SAINT LUCIA
GEOGRAPHY
Total area: 620 km2; land area: 610 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than 3.5 times the size of
Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 158 km
Maritime claims:
Contiguous zone: 24 nm;
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds;
dry season from January to April, rainy season from May to August
Terrain: volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys
Natural resources: forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice),
mineral springs, geothermal potential
Land use: arable land 8%; permanent crops 20%; meadows and
pastures 5%; forest and woodland 13%; other 54%; includes irrigated 2%
Environment: subject to hurricanes and volcanic activity;
deforestation; soil erosion
Note: located 700 km southeast of Puerto Rico
PEOPLE
Population: 153,075 (July 1991), growth rate 2.2% (1991)
Birth rate: 31 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Net migration rate: - 4 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Infant mortality rate: 18 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 74 years female (1991)
Total fertility rate: 3.5 children born/woman (1991)
Nationality: noun--Saint Lucian(s); adjective--Saint Lucian
Ethnic divisions: African descent 90.3%, mixed 5.5%, East Indian
3.2%, Caucasian 0.8%
Religion: Roman Catholic 90%, Protestant 7%, Anglican 3%
Language: English (official), French patois
Literacy: 67% (male 65%, female 69%) age 15 and over having ever
attended school (1980)
Labor force: 43,800; agriculture 43.4%, services 38.9%, industry
and commerce 17.7% (1983 est.)
Organized labor: 20% of labor force
GOVERNMENT
Long-form name: none
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Castries
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)
Constitution: 22 February 1979
Legal system: based on English common law
National holiday: Independence Day, 22 February (1979)
Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime
minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper
house or Senate and a lower house or House of Assembly
Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
Leaders:
Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Acting Governor General Sir Stanislaus Anthony JAMES
(since 10 October 1988);
Head of Government--Prime Minister John George Melvin COMPTON
(since 3 May 1982)
Political parties and leaders:
United Workers' Party (UWP), John COMPTON;
Saint Lucia Labor Party (SLP), Julian HUNTE;
Progressive Labor Party (PLP), George ODLUM
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
House of Assembly--last held 6 April 1987 (next to be held by
April 1992);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(17 total) UWP 10, SLP 7
Communists: negligible
Member of: ACCT (associate), ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO,
G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL,
LORCS, NAM, OAS, OECS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO,
WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Dr. Joseph Edsel EDMUNDS;
Chancery at Suite 309, 2100 M Street NW, Washington DC 30037;
telephone (202) 463-7378 or 7379; there is a Saint Lucian Consulate
General in New York;
US--none
Flag: blue with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead;
the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border
ECONOMY
Overview: Since 1983 the economy has shown an impressive average
annual growth rate of almost 5% because of strong agricultural and
tourist sectors. Saint Lucia also possesses an expanding
industrial base supported by foreign investment in manufacturing and
other activities, such as in data processing. The economy, however,
remains vulnerable because the important agricultural sector is dominated
by banana production. Saint Lucia is subject to periodic droughts and/or
tropical storms, and its protected market agreement with the UK for
bananas may end in 1992.
GDP: $273 million, per capita $1,830; real growth rate 4.0% (1989)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.4% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 16.0% (1988)
Budget: revenues $131 million; expenditures $149 million,
including capital expenditures of $71 million (FY90 est.)
Exports: $111.9 million (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--bananas 54%, clothing 17%, cocoa, vegetables, fruits,
coconut oil;
partners--UK 51%, CARICOM 20%, US 19%, other 10%
Imports: $265.9 million (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--manufactured goods 23%, machinery and transportation
equipment 27%, food and live animals 18%, chemicals 10%, fuels 6%;
partners--US 35%, CARICOM 16%, UK 15%, Japan 7%, Canada 4%,
other 23%
External debt: $54.5 million (1989)
Industrial production: growth rate 3.5% (1990 est.); accounts for
7% of GDP
Electricity: 32,500 kW capacity; 112 million kWh produced,
730 kWh per capita (1990)
Industries: clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages,
corrugated boxes, tourism, lime processing, coconut processing
Agriculture: accounts for 16% of GDP and 43% of labor force;
crops--bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus fruit, root crops, cocoa;
imports food for the tourist industry
Economic aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral
commitments (1970-88), $118 million
Currency: East Caribbean dollar (plural--dollars);
1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1--2.70
(fixed rate since 1976)
Fiscal Year: 1 April-31 March
COMMUNICATIONS
Highways: 760 km total; 500 km paved; 260 km otherwise improved
Ports: Castries
Civil air: 2 major transport aircraft
Airports: 2 total, 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways;
none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m;
1 with runways 1,220-2,439
Telecommunications: fully automatic telephone system;
9,500 telephones; direct radio relay link with Martinique and
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; interisland troposcatter link to
Barbados; stations--4 AM, 1 FM, 1 TV (cable)
DEFENSE FORCES
Branches: Royal Saint Lucia Police Force, Coast Guard
Manpower availability: males 15-49, 38,050; NA fit for military
service
Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP