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 St. 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
 * Extended 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: 8% arable land; 20% permanent crops; 5% meadows and pastures; 13% forest and woodland; 54% other; includes 2% irrigated

Environment: subject to hurricanes and volcanic activity; deforestation; soil erosion

Note: located 700 km southeast of Puerto Rico

People

Population: 153,196 (July 1990), growth rate 2.6% (1990)

Birth rate: 33 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate: 5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Net migration rate: -2 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Infant mortality rate: 18 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Life expectancy at birth: 69 years male, 74 years female (1990)

Total fertility rate: 3.8 children born/woman (1990)

Nationality: noun—St. Lucian(s); adjective—St. Lucian

Ethnic divisions: 90.3% African descent, 5.5% mixed, 3.2% East Indian, 0.8% Caucasian

Religion: 90% Roman Catholic, 7% Protestant, 3% Anglican

Language: English (official), French patois

Literacy: 78%

Labor force: 43,800; 43.4% agriculture, 38.9% services, 17.7% industry and commerce (1983 est.)

Organized labor: 20% of labor force

Government

Long-form name: none

Type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Castries

Administrative divisions: 11 parishes; Anse-la-Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery, Gros-Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin, Soufrière, 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 Governor General 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; St. 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 April 1992); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(17 total) UWP 10, SLP 7

Communists: negligible

Member of: ACP, CARICOM, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, NAM, OAS, OECS, PAHO, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, 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 St. 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 industry sectors. There is also 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. St. 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: $172 million, per capita $1,258; real growth rate 6.8% (1988 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.0% (1987)

Unemployment rate: 18.6% (1986)

Budget: revenues $71.7 million; expenditures $79.3 million, including capital expenditures of $19.6 million (1987)

Exports: $76.8 million (f.o.b., 1987); commodities—bananas 67%, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil, clothing; partners—UK 55%, CARICOM 21%, US 18%, other 6%

Imports: $178.1 million (c.i.f., 1987); commodities—manufactured goods 22%, machinery and transportation equipment 21%, food and live animals 20%, mineral fuels, foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fertilizers, petroleum products; partners—US 33%, UK 16%, CARICOM 14.8%, Japan 6.5%, other 29.7%

External debt: $39.5 million (December 1987)

Industrial production: growth rate 2.4% (1987)

Electricity: 20,000 kW capacity; 80 million kWh produced, 530 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated boxes, tourism, lime processing, coconut processing

Agriculture: accounts for 15% of GDP and 43% of labor force; crops—bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus fruit, root crops, cocoa; imports food for the tourist industry

Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $4 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $93 million

Currency: East Caribbean dollar (plural—dollars); 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents 267