Saint Lucia (2001) | Bahamas, The (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | 11 quarters; Anse-la-Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery, Gros Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin, Soufriere, Vieux Fort | 21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
32.13% (male 25,951; female 24,874) 15-64 years: 62.59% (male 48,568; female 50,430) 65 years and over: 5.28% (male 3,120; female 5,235) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.9% (male 42,142/female 42,096)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 97,865/female 101,047) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 7,616/female 11,024) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa | citrus, vegetables; poultry |
Airports | 2 (2000 est.) | 63 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 29
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 34
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.) |
Area | total:
620 sq km land: 610 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 13,940 sq km
land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km |
Area - comparative | 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
Background | 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. Self-government was granted in 1967 and independence in 1979. | Arawak Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US. |
Birth rate | 21.8 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.87 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$141.2 million expenditures: $146.7 million, including capital expenditures of $25.1 million (FY97/98 est.) |
revenues: $1 billion
expenditures: $1 billion, including capital expenditures of $106.7 million (FY03/04) |
Capital | Castries | Nassau |
Climate | tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to April, rainy season from May to August | tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream |
Coastline | 158 km | 3,542 km |
Constitution | 22 February 1979 | 10 July 1973 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Saint Lucia |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas
conventional short form: The Bahamas |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | - |
Death rate | 5.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.97 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $131.6 million (1998) | $308.5 million (2002) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia | chief of mission: Ambassador John D. ROOD
embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; Department of State, 3370 Nassau Place, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 (after hours) FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Sonia Merlyn JOHNNY chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6728 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Joshua SEARS
chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
Disputes - international | none | have not been able to agree on the alignment of a maritime boundary with the US; continues to monitor and interdict Haitian refugees fleeing economic privation and political instability |
Economic aid - recipient | $51.8 million (1995) | $9.8 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | The recent changes in the EU import preference regime and the increased competition from Latin American bananas have made economic diversification increasingly important in Saint Lucia. Improvement in the construction sector and growth of the tourism industry helped expand GDP in 1998-99. The agriculture sector registered its fifth year of decline in 1997 primarily because of a severe decline in banana production. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean, and the government is beginning to develop regulations for the small offshore financial sector. | The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth in recent years, but the slowdown in the US economy and the attacks of 11 September 2001 held back growth in these sectors in 2001-03. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy, accounting for about 15% of GDP. However, since December 2000, when the government enacted new regulations on the financial sector, many international businesses have left The Bahamas. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector, which depends on growth in the US, the source of more than 80% of the visitors. In addition to tourism and banking, the government supports the development of a "third pillar," e-commerce. |
Electricity - consumption | 102.3 million kWh (1999) | 1.596 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 110 million kWh (1999) | 1.716 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Gimie 950 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region | coral reef decay; solid waste disposal |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 90%, mixed 6%, East Indian 3%, white 1% | black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dr. Perlette LOUISY (since September 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Kenneth ANTHONY (since 24 May 1997) and Deputy Prime Minister Mario MICHEL (since 24 May 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Ivy DUMONT (since NA May 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Perry CHRISTIE (since 3 May 2002) and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia PRATT (since 7 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister |
Exports | $68.3 million (2000 est.) | transhipments of 29,000 bbl/day (2003) |
Exports - commodities | bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil | mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals; fruit and vegetables |
Exports - partners | UK 50%, US 24%, Caricom countries 16% (1995) | US 40.2%, Poland 13.3%, Spain 11.6%, Germany 5.9%, France 4.3% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border | three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $700 million (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10.7% industry: 32.3% services: 57% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 3%
industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17,700 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.5% (2000 est.) | 3% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 53 N, 60 68 W | 24 15 N, 76 00 W |
Geography - note | - | strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited |
Heliports | - | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total:
1,210 km paved: 63 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1996) |
total: 2,693 km
paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: 27% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | transit point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center |
Imports | $319.4 million (2000 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels | machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals |
Imports - partners | US 36%, Caricom countries 22%, UK 11%, Japan 5%, Canada 4% (1995) | US 22.4%, South Korea 18.9%, Brazil 9.2%, Japan 7.9%, Italy 7.8%, Venezuela 6.6% (2004) |
Independence | 22 February 1979 (from UK) | 10 July 1973 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -8.9% (1997 est.) | NA |
Industries | clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism, lime processing, coconut processing | tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe |
Infant mortality rate | 15.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 25.21 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 31.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 1.2% (year ending September 2004) |
International organization participation | ACCT (associate), ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOM, IOC, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 15 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | 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) | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts |
Labor force | 43,800 | 156,000 (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 43.4%, services 38.9%, industry and commerce 17.7% (1983 est.) | agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
8% permanent crops: 21% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 13% other: 53% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 0.8%
permanent crops: 0.4% other: 98.8% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants) |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on English common law |
Legislative branch | 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 from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 23 May 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SLP 16, UWP 1 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms); the government may dissolve the parliament and call elections at any time
elections: last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 50.8%, FNM 41.1%, independents 5.2%; seats by party - PLP 29, FNM 7, independents 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
72.57 years male: 69 years female: 76.39 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 65.54 years
male: 62.11 years female: 69.04 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 67% male: 65% female: 69% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 1,119
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 183, cargo 259, chemical tanker 54, combination ore/oil 17, container 74, liquefied gas 28, livestock carrier 2, passenger 116, passenger/cargo 40, petroleum tanker 168, refrigerated cargo 130, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 24 foreign-owned: 968 (Angola 4, Australia 4, Belgium 17, Canada 9, China 3, Croatia 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 13, Denmark 18, Estonia 1, Finland 7, France 28, Germany 15, Greece 194, Hong Kong 11, Indonesia 2, Ireland 1, Israel 1, Italy 7, Japan 49, Jordan 2, Kenya 1, Latvia 1, Malaysia 12, Monaco 15, Netherlands 24, New Zealand 1, Nigeria 2, Norway 229, Poland 13, Reunion 1, Russia 2, Saudi Arabia 12, Serbia & Montenegro 2, Singapore 11, Slovenia 1, South Korea 1, Spain 6, Sweden 9, Switzerland 4, Thailand 1, Trinidad & Tobago 2, Turkey 7, UAE 12, United Kingdom 55, United States 154, Uruguay 2) registered in other countries: 35 (2005) |
Military branches | Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard | Royal Bahamaian Defense Force (naval forces) (2004) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5 million (FY91/92) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY91/92) | NA |
National holiday | Independence Day, 22 February (1979) | Independence Day, 10 July (1973) |
Nationality | noun:
Saint Lucian(s) adjective: Saint Lucian |
noun: Bahamian(s)
adjective: Bahamian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and volcanic activity | hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage |
Natural resources | forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential | salt, aragonite, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | -4.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | National Freedom Party or NFP [Martinus FRANCOIS]; Saint Lucia Labor Party or SLP [Kenneth ANTHONY]; United Workers Party or UWP [Dr. Morella JOSEPH] | Free National Movement or FNM [Tommy TURNQUEST]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 158,178 (July 2001 est.) | 301,790
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.23% (2001 est.) | 0.67% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Castries, Vieux Fort | Freeport, Nassau, South Riding Point |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 7 (plus 3 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Radios | 111,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | - |
Religions | Roman Catholic 90%, Protestant 7%, Anglican 3% | Baptist 35.4%, Anglican 15.1%, Roman Catholic 13.5%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4.2%, other Christian 15.2%, none or unspecified 2.9%, other 0.8% (2000 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
adequate system domestic: system is automatically switched international: 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 |
general assessment: modern facilities
domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed international: country code - 1-242; tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 37,000 (1997) | 131,700 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,600 (1997) | 121,800 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (of which two are commercial stations and one is a community antenna television or CATV channel) (1997) | 2 (2004) |
Terrain | volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys | long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills |
Total fertility rate | 2.38 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.2 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (1996 est.) | 10.2% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |