The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries and burgeoning sugar industry, was contested by England and France throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries (changing possession 14 times); it was finally ceded to the UK in 1814 and became part of the British Windward Islands colony. Even after the abolition of slavery on its plantations in 1834, Saint Lucia remained an agricultural island, dedicated to producing tropical commodity crops. In the mid-20th century, Saint Lucia joined the West Indies Federation (1958–1962) and in 1967 became one of the six members of the West Indies Associated States, with internal self-government. In 1979, Saint Lucia gained full independence.
land: 606 sq km
water: 10 sq km
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
arable land: 4.9% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 11.5% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 1% (2018 est.)
forest: 77% (2018 est.)
other: 5.6% (2018 est.)
167,591 (2023 est.)
noun: Saint Lucian(s)
adjective: Saint Lucian
Black/African descent 85.3%, mixed 10.9%, East Indian 2.2%, other 1.6%, unspecified 0.1% (2010 est.)
English (official), Saint Lucian Creole
Roman Catholic 61.5%, Protestant 25.5% (includes Seventh Day Adventist 10.4%, Pentecostal 8.9%, Baptist 2.2%, Anglican 1.6%, Church of God 1.5%, other Protestant 0.9%), other Christian 3.4% (includes Evangelical 2.3% and Jehovah’s Witness 1.1%), Rastafarian 1.9%, other 0.4%, none 5.9%, unspecified 1.4% (2010 est.)
0-14 years: 18.23% (male 15,734/female 14,820)
15-64 years: 66.97% (male 54,354/female 57,880)
65 years and over: 14.8% (2023 est.) (male 11,257/female 13,546)
total dependency ratio: 37.7
youth dependency ratio: 25.2
elderly dependency ratio: 12.5
potential support ratio: 8 (2021 est.)
total: 39 years (2023 est.)
male: 37.8 years
female: 40.2 years
0.27% (2023 est.)
11.7 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
8.2 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)
-0.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)
most of the population is found on the periphery of the island, with a larger concentration in the north around the capital of Castries
urban population: 19.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.98% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
22,000 CASTRIES (capital) (2018)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female
total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2023 est.)
73 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
total: 11.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
male: 11 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 12.5 deaths/1,000 live births
total population: 79.2 years (2023 est.)
male: 76.5 years
female: 82.1 years
1.72 children born/woman (2023 est.)
0.84 (2023 est.)
55.5% (2011/12)
improved: urban: 99.4% of population
rural: 98.5% of population
total: 98.7% of population
unimproved: urban: 0.6% of population
rural: 1.5% of population
total: 1.3% of population (2020 est.)
6.7% of GDP (2020)
0.64 physicians/1,000 population (2017)
1.3 beds/1,000 population (2017)
improved: urban: 97.6% of population
rural: 92.9% of population
total: 93.8% of population
unimproved: urban: 2.4% of population
rural: 7.1% of population
total: 6.2% of population (2020 est.)
19.7% (2016)
total: 9.3 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
beer: 3.21 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine: 0.4 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits: 5.1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols: 0.6 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
53.6% (2023 est.)
3.6% of GDP (2020 est.)
total population: NA
male: NA
female: NA
total: 13 years
male: 12 years
female: 13 years (2020)
deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season January to April, rainy season May to August
agricultural land: 17.4% (2018 est.)
arable land: 4.9% (2018 est.)
permanent crops: 11.5% (2018 est.)
permanent pasture: 1% (2018 est.)
forest: 77% (2018 est.)
other: 5.6% (2018 est.)
urban population: 19.2% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization: 0.98% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
0.01% of GDP (2018 est.)
0% of GDP (2018 est.)
particulate matter emissions: 8.98 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
carbon dioxide emissions: 0.41 megatons (2016 est.)
methane emissions: 0.27 megatons (2020 est.)
municipal solid waste generated annually: 77,616 tons (2015 est.)
municipal: 10 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
industrial: 0 cubic meters (2017 est.)
agricultural: 30 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
300 million cubic meters (2020 est.)
upper middle-income, tourism-based Caribbean island economy; environmentally fragile; energy import-dependent; major banana producer; well-educated labor force; key infrastructure, IT, and communications investments
$2.344 billion (2021 est.)
$2.088 billion (2020 est.)
$2.761 billion (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
12.23% (2021 est.)
-24.36% (2020 est.)
-0.65% (2019 est.)
$13,000 (2021 est.)
$11,700 (2020 est.)
$15,500 (2019 est.)
note: data are in 2017 dollars
$1.686 billion (2017 est.)
2.41% (2021 est.)
-1.76% (2020 est.)
0.54% (2019 est.)
agriculture: 2.9% (2017 est.)
industry: 14.2% (2017 est.)
services: 82.8% (2017 est.)comparison rankings:
household consumption: 66.1% (2017 est.)
government consumption: 11.2% (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 16.9% (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 0.1% (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 62.7% (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -56.9% (2017 est.)
bananas, coconuts, fruit, tropical fruit, plantains, roots/tubers, cassava, poultry, vegetables, mangoes/guavas
tourism; clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, lime processing, coconut processing
10.8% (2021 est.)
99,900 (2021 est.)
16.91% (2021 est.)
16.89% (2020 est.)
15.32% (2019 est.)
total: 38.7% (2021 est.)
male: 41%
female: 36.2%
25% (2016 est.)
51.2 (2016 est.)
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA
revenues: $350 million (2020 est.)
expenditures: $516 million (2020 est.)
0.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
70.7% of GDP (2017 est.)
69.2% of GDP (2016 est.)
18.24% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
1 April - 31 March
-$2.289 million (2021 est.)
-$237.61 million (2020 est.)
$119.6 million (2019 est.)
$890.724 million (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$445.965 million (2020 est.)
$1.209 billion (2019 est.)
Brazil 98% (2021)
crude petroleum, fertilizers, refined petroleum, polymers, aluminum (2021)
$846.484 million (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$672.769 million (2020 est.)
$968.174 million (2019 est.)
Brazil 64%, United States 14%, Russia 8%, Colombia 7%, Trinidad and Tobago 2% (2021)
crude petroleum, poultry, sugar, refined petroleum, soybeans, beef, corn, wheat (2021)
$433.117 million (31 December 2021 est.)
$231.361 million (31 December 2020 est.)
$260.87 million (31 December 2019 est.)
$570.6 million (31 December 2017 est.)
$529 million (31 December 2015 est.)
East Caribbean dollars (XCD) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
2.7 (2021 est.)
2.7 (2020 est.)
2.7 (2019 est.)
2.7 (2018 est.)
2.7 (2017 est.)
electrification - total population: 100% (2021)
installed generating capacity: 92,000 kW (2020 est.)
consumption: 322.506 million kWh (2019 est.)
exports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
imports: 0 kWh (2020 est.)
transmission/distribution losses: 27.568 million kWh (2019 est.)comparison rankings:
fossil fuels: 99.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
solar: 1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
hydroelectricity: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)
total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2021 est.)
refined petroleum consumption: 4,500 bbl/day (2019 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate exports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
crude oil estimated reserves: 0 barrels (2021 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
3,113 bbl/day (2015 est.)
production: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
consumption: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
imports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
proven reserves: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
659,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from petroleum and other liquids: 659,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
from consumed natural gas: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
50.872 million Btu/person (2019 est.)
J6
2 (2021)
2
note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
total: 1,210 km (2011)
paved: 847 km (2011)
unpaved: 363 km (2011)
major seaport(s): Castries, Cul-de-Sac, Vieux-Fort
manyapis