWh (2006 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2007 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Consumption: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Imports: 0 m³ (2007 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2006 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 51,100 (2002)
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

Internet
Country code: .lc
Hosts: 17 (2008)
Users: 110,000 (2007)

Military expenditures: NA

Airports: 2 (2007)
With paved runways total: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2007)

Roadways
Total: 1,210 km (2002)

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

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