Saint Lucia
Encyclopedia : S : SA : SAI : Saint Lucia
- For other uses, see Saint Lucia (disambiguation)}}}.
- Lc redirects here. See LC for other possible meanings.
| |||||
| ''National Anthem: Sons and Daughters of Saint Lucia" Royal anthem: "God Save the Queen" | |||||
| National motto: The Land, The People, The Light | |||||
| |||||
| Official language | English | ||||
| Capital | Castries | ||||
| Head of State | Queen Elizabeth II | ||||
| Governor-General | Dame Pearlette Louisy | ||||
| Prime Minister | Dr. Kenny Anthony | ||||
| Area - Total - % water | Ranked 193rd 620 km² 1,6% | ||||
| Population - Total (2005) - Density | Ranked 187th 161,000 260/km² | ||||
| HDI (2003) | 0.772 (76th) – medium | ||||
| Independence - Date | From the UK February 22, 1979 | ||||
| Currency | East Caribbean dollar | ||||
| Time zone | UTC -4 | ||||
| National anthem | Sons and Daughters of Saint Lucia | ||||
| Internet TLD | .lc | ||||
| Calling Code | 1-758 | ||||
History
Saint Lucia is an independent island kingdom and one of the Windward Islands. Named for the Roman Catholic Saint Lucy of Syracuse. It was first visited by Europeans in about the year 1500 and first colonized successfully by France who signed a treaty with the native Carib peoples in 1660. Great Britain then took control of the island from 1663-1667 before going to war with France over it fourteen times. The British finally took complete control of the island in 1814. Representative government came about in 1924 and from 1958 to 1962 the island was a member of The Federation of the West Indies. Lastly, on February 22, 1979 Saint Lucia became an independent state of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Politics
- More information on politics and government of Saint Lucia can be found at the Politics and government of Saint Lucia series.
Saint Lucia is a full & participating member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
Quarters
The island of Saint Lucia is divided into 11 quarters:
Geography
The volcanic island of Saint Lucia is more mountainous than many other Caribbean islands, with the highest point being Mount Gimie, at 950 m above sea level. Two other mountains, the Pitons, form the island's most famous landmark. They are located between Soufrière and Choiseul on the western side of the island. Saint Lucia is also one of the few islands in the world that flaunts a drive-in volcano.
The capital city of Saint Lucia is Castries, where about one third of the population lives. Major towns include Gros Islet, Soufrière and Vieux Fort. The local climate is tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds, with a dry season from January to April and a rainy season from May to November.
Economy
The recent changes in the European Union 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, which is the island's main source of revenue. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean area, and the government is trying to revitalise the banana industry. Despite negative growth in 2001, economic fundamentals remain solid, and GDP growth should recover in the future.
Demographics
The small population of Saint Lucia is of mostly African descent (upwards of 90% of the population).There is also a small but economically significant mulatto minority representing approximately 5%; just 1.1% are of European origin, with an Indo-Caribbean minority of some 3%. A small, mixed Carib (Kalinago) population mainly centered in the Choiseul region, but also in other towns on the Western coast, is present as well. Rounding out the population are small numbers of Lebanese and Syrians. The official language of the country is English, but a patois based mainly on French is also spoken. The majority of the population are Roman Catholics (ca. 90%); the rest are Anglicans (3%) or other Protestants (7%).
St. Lucia boasts the highest ratio in the world for number of Nobel laureates produced with respect to the total population of the nation. Two winners have come from St. Lucia - Sir Arthur Lewis won the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel ("Nobel Prize in Economics") in 1979, and Derek Walcott received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992.
Culture
Tourism in St Lucia
Second only to bananas, tourism is vital to St Lucia's economy - and it is hard to imagine that tourism will not become even more important in the future. Provided one visits during the dry season (January - April), St Lucia has all the ingredients necessary for a great holiday in the sun: warm temperatures, breath taking scenery, gorgeous beaches, crystal-clear waters and friendly natives.
But St Lucia also has character: there is more to see than just the beaches. In the south there is the "World's only drive-in Volcano" which is a great day out (the smell notwithstanding) as is the wonderful Botanical Gardens. In the north there is Pigeon Island National Park, with the ruins of an old British base (Fort Rodney) once commanded by Admiral Rodney to which the area; Rodney Bay is named after. The fact that the island is not over-developed is also a plus-point: there are lovely beaches without hotels, sweeping mountains and impenetrable rain forests.
Miscellaneous topics
- Communications in Saint Lucia
- Foreign relations of Saint Lucia
- List of cities in Saint Lucia
- Military of Saint Lucia
- National Emergency Management Organisation (NEMO)
- Transport in Saint Lucia
- The Saint Lucia Scout Association
External links
- [Official Website of the Government of Saint Lucia]
- [Compendium of Environmental Statistics]
- [Official Home of the Saint Lucia Solid Waste Management Authority]
- [2001 Population and Housing Census Report]
- [Official Website of Saint Lucia Met. Service]
- [Portal of the Saint Lucia Tourist Board]
- [Saint Lucia - Simply Beautiful]
- [St. Lucia Forums / Message Board]
- [Disaster Management in Saint Lucia]
- [Prominent Saint Lucian Women (pdf)]
- [Pictures & Images of St. Lucia]
- [St. Lucia Paper Money]
- [Teaching Resources on St Lucia]
- [Map of St. Lucia]
| Countries in the Caribbean |
|---|
| Independent nations: Antigua and Barbuda | Bahamas | Barbados | Cuba | Dominica | Dominican Republic | Grenada | Haiti | Jamaica | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Saint Lucia | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Dependencies: -British: Anguilla | British Virgin Islands | Cayman Islands | Montserrat | Turks and Caicos Islands | -Dutch: Aruba & Netherlands Antilles | -French: Guadeloupe & Martinique | -U.S.: Navassa Island | Puerto Rico | U.S. Virgin Islands |
| |
|
|---|---|
| Antigua and Barbuda | Bahamas¹ | Barbados | Belize | Dominica | Grenada | Guyana | Haiti¹ | Jamaica | Montserrat² | Saint Kitts and Nevis | Saint Lucia | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Suriname | Trinidad and Tobago | |
| Associate members: Anguilla | Bermuda | Cayman Islands | British Virgin Islands | Turks and Caicos Islands | |
| Observer status: Aruba | Colombia | Dominican Republic | Mexico | Netherlands Antilles | Puerto Rico | Venezuela | |
| ¹ member of the community but not the CARICOM (Caribbean) Single Market and Economy. ² territory of the United Kingdom just awaiting British instruments of entrustment to join the (CSME) | |
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.