Saint Lucia

Region: Central America and Caribbean

Official language: English

Population: 168,038 (2024 est.)

Nationality: Saint Lucian(s) (noun), Saint Lucian (adjective)

Land area: 606 sq km

Water area: 10 sq km

Capital: Castries

National anthem: "Sons and Daughters of St. Lucia," by Charles Jesse/Leton Felix Thomas

National holiday: Independence Day, February 22 (1979)

Population growth: 0.26% (2023 est.)

Time zone: UTC –4

Flag: The flag of St. Lucia features a light blue field (water and sky) with three triangles, centered and sharing the same base, superimposed on one another. The bottom golden triangle is superimposed upon a larger and narrower black triangle, which itself is superimposed upon a slightly larger white triangle, so that it acts as a border along the sides. The triangles invoke the volcanoes Gros Piton and Petit Piton, which are symbols of the island.

Motto: “The Land, the People, the Light”

Independence: February 22, 1979 (from the United Kingdom)

Government type: parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legal system: English common law

A small island nation located in the West Indies, Saint Lucia is the second-largest of the Windward Islands group. It is located in the Caribbean Sea between the islands of Saint Vincent and Martinique. Saint Lucia is known for its beach resorts, which attract many tourists. Originally inhabited by the Indigenous Arawak people, it is now a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. Its people are known as Saint Lucians.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: Nearly all Saint Lucians are of African descent. France and Great Britain both made attempts to colonize Saint Lucia in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. In the process, they brought large numbers of enslaved Africans to the island. At the time of the 2010 census, 85.3 percent of the population were descended from this group. The largest minority groups were East Indians (2.2 percent) and people of mixed descent (10.9 percent).

In 2023, only 19 percent of Saint Lucians lived in the island's urban areas. The majority of the urban areas are along the coast, including Castries, the capital and largest city. With the island's largest port and best natural harbor, Castries is the commercial center of Saint Lucia. It was rebuilt after most of its buildings were destroyed by fire in 1948.

Other cities include the southwest port of Soufrière; Vieux Fort, the southernmost city; the fishing villages Anse la Raye and Canaries; and Micoud, Pierrot, and Marigot Bay.

Christianity, which was brought to the island by European colonists, is the prevailing religion in Saint Lucia. At the 2010 census, Roman Catholicism was practiced by over 60 percent of the population. Another quarter were Protestants, including Seventh-Day Adventists, Anglicans, and Pentecostals. Rastafarianism was practiced by small fraction of the population.

English is the official language of Saint Lucia, though many residents speak a Lesser Antillean Creole French, a French-based creole also known as Kwéyòl. Saint Lucian culture exhibits many French influences.

In 2022, Saint Lucia was ranked 108 out of 193 countries and territories on the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI), which measures quality-of-life indicators such as life expectancy and education requirements.

Indigenous People: Saint Lucia's earliest inhabitants were Arawak peoples, who arrived around the third century CE. The Island Carib people arrived sometime around the ninth century and wiped out the Arawak living in Saint Lucia. There are numerous Arawak heritage sites and artifacts in Saint Lucia, but there are few Arawak people still living on the island.

The Carib are the oldest significant native population remaining in Saint Lucia; they predate the introduction of the African population by centuries.

It is possible, though it is not known for certain, that Spain was the first European nation to visit Saint Lucia. Claims that Christopher Columbus visited the island in 1502 have been refuted by historians. In addition to Great Britain and France, Spain and the Netherlands attempted to colonize Saint Lucia.

Education: Primary schooling in Saint Lucia is free and compulsory for students between the ages of five and fifteen. Secondary education is available, but attendance rates are low. The Sir Arthur Lewis Community College and a branch of the University of the West Indies Open campus are among the nation's only institutes of higher learning. There are also several medical schools, including the Spartan Health Science University and the International American University College of Medicine.

Health Care: Saint Lucia has a stable health care system, and most residents of the island receive adequate attention and care. There are numerous health clinics, district hospitals, and general hospitals on the island.

Saint Lucians are generally healthy and are at low risk for contracting communicable diseases. Many diseases have been eradicated by improvements in the nation's health care that have come since gaining independence.

Average life expectancy was 79.4 years in 2024. The infant mortality rate that year was 11.5 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Food: As in most Caribbean nations, seafood is widely eaten in Saint Lucia, which has a Creole cuisine influenced by West Indian foods. Common dishes are langouste (lobster), lambi (conch), and crawfish. Locally grown fruits and vegetables are eaten at most meals. Cassava, also grown on the island, is a dietary staple that may be prepared in a variety of dishes.

Green fig and salt fish is the national dish of Saint Lucia. Other popular meals include pepper pot and fried plantains. The most popular beverages are fruit juices, rum, and beer. Piton, a Caribbean beer, is brewed on the island.

Arts & Entertainment: Several notable writers were born in Saint Lucia. The most renowned was Derek Walcott (1930–2017), whose works included Dream on Monkey Mountain (1970), Another Life (1973), and the epic poem Omeros (1990). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992.

Other notable Saint Lucian writers have included Garth St. Omer (1931–2018), Jane King Hippolyte (b. 1952), Kendel Hippolyte (b. 1952), John Robert Lee, and Jacinta Lee. Notable Saint Lucian painters have included Dunstan St. Omer (1927–2015) and Llewellyn Xavier (b. 1945). Walcott was also an accomplished painter.

Zouk, cadence, calypso, jazz, and reggae are all forms of popular music performed throughout the island. During celebrations and holidays such as Christmas, drumming groups perform with dancers and singers, who sing only in Kwéyòl.

Popular sports in Saint Lucia include golf, tennis, squash, horse racing, cycling, diving, rock climbing, soccer, and volleyball. Windsurfing and other water sports are popular as well, particularly in the Rodney Bay region.

Holidays: Independence Day, celebrated on February 22, is Saint Lucia's national holiday. A celebration known as Carnival is held each year in July. As on other Caribbean islands, Saint Lucia's Carnival is a festival involving music, dance, costumes, and colorful decorations. Other festivals held on the island include the Saint Lucia Jazz Festival in the spring, Jounen Kwéyòl (Creole Day) in October, and the Feast of Saint Cecilia (Musicians Feast) on November 22.

Other holidays observed in Saint Lucia include New Year's Day (January 1), Good Friday, Easter, and Easter Monday (March or April), Labour Day (May 1), Whit Monday (May), Corpus Christi (May or June), Emancipation Day (August 1), Thanksgiving Day (October), National Day (December), Christmas (December 25), and Boxing Day (December 26).

Environment and Geography

Topography: Saint Lucia is volcanic in origin, and the island has a rocky terrain of mountains, valleys, and rivers. Most of its terrain is covered with rainforest vegetation. The island's coastline is indented with dozens of natural harbors, bays, and inlets.

Saint Lucia's highest point is Morne Gimie, which reaches 948 meters (3,111 feet) at its peak. Other significant mountains include Gros Piton and Petit Piton, twin volcanic peaks at 798 meters (2,619 feet) and 750 meters (2,461 feet) above sea level, respectively. In addition to these, there are seven other major peaks, most of which are volcanoes.

Natural Resources: Saint Lucia's rainforests provide vast amounts of timber, the island's most significant natural resource. However, concerns over deforestation have limited exploitation of this resource.

Other natural resources found in Saint Lucia include mineral springs and volcanic minerals such as pumice. Soufrière contains natural sulfur springs with pools of boiling water. The area's potential for producing geothermal energy has been recognized, and the government of Saint Lucia has begun exploring the infrastructure necessary to exploit this resource.

Plants & Animals: There are several nature reserves throughout Saint Lucia, established to shelter many of the island's native plants and animals. These include the Frégate Island Nature Reserve and the Savannes Bay Nature Reserve.

Saint Lucia is characterized by dense tropical flora throughout the island. However, much of Saint Lucia's original rainforest has been destroyed by deforestation since the island was colonized by the British. Still, it remains the home of more than 1,100 different species of plants, including orchids, anthoria, thornscrubs, and several varieties of cacti.

Palm trees grow in great numbers along Saint Lucia's coast. Mangrove trees grow in the nation's swampy areas, particularly the Savannes Bay Nature Reserve. Savannes Bay is also the habitat of sea moss and a living reef.

Numerous reptiles and amphibians live in Saint Lucia. Among them are the Saint Lucian tree lizard, the pygmy gecko, the Maria Island ground lizard, the Maria Island grass snake, the Kouwes snake, the dangerous Fer de Lance snake, and numerous tree frogs. Small rodents, such as the agouti and the manicou, are also found on the island.

Many species of birds also nest on Saint Lucia, including the Saint Lucia Amazon parrot, the Saint Lucia oriole, Semper's warbler (critically endangered), the white-breasted thrasher (endangered), the hummingbird, several types of vireo, and the Saint Lucia black finch (endangered).

Climate: With a tropical climate, the weather in Saint Lucia remains warm throughout the year. The average winter temperature is about 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit) and its average summer temperature is 27.8 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit), but these are slightly lower in the mountainous southwest.

The dry season lasts from January to April, and the wet season from May through August. Saint Lucia receives a high annual average rainfall of 254 centimeters (100 inches).

Saint Lucia is susceptible to high winds and violent rain storms, as well as tropical storms and hurricanes. Among those that have affected the island were Tropical Storm Debbie in 1994, Tropical Storm Iris in 1995, a large tropical wave in 1996, Hurricane Tomas in 2010, Tropical Storm Matthew (later a category 5 hurricane) in 2016, and Tropical Storm Harvey (later a category 4 hurricane) in 2017. Each of these events caused several deaths, numerous injuries, massive property damage, and widespread homelessness, flooding, and crop devastation. Volcanic activity is another of the island's natural hazards.

Economy

Saint Lucia's economy is largely focused on the agricultural sector, but like all Caribbean islands, revenues from tourism are essential to the nation's economic well-being. Though once among the region's leading banana exporters, Saint Lucia has faced increasing competition from other Caribbean and Latin American nations, causing the industry to suffer. In 2023, Saint Lucia's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at US$4.196 billion, or US$23,400 per capita.

Industry: Saint Lucia's industrial sector has typically accounted for a relatively small portion of GDP. Manufacturing includes the production of assembled electronic parts, beverages, apparel, cardboard boxes, and processed food, including coconuts and limes.

Agriculture: Subsistence farming is the focus of Saint Lucia's agricultural sector. However, cash crops provide the bulk of the nation's revenue. Sugarcane was the staple crop of Saint Lucia for many years, but it has since been replaced by bananas.

After bananas, Saint Lucia's most important cash crops are cocoa, coconuts (used for the production of coconut oil), citrus fruits, vegetables, and roots.

The risks of an economy focused heavily in agriculture include lost revenues due to poor weather. For example, in 1994, Tropical Storm Debbie destroyed 68 percent of Saint Lucia's banana crop, causing major economic setbacks.

Tourism: Saint Lucia benefits greatly from its tourism business. The services sector, accounting for 82.8 percent of GDP in 2017, is dominated by tourism-related activities. In 2019, tourism accounted for 40.7 percent of GDP and 78.1 percent of total employment. Nearly 1.3 million tourists, a record-high number, visited that year. However, the following year saw damage to the sector due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated travel restrictions. By 2022, numbers of visitors had begun to rise again, and the United Nations had listed Saint Lucia as one of the highest performing destinations to recover from the pandemic.

Popular tourist activities include diving, deep-sea fishing, yachting, water sports, and golf, most of which are available at the islands' many beach resorts.

Heritage sites, such as Fond Latisab Creole Park in the village of Babonneau and the Pigeon Island National Landmark, are also popular tourist destinations, as are the Diamond Falls Botanical Gardens and Sulphur Springs of Soufrière. Other attractions include botanical gardens, boat tours, and plantation tours.

Government

The British attempted to colonize Saint Lucia as early as 1638 but were thwarted by the island's Carib population. In 1642, France gained control of the island, spurring disputes with Great Britain.

Saint Lucia changed ownership between France and Great Britain more than a dozen times before 1814, when it became an official colony of Great Britain under the Treaty of Paris. Saint Lucia was granted full independence from Great Britain in 1979.

Today, the independent state of Saint Lucia is a parliamentary democracy. As a former British possession, it is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The chief of state is the British monarch, whose power is represented on Saint Lucia by the governor-general. The head of government is the prime minister, who is usually the leader of the majority party in the legislature.

The bicameral parliament consists of a seventeen-member House of Assembly, whose members are elected to five-year terms, and an eleven-member Senate, most of whose members are appointed to five-year terms by the prime minister and the leader of the opposition (six by the prime minister, three by the opposition). Two members are appointed upon consultation with various religious, economic, and social interest groups.

Saint Lucia's judicial branch is the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, which has jurisdiction in several other Caribbean nations as well. The voting age in Saint Lucia is eighteen.

Interesting Facts

• Throughout its history, Saint Lucia has been named Iouanalao, Hiwanarau, and Hewanorra. Iouanalao, the name given to the island by the Arawaks, is believed to mean "where the iguana are found." The island's English name is in honor of Saint Lucy, the patron saint of light.
• Saint Lucia has produced two Nobel laureates: author Derek Walcott and economist Arthur Lewis. Due to the island nation's small size, it had the world's highest ratio of Nobel laureates to total population in the early 2020s.
• Saint Lucia won Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States tournaments both in cycling and under-23 net ball in 2018.

Bibliography

Chitolie-Joseph, Esther. Saint Lucia: Education for All 2015 National Review. Ministry of Education Human Resource Development and Labour, Oct. 2014. UNESDOC Database, unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002300/230028E.pdf. Accessed 27 Aug. 2020.

"Economic Impact Reports." World Travel and Tourism Council, 2020, wttc.org/Research/Economic-Impact. Accessed 24 Aug. 2020.

"Saint Lucia." Human Development Reports, United Nations Development Programme, 13 Mar. 2024, hdr.undp.org/data-center/specific-country-data#/countries/LCA. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

"Saint Lucia." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 16 Jan. 2025, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saint-lucia/. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

"St. Lucia." The World Bank, 2024, data.worldbank.org/country/st-lucia. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.