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
Rank: 193
Land: 606 km²
Water: 10 km²
Comparative: three and a half 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 (2008)

Natural hazards: hurricanes; 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: 161,557 (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 186
Growth rate: 0.389% (2011 est.)
Growth rate rank: 158
Below poverty line: NA%

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% Protestant 18.2% (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)

Age structure
0-14 years: 22.8%
15-64 years: 67.5% (male 52,859/female 56,173)
65 years and over: 9.7% (male 7,074/female 8,581) (2011 est.)

Median age
Total: 31 years
Male: 29.9 years
Female: 32.1 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.389% (2011 est.)
Rank: 158

Birth rate: 14.63 births/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 137

Death rate: 7 deaths/1000 population (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 134

Net migration rate: -3.73 migrant(s)/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 185

Urbanization
Urban population: 28% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 1.6% annual rate of change (2010-15 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: 1.055 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 12.72 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 130
Male: 11.92 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 13.58 deaths/1000 live births (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.84 years
Rank: 69
Male: 74.15 years
Female: 79.68 years (2011 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.81 children born/woman (2011 est.)
Rank: 151

Drinking water source:

Physicians density: 0.473 physicians/1000 population (2002)
Rank: 127

Hospital bed density: 1.4 beds/1000 population (2009)
Rank: 124

Sanitation facility access:

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

Education expenditures: 4.5% of GDP (2009)
Rank: 85

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: 13 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 14 years (2009)

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

Government type: parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

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 the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day 22 February (1979)

Constitution: 22 February 1979

Legal system: English common law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II ; represented by Governor General Dame Pearlette LOUISY (since September 1997)
Head of government: Prime Minister Kenny ANTHONY (since 30 November 2011)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
Elections: the monarchy is hereditary; the governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition 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 elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Elections: House of Assembly - last held on 28 November 2011 (next to be held in 2016)
Election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - SLP 51% UWP 47%; seats by party - SLP 11 UWP 6

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (consists of a High Court and a Court of Appeals; based on Saint Lucia; three judges of the Supreme Court reside in Saint Lucia); member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)

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 AOSIS C Caricom CDB FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC ISO ITU ITUC MIGA NAM OAS OECS OIF OPANAL OPCW PetroCaribe UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU 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 consulate 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; the blue color represents the sky and sea gold stands for sunshine and prosperity and white and black the racial composition of the island (with the latter being dominant); the two major triangles invoke the twin Pitons (Gros Piton and Petit Piton) cone-shaped volcanic plugs that are a symbol of the island

National symbols: twin pitons (volcanic peaks); Saint Lucia parrot

National anthem
Name: 'Sons and Daughters of St. Lucia'
Lyricsmusic: Charles JESSE/Leton Felix THOMAS
Note: adopted 1967

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. Although crops such as bananas mangos and avocados continue to be grown for export tourism provides Saint Lucia's main source of income and the industry is the island's biggest employer. Tourism is the main source of foreign exchange although tourism sector revenues declined with the global economic downturn as US and European travel dropped in 2009. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean area and the government is trying to revitalize the banana industry although recent hurricanes have caused exports to contract. Saint Lucia is vulnerable to a variety of external shocks including volatile tourism receipts natural disasters and dependence on foreign oil. The public debt-to-GDP ratio is about 77% and 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:
Rank: 188
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 175

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 99
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 4.9%
Industry: 18.3%
Services: 76.7% (2010 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: NA%

Labor force: 79,700 (2007)
Rank: 183
By occupation agriculture: 21.7%
By occupation industry: 24.7%
By occupation services: 53.6% (2002 est.)

Unemployment rate: 20% (2003 est.)
Rank: 164

Population below poverty line: NA%

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

Budget
Revenues: $320.9 million
Expenditures: $222.2 million (2010 est.)
Surplus or deficit: 10% of GDP (2010 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 5

Taxes and other revenues: 32.6% of GDP (2010 est.)
Rank: 80

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1% (2009 est.)
Rank: 57

Central bank discount rate: 6.5% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 54

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 10.6% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 101

Stock of narrow money: $232.1 million (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 171

Stock of broad money: $1.261 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 154

Stock of domestic credit: $1.563 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 136

Current account balance: -$133.4 million (2009 est.)
Rank: 96

Exports: $191.3 million (2009 est.)
Rank: 185
Commodities: bananas 41% clothing cocoa vegetables fruits coconut oil
Partners: UK 19.4% US 17.2% Peru 8.9% Antigua and Barbuda 8.6% Dominica 8.3% Barbados 7.5% Trinidad and Tobago 7% Grenada 5.7% (2010)

Imports: $451.5 million (2009 est.)
Rank: 187
Commodities: food 23% manufactured goods 21% machinery and transportation equipment 19% chemicals fuels
Partners: Brazil 77.8% US 11.4% Trinidad and Tobago 4.8% (2010)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $174.8 million (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 163

Debt external: $416.4 million (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 169

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 341.2 million kWh (2009 est.)
Production rank: 164
Consumption: 308 million kWh (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 169
Exports: 0 kWh (2009 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2009 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2009 est.)
Production rank: 126
Consumption: 0 m³ (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 122
Exports: 0 m³ (2009 est.)
Exports rank: 180
Imports: 0 m³ (2009 est.)
Imports rank: 185
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2011 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 192

Telephones
Main lines in use: 41,100 (2010)
Main lines in use rank: 170
Mobile cellular: 179,300 (2010)
Mobile cellular rank: 179

Telephone system
General assessment: an adequate system that is automatically switched
Domestic: fixed-line teledensity is 25 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular teledensity is roughly 110 per 100 persons
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

Broadcast media: 3 privately-owned television stations; 1 public television station operating on a cable network; multi-channel cable TV service is obtainable; a mix of state-owned and privately-owned broadcasters operate nearly 25 radio stations including repeater transmission stations (2007)

Internet
Country code: .lc
Hosts: 106 (2010)
Hosts rank: 201
Users: 142,900 (2009)
Users rank: 149

Military expenditures: NA

Airports: 2 (2010)
Rank: 206
With paved runways total: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1 (2010)

Roadways
Total: 1210 km
Rank: 180

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