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

Area
Rank: 193
Comparative: three and a half times the size of Washington DC

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 158 km

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

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

Irrigated land: 30 km² (2003)

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: 162,178 (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 186
Growth rate: 0.378% (2012 est.)
Growth rate rank: 158
Below poverty line: NA%

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)

Population growth rate: 0.378% (2012 est.)
Rank: 158

Birth rate: 14.42 births/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 138

Death rate: 7.1 deaths/1000 population (July 2012 est.)
Rank: 127

Net migration rate: -3.54 migrant(s)/1000 population (2012 est.)
Rank: 184

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; soil erosion particularly in the northern region

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 130

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 70

Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (2012 est.)
Rank: 154

Physicians density: 0.473 physicians/1000 population (2002)

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

Sanitation facility access:
Unimproved:

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

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

Government type: parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

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

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)

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: Lucian People's Movement or LPM [Therold PRUDENT]; Saint Lucia Labor Party or SLP [Kenny ANTHONY]; United Workers Party or UWP [Stephenson KING]

International organization participation: ACP AOSIS C Caricom CD CDB CELAC FAO G-77 IBRD ICAO ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC ISO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA NAM OAS OECS OIF OPANAL OPCW Petrocaribe UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WCO WFTU (NGOs) WHO WIPO WMO WTO

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; 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

Economy overview: The island nation has been able to attract foreign business and investment especially in its offshore banking and tourism industries. Tourism is Saint Lucia's main source of jobs and income - accounting for 65% of GDP - and the island's main source of foreign exchange earnings. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean area. Crops such as bananas mangos and avocados continue to be grown for export but St. Lucia's once solid banana industry has been devasted by strong competition and by Hurricane Tomas in 2010. Saint Lucia is vulnerable to a variety of external shocks including volatile tourism receipts natural disasters and dependence on foreign oil. Furthermore high public debt - 78% of GDP in 2012 - and high debt servicing obligations constrain the ANTHONY administration's ability to respond to adverse external shocks. St. Lucia has experienced anemic growth since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008 largely because of a slowdown in tourism.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 190

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 173

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 95

Agriculture products: bananas coconuts vegetables citrus root crops cocoa

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 79,700 (2012)
Rank: 185

Unemployment rate: 20% (2003 est.)
Rank: 159

Population below poverty line: NA%

Budget
Surplus or deficit: -2.9% of GDP (2011 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 104

Taxes and other revenues: 14.7% of GDP (2011 est.)
Rank: 190

Public debt: 77% of GDP (2010 est.)
Rank: 30

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: 2.8% (2011 est.)
Rank: 123

Central bank discount rate: 6.5% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 46

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 10.2% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 89

Stock of narrow money: $250.1 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 175

Stock of broad money: $1.113 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
Rank: 166

Stock of domestic credit: $1.442 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 145

Current account balance: -$220.4 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 74

Exports: $198.6 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 184
Commodities: bananas 41% clothing cocoa avacados mangoes coconut oil
Partners: Colombia 21% US 14.9% Peru 8.5% Antigua and Barbuda 8.1% Dominica 7.9% Barbados 7.1% Trinidad and Tobago 6.6% UK 5.6% Grenada 5.4% (2011)

Imports: $545.9 million (2011 est.)
Rank: 189
Commodities: food 23% manufactured goods 21% machinery and transportation equipment 19% chemicals fuels
Partners: Brazil 78.8% US 8.4% Trinidad and Tobago 5.1% (2011)

Debt external: $470.5 million (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 171

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 358 million kWh (2010 est.)
Production rank: 166
Consumption: 317.3 million kWh (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 171
Exports: 0 kWh (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 132
Imports: 0 kWh (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 135
Installed generating capacity: 76,000 kW (2009 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 174
Generation sources fossil fuels: 100% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 39
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 179
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 200
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 188

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 190
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 187
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 122
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 189

Refined petroleum
Products production: 0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products production rank: 196
Products consumption: 2,922 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 184
Products exports: 0 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products exports rank: 132
Products imports: 2,980 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Products imports rank: 169

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Production rank: 192
Consumption: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 195
Exports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 55
Imports: 0 m³ (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 132
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2012 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 193

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 430,800 Mt (2010 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 181

Telephones
Main lines in use: 35,900 (2011)
Main lines in use rank: 171
Mobile cellular: 216,500 (2011)
Mobile cellular rank: 179

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

Internet
Country code: .lc
Hosts: 100 (2012)
Hosts rank: 210
Users: 142,900 (2009)
Users rank: 149

Military expenditures: NA

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2012)

Airports: 2 (2012)
Rank: 209

Roadways
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 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea which permits Venezuela to extend its Economic Exclusion Zone/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