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.

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

13 53 N, 60 58 W

Central America and the Caribbean

total: 616 sq km
country comparison to the world: 193
land: 606 sq km
water: 10 sq km

three and a half times the size of Washington, DC

0 km

158 km

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

tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season January to April, rainy season May to August

volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys

lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Gimie 950 m

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

arable land: 4.84%
permanent crops: 11.29%
other: 83.87% (2011)

30 sq km (2007)

total: 0.02 cu km/yr (NA)
per capita: 98.22 cu m/yr (2005)

hurricanes; volcanic activity

deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region

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

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

noun: Saint Lucian(s)
adjective: Saint Lucian

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

English (official), French patois

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)

162,781 (July 2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 187

0-14 years: 21.6% (male 18,101/female 17,098)
15-24 years: 16.9% (male 13,872/female 13,602)
25-54 years: 42.9% (male 33,528/female 36,230)
55-64 years: 8.4% (male 6,371/female 7,372)
65 years and over: 10.2% (male 7,510/female 9,097) (2013 est.)

total dependency ratio: 48.6 %
youth dependency ratio: 35.6 %
elderly dependency ratio: 13 %
potential support ratio: 7.7 (2013)

total: 32.2 years
male: 31.1 years
female: 33.3 years (2013 est.)

0.36% (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 160

14.19 births/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 139

7.21 deaths/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 126

-3.34 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 181

urban population: 28% of total population (2010)
rate of urbanization: 1.6% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

CASTRIES (capital) 15,000 (2009)

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.87 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

35 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
country comparison to the world: 118

total: 12.07 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 130
male: 11.4 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 12.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2013 est.)

total population: 77.22 years
country comparison to the world: 69
male: 74.52 years
female: 80.08 years (2013 est.)

1.78 children born/woman (2013 est.)
country comparison to the world: 158

7.2% of GDP (2011)
country comparison to the world: 81

0.47 physicians/1,000 population (2002)

1.6 beds/1,000 population (2011)

NA

NA

NA

21.4% (2008)
country comparison to the world: 87

4.4% of GDP (2011)
country comparison to the world: 96

definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 90.1%
male: 89.5%
female: 90.6% (2001 est.)

total: 13 years
male: 13 years
female: 13 years (2011)

total: 40.8%
country comparison to the world: 12
male: 37.1%
female: 45.5% (2004)

conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Lucia

parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

name: Castries
geographic coordinates: 14 00 N, 61 00 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

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

22 February 1979 (from the UK)

Independence Day, 22 February (1979)

previous 1958, 1960 (preindependence); latest presented 20 December 1978, effective 22 February 1979; note - a constitutional reform report was submitted to the St. Lucian Parliament in April 2013 (2013)

English common law

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

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 Kenny Davis 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

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 49.68%, UWP 45.83%; seats by party - SLP 11, UWP 6

highest court(s): the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is the itinerant superior court of record for the 9-member Organization of Eastern Caribbean States; the ECSC - with its headquarters on St. Lucia - is headed by the chief justice and is comprised of the Court of Appeal with 3 justices and the High Court with 16 judges; sittings of the Court of Appeal and High Court rotate among the member states; 3 High Court judges reside on Saint Lucia
judge selection and term of office: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court chief justice appointed by Her Majesty, Queen ELIZABETH II; other justices and judges appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission; Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 65; High Court judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 62
subordinate courts: magistrate's court

Lucian People's Movement or LPM [Therold PRUDENT]

NA

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

chief of mission: Ambassador Sonia Merlyn JOHNNY (since 12 September 2012)
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795
FAX: [1] (202) 364-6723
consulate(s) general: Coral Gables (FL), New York

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

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

twin pitons (volcanic peaks); Saint Lucia parrot

name: "Sons and Daughters of St. Lucia"
lyrics/music: Charles JESSE/Leton Felix THOMAS
note: adopted 1967

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 devastated 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 - 77% 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. As airlines cut back on their routes to St. Lucia in 2012, tourism growth slowed. Also, St. Lucia introduced a value added tax in 2012 of 15%, becoming the last country in the Eastern Caribbean to do so.

$2.181 billion (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 190
note: data are in 2012 US dollars

$1.3 billion (2012 est.)

-0.9% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 196

$13,000 (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 99
note: data are in 2012 US dollars

household consumption: 69.1%
government consumption: 17.7%
investment in fixed capital: 29.1%
investment in inventories: 0%
exports of goods and services: 49.6%
imports of goods and services: -65.5%

agriculture: 3.2%
industry: 17.2%
services: 79.6% (2012 est.)

bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa

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

1%
country comparison to the world: 119

79,700 (2012)
country comparison to the world: 184

agriculture: 21.7%
industry: 24.7%
services: 53.6% (2002 est.)

20% (2003 est.)
country comparison to the world: 161

NA%

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

revenues: $185.2 million
expenditures: $222.2 million (2011 est.)

14.2% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 199

-2.8% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 111

77% of GDP (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 30

1 April - 31 March

4.2% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 129

6.5% (31 December 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 48

9.5% (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 88

$259.6 million (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 173

$1.149 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 166

$1.598 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 136

$-184.4 million (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 79

$190.1 million (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 184

bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, avacados, mangoes, coconut oil

US 13.9%, UK 10.3%, Peru 9.7%, Antigua and Barbuda 9.3%, Dominica 9.1%, France 9%, Barbados 8.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 7.6%, Grenada 6.2% (2012)

$579.3 million (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 190

food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels

Brazil 57.4%, US 19%, Trinidad and Tobago 9% (2012)

$438.7 million (31 December 2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 177

East Caribbean dollars (XCD) per US dollar -

362 million kWh (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 167

332.9 million kWh (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 171

0 kWh (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 132

0 kWh (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 135

76,000 kW (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 177

100% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35

0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 179

0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 200

0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 124

0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 211

0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 186

0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 122

0 bbl (1 January 2013 es)
country comparison to the world: 187

0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 131

2,922 bbl/day (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 182

0 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 131

2,914 bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 172

0 cu m (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 192

0 cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 195

0 cu m (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 183

0 cu m (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 131

0 cu m (1 January 2013 es)
country comparison to the world: 193

424,900 Mt (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 185

36,800 (2012)
country comparison to the world: 172

227,000 (2012)
country comparison to the world: 179

general assessment: an adequate system that is automatically switched
domestic: fixed-line teledensity is 25 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular teledensity is roughly 130 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 (2010)

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)

.lc

100 (2012)
country comparison to the world: 209

142,900 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 149

2 (2013)
country comparison to the world: 205

total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2013)

total: 1,210 km
country comparison to the world: 181
paved: 847 km
unpaved: 363 km (2011)

major seaport(s): Castries, Cul-de-Sac, Vieux-Fort

no regular military forces; Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (includes Special Service Unit, Marine Unit) (2012)

18 years of age for voluntary security service; no national army (2012)

males age 16-49: 41,414 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49: 32,688
females age 16-49: 36,289 (2010 est.)

male: 1,574
female: 1,502 (2010 est.)

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

current situation: St. Lucia is a destination country for persons subjected to forced prostitution and forced labor; legal and illegal immigrants from Haiti, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and South Asia, especially those working in domestic service, are vulnerable to human trafficking; some children under 18 are coerced to work in St. Lucia's commercial sex industry
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - St. Lucia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; the government did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of trafficking offenders or public officials complicit in human trafficking in 2012 or 2011, although a counter-trafficking act was passed in 2010; the government helps protect trafficking victims by funding an NGO and running a system of informal shelters but lacks formal procedures for identifying victims and referring them to available protection and assistance services; St. Lucia is not a party to the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2013)