]! ^! 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 ^% `! 616 sq km `" 606 sq km `# 10 sq km ^& 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 158 km ^) `$ 12 nm `M 24 nm `N 200 nm `O 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 ^, `% Caribbean Sea 0 m `& Mount Gimie 950 m ^- forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential ^. `' 6.45% `( 22.58% `) 70.97% (2005) ^/ 30 sq km (2003) ^0 hurricanes and volcanic activity ^1 deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region _P `P 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 `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 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 
]# ^3 170,649 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 29.4% (male 25,869/female 24,248) `, 65.5% (male 55,115/female 56,641) `- 5.1% (male 3,200/female 5,576) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 25.6 years `. 24.8 years `/ 26.5 years (2007 est.) ^6 1.297% (2007 est.) ^7 19.28 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 5.03 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 -1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.07 male(s)/female `1 1.067 male(s)/female `, 0.973 male(s)/female `- 0.574 male(s)/female `2 0.974 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 12.81 deaths/1,000 live births `. 13.93 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 11.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 74.08 years `. 70.53 years `/ 77.88 years (2007 est.) ^= 2.15 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `3 Saint Lucian(s) `4 Saint Lucian ^B black 90%, mixed 6%, East Indian 3%, white 1% ^C Roman Catholic 67.5%, Seventh Day Adventist 8.5%, Pentecostal 5.7%, Rastafarian 2.1%, Anglican 2%, Evangelical 2%, other Christian 5.1%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.5%, none 4.5% (2001 census) ^D English (official), French patois ^E `5 age 15 and over has ever attended school `2 90.1% `. 89.5% `/ 90.6% (2001 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 none `7 Saint Lucia ^H parliamentary democracy ^I `8 Castries `9 14 01 N, 61 00 W `: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) ^J 11 quarters; Anse-la-Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery, Gros-Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin, Soufriere, Vieux-Fort ^K 22 February 1979 (from UK) ^L Independence Day, 22 February (1979) ^M 22 February 1979 ^N based on English common law ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Dame Pearlette LOUISY (since September 1997) `< Prime Minister Sir John COMPTON (since 15 December 2006) `= Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister `> none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general ^Q 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 are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) `> House of Assembly - last held 11 December 2006 (next to be held in December 2011) `? House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - UWP 50%, SLP 46.9%, other 3.1%; seats by party - UWP 11, SLP 6 ^R Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (jurisdiction extends to Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) ^S National Alliance or NA [George ODLUM]; Saint Lucia Freedom Party or SFP [Martinus FRANCOIS]; Saint Lucia Labor Party or SLP [Kenneth ANTHONY]; Sou Tout Apwe Fete Fini or STAFF [Christopher HUNTE]; United Workers Party or UWP [Sir John COMPTON] ^T NA ^U ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Sonia Merlyn JOHNNY `S 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 `T [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795 `U [1] (202) 364-6723 `V Miami, New York ^W the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia ^X blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border 
]% ^Y Changes in the EU import preference regime and the increased competition from Latin American bananas have made economic diversification increasingly important in Saint Lucia. The island nation has been able to attract foreign business and investment, especially in its offshore banking and tourism industries. Tourism is the main source of foreign exchange, with more than 700,000 arrivals in 2005. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean area, and the government is trying to revitalize the banana industry. Economic fundamentals remain solid, even though unemployment needs to be cut. ^Z $866 million (2002 est.) ^[ $825 million (2005) ^\ 5.1% (2005 est.) ^] $4,800 (2005 est.) ^^ `@ 5% `A 15% `B 80% (2005 est.) ^_ 43,800 (2001 est.) ^` `@ 21.7% `A 24.7% `B 53.6% (2002 est.) ^a 20% (2003 est.) _! NA% _" `C NA% `D NA% _# 2.9% (2005 est.) _$ `E $141.2 million `F $146.7 million; including capital expenditures of $25.1 million (2000 est.) _& bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa _' clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism; lime processing, coconut processing _( -8.9% (1997 est.) _) 290 million kWh (2004) _* 269.7 million kWh (2004) _+ 0 kWh (2004) _, 0 kWh (2004) _- 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 2,800 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 0 cu m (2004 est.) _3 $82 million (2004 est.) _4 bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil _5 France 31.4%, US 18.7%, China 18.2%, UK 14% (2005) _6 $410 million (2004 est.) _7 food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels _8 US 22.5%, Trinidad and Tobago 14.5%, Netherlands 13.6%, Argentina 6.6%, Venezuela 5.2%, UK 5.2%, France 4.5% (2005) _9 $257 million (2004) _: $21.5 million (2004) _; East Caribbean dollar (XCD) _< East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002) _= 1 April - 31 March 
]& _> 51,100 (2002) _? 93,000 (2004) _@ `G adequate system `H system is automatically switched `I country code - 1-758; direct microwave radio relay link with Martinique and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; tropospheric scatter to Barbados; international calls beyond these countries are carried by Intelsat from Martinique _A AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2004) _B 2 (1 commercial broadcast station and 1 community antenna television or CATV channel) (2004) _C .lc _D 21 (2006) _E 55,000 (2005) 
]' _F 2 (2006) _G `! 2 `J 1 `b 1 (2006) _H `! 910 km `K 48 km `L 862 km (2000) _I Castries, Cul-de-Sac, Vieux-Fort 
]( _J no regular military forces; Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (includes Special Service Unit, Coast Guard) (2007) _K males age 18-49: 42,742 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 33,539 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 1,651 (2005 est.) _U NA 
]) _N joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea _O transit point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe 