Saint Lucia (2004) | Italy (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | 11 quarters; Anse-la-Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery, Gros-Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin, Soufriere, Vieux-Fort | 15 regions (regioni, singular - regione) and 5 autonomous regions* (regioni autonome, singular - regione autonoma); Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia*, Lazio, Liguria, Lombardia, Marche, Molise, Piemonte, Puglia, Sardegna*, Sicilia*, Toscana, Trentino-Alto Adige*, Umbria, Valle d'Aosta*, Veneto |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 30.7% (male 25,913; female 24,467)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 51,750; female 53,530) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 3,159; female 5,394) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 13.8% (male 4,147,149/female 3,899,980)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 19,530,512/female 19,105,841) 65 years and over: 19.7% (male 4,771,858/female 6,678,169) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa | fruits, vegetables, grapes, potatoes, sugar beets, soybeans, grain, olives; beef, dairy products; fish |
Airports | 2 (2003 est.) | 133 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 98
over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 31 under 914 m: 14 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 35
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 19 (2006) |
Area | total: 616 sq km
land: 606 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 301,230 sq km
land: 294,020 sq km water: 7,210 sq km note: includes Sardinia and Sicily |
Area - comparative | 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Arizona |
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. | Italy became a nation-state in 1861 when the regional states of the peninsula, along with Sardinia and Sicily, were united under King Victor EMMANUEL II. An era of parliamentary government came to a close in the early 1920s when Benito MUSSOLINI established a Fascist dictatorship. His disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany led to Italy's defeat in World War II. A democratic republic replaced the monarchy in 1946 and economic revival followed. Italy was a charter member of NATO and the European Economic Community (EEC). It has been at the forefront of European economic and political unification, joining the Economic and Monetary Union in 1999. Persistent problems include illegal immigration, organized crime, corruption, high unemployment, sluggish economic growth, and the low incomes and technical standards of southern Italy compared with the prosperous north. |
Birth rate | 20.5 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 8.72 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $141.2 million
expenditures: $146.7 million, including capital expenditures of $25.1 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $785.7 billion
expenditures: $861.5 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Castries | name: Rome
geographic coordinates: 41 54 N, 12 29 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to April, rainy season from May to August | predominantly Mediterranean; Alpine in far north; hot, dry in south |
Coastline | 158 km | 7,600 km |
Constitution | 22 February 1979 | passed 11 December 1947, effective 1 January 1948; amended many times |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Lucia |
conventional long form: Italian Republic
conventional short form: Italy local long form: Repubblica Italiana local short form: Italia former: Kingdom of Italy |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | - |
Death rate | 5.18 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 10.4 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $214 million (2000) | $922.5 billion (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador to Barbados, Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER, is accredited to Saint Lucia | chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald P. SPOGLI
embassy: Via Vittorio Veneto 121, 00187-Rome mailing address: PSC 59, Box 100, APO AE 09624 telephone: [39] (06) 46741 FAX: [39] (06) 488-2672, 4674-2356 consulate(s) general: Florence, Milan, Naples |
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) 364-6723 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Giovanni CASTELLANETA
chancery: 3000 Whitehaven Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 612-4400 FAX: [1] (202) 518-2151 consulate(s) general: Boston, Chicago, Houston, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco consulate(s): Detroit |
Disputes - international | 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 Caribbean Sea | Italy's long coastline and developed economy entices tens of thousands of illegal immigrants from southeastern Europe and northern Africa |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $1 billion (2002 est.) |
Economic aid - recipient | $51.8 million (1995) | - |
Economy - overview | 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. 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. | Italy has a diversified industrial economy with roughly the same total and per capita output as France and the UK. This capitalistic economy remains divided into a developed industrial north, dominated by private companies, and a less-developed, welfare-dependent, agricultural south, with 20% unemployment. Most raw materials needed by industry and more than 75% of energy requirements are imported. Over the past decade, Italy has pursued a tight fiscal policy in order to meet the requirements of the Economic and Monetary Unions and has benefited from lower interest and inflation rates. The current government has enacted numerous short-term reforms aimed at improving competitiveness and long-term growth. Italy has moved slowly, however, on implementing needed structural reforms, such as lightening the high tax burden and overhauling Italy's rigid labor market and over-generous pension system, because of the current economic slowdown and opposition from labor unions. But the leadership faces a severe economic constraint: the budget deficit has breached the 3% EU ceiling. The economy experienced almost no growth in 2005, and unemployment remained at a high level. |
Electricity - consumption | 111.8 million kWh (2001) | 302.2 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 500 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 51.5 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 120.2 million kWh (2001) | 270.1 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Gimie 950 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mont Blanc (Monte Bianco) de Courmayeur 4,748 m (a secondary peak of Mont Blanc) |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region | air pollution from industrial emissions such as sulfur dioxide; coastal and inland rivers polluted from industrial and agricultural effluents; acid rain damaging lakes; inadequate industrial waste treatment and disposal facilities |
Environment - international agreements | party to: 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, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, 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, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
Ethnic groups | black 90%, mixed 6%, East Indian 3%, white 1% | Italian (includes small clusters of German-, French-, and Slovene-Italians in the north and Albanian-Italians and Greek-Italians in the south) |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999) | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Pearlette LOUISY (since September 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Kenneth Davis 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 the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
chief of state: President Giorgio NAPOLITANO (since 15 May 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister (referred to in Italy as the president of the Council of Ministers) Romano PRODI (since 17 May 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and approved by the president elections: president elected by an electoral college consisting of both houses of parliament and 58 regional representatives for a seven-year term (no term limits); election last held 10 May 2006 (next to be held May 2013); prime minister appointed by the president and confirmed by parliament election results: Giorgio NAPOLITANO elected president on the fourth round of voting; electoral college vote - 543 |
Exports | NA (2001) | 456,600 bbl/day (2001) |
Exports - commodities | bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil | engineering products, textiles and clothing, production machinery, motor vehicles, transport equipment, chemicals; food, beverages and tobacco; minerals, and nonferrous metals |
Exports - partners | UK 48%, US 24%, Antigua and Barbuda 6%, Dominica 6%, Grenada 4% (2003) | Germany 13.1%, France 12.3%, US 8.1%, Spain 7.4%, UK 6.4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and red; similar to the flag of Ireland, which is longer and is green (hoist side), white, and orange; also similar to the flag of the Cote d'Ivoire, which has the colors reversed - orange (hoist side), white, and green
note: inspired by the French flag brought to Italy by Napoleon in 1797 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $866 million (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7%
industry: 20% services: 73% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 2.1%
industry: 29.1% services: 68.8% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,400 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.3% (2002 est.) | 0.1% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 53 N, 60 68 W | 42 50 N, 12 50 E |
Geography - note | 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 | strategic location dominating central Mediterranean as well as southern sea and air approaches to Western Europe |
Heliports | - | 5 (2006) |
Highways | total: 1,210 km
paved: 63 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1999 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 26.6% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | transit point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe | important gateway for and consumer of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin entering the European market; money laundering by organized crime and from smuggling |
Imports | NA (2001) | 2.158 million bbl/day (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels | engineering products, chemicals, transport equipment, energy products, minerals and nonferrous metals, textiles and clothing; food, beverages, and tobacco |
Imports - partners | US 36.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 19.6%, UK 7.4%, Venezuela 6.8% (2003) | Germany 17.2%, France 9.9%, Netherlands 5.7%, China 4.6%, Belgium 4.5%, Spain 4.2% (2005) |
Independence | 22 February 1979 (from UK) | 17 March 1861 (Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870) |
Industrial production growth rate | -8.9% (1997 est.) | -1% (2005 est.) |
Industries | clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism, lime processing, coconut processing | tourism, machinery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics |
Infant mortality rate | total: 13.95 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 5.83 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.42 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2001 est.) | 2% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS (observer), CDB, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 7, G- 8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, SECI (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMOGIP, UNRWA, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1998 est.) | 27,500 sq km (2003) |
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) | Constitutional Court or Corte Costituzionale (composed of 15 judges: one-third appointed by the president, one-third elected by parliament, one-third elected by the ordinary and administrative Supreme Courts) |
Labor force | 43,800 (2001 est.) | 24.49 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 21.7%, industry, commerce, and manufacturing 24.7%, services 53.6% (2002 est.) | agriculture: 5%
industry: 32% services: 63% (2001) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,932.2 km
border countries: Austria 430 km, France 488 km, Holy See (Vatican City) 3.2 km, San Marino 39 km, Slovenia 232 km, Switzerland 740 km |
Land use | arable land: 6.56%
permanent crops: 22.95% other: 70.49% (2001) |
arable land: 26.41%
permanent crops: 9.09% other: 64.5% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | Italian (official), German (parts of Trentino-Alto Adige region are predominantly German speaking), French (small French-speaking minority in Valle d'Aosta region), Slovene (Slovene-speaking minority in the Trieste-Gorizia area) |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on civil law system; appeals treated as new trials; judicial review under certain conditions in Constitutional Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 3 December 2001 (next to be held in December 2006) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - SLP 55%, UWP 37%, NA 3.5%; seats by party - SLP 14, UWP 3 |
bicameral Parliament or Parlamento consists of the Senate or Senato della Repubblica (315 seats; elected by proportional vote with the winning coalition in each region receiving 55% of seats from that region; members serve five-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera dei Deputati (630 seats; elected by popular vote with the winning national coalition receiving 54% of chamber seats; members serve five-year terms); note - electoral vote reform passed in December 2005
elections: Senate - last held 10 April 2006 (next to be held in 2011); Chamber of Deputies - last held 10 April 2006 (next to be held May 2011) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - The Union 158 (DS 62, DL 39, RC 27, Together with the Union 11, other 19), House of Freedoms 154 (FI 79, AN 41, UDC 21, LEGA 13), other 3; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - The Union 348 (DS 220, RC 41, Rose in the Fist 18, Italy of Values 17, PdCI 16, Greens Federation 15, UDEUR 10, other 11), House of Freedoms 276 (FI 140, AN 71, Union of Christian and Center Democrats 39, LEGA 26), other 6 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.34 years
male: 69.78 years female: 77.16 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 79.81 years
male: 76.88 years female: 82.94 years (2006 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: 98.6% male: 99% female: 98.3% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Southern Europe, a peninsula extending into the central Mediterranean Sea, northeast of Tunisia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | none | total: 591 ships (1000 GRT or over) 11,737,175 GRT/12,573,225 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 52, cargo 45, chemical tanker 136, container 25, liquefied gas 37, livestock carrier 3, passenger 16, passenger/cargo 150, petroleum tanker 49, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 33, specialized tanker 13, vehicle carrier 28 foreign-owned: 36 (France 1, Greece 6, Spain 1, Taiwan 10, UK 3, US 15) registered in other countries: 152 (Bahamas 5, Belize 4, Cayman Islands 12, Cyprus 2, France 2, Germany 1, Gibraltar 6, Isle of Man 5, Jamaica 1, Liberia 16, Malta 29, Marshall Islands 1, Norway 4, Panama 15, Portugal 12, Romania 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 18, Singapore 2, Spain 2, Sweden 7, Turkey 3, UK 4) (2006) |
Military branches | Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (including Special Service Unit, Coast Guard) | Army (Esercito Italiano, EI), Navy (Marina Militare Italiana, MMI), Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana, AMI), Carabinieri Corps (Corpo dei Carabinieri, CC) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $28,182.8 million (2003) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 1.8% (2004) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 22 February (1979) | Republic Day, 2 June (1946) |
Nationality | noun: Saint Lucian(s)
adjective: Saint Lucian |
noun: Italian(s)
adjective: Italian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and volcanic activity | regional risks include landslides, mudflows, avalanches, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, flooding; land subsidence in Venice |
Natural resources | forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential | coal, mercury, zinc, potash, marble, barite, asbestos, pumice, fluorospar, feldspar, pyrite (sulfur), natural gas and crude oil reserves, fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | -2.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 2.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 17,589 km; oil 1,136 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | 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 [Dr. Morella JOSEPH] | Center-Left Union Coalition [Romano PRODI]: Ulivo Alliance (including Democrats of the Left or DS [Piero FASSINO]; Daisy-Democracy is Freedom or DL [Francesco RUTELLI]); Rose in the Fist (including Italian Social Democrats or SDI [Enrico BOSELLI]; Italian Radical Party [Emma BONINO]); Italian Communist Party or PdCI [Oliviero DILIBERTO]; Green Federation [Alfonso PECORARO SCANIO]; Communist Renewal or RC [Fausto BERTINOTTI]; Italy of Values or IdV [Antonio DI PIETRO]; Union of Democrats for Europe or UDEUR [Clemente MASTELLA]; Republican European Movement or MRE [Luciana SBARBATI]
Center-Right Freedom House Coalition [Silvio BERLUSCONI]: Forza Italia or FI [Silvio BERLUSCONI]; National Alliance or AN [Gianfranco FINI]; Union of Christian Democrats of the Center or UDC [Pier Ferdinando CASINI]; Northern League or LEGA [Umberto BOSSI]; Christian Democracy (Per la Autonomie) [Publio FIORI] other non-allied parties: New Italian Socialist Party or New PSI [Gianni DE MICHELIS]; Italian Republican Party or PRI [Giorgio LA MALFA]; Social Alternative [Alessandra MUSSOLINI]; Social Movement-Tricolor Flame or MSI-Fiamma [Luca ROMAGNOLI]; Social Idea Movement with Rauti or MIS [Pino RAUTI]; South Tyrol People's Party or SVP (German speakers) [Elmar Pichler ROLLE]; Union of Valley Aosta Region or UV [Guido CESAL] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Italian manufacturers and merchants associations (Confindustria, Confcommercio); organized farm groups (Confcoltivatori, Confagricoltura); Roman Catholic Church; three major trade union confederations (Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro or CGIL [Guglielmo EPIFANI] which is left wing, Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori or CISL [Savino PEZZOTTA], which is Roman Catholic centrist, and Unione Italiana del Lavoro or UIL [Luigi ANGELETTI] which is lay centrist) |
Population | 164,213 (July 2004 est.) | 58,133,509 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.27% (2004 est.) | 0.04% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Castries, Vieux Fort | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM about 100, FM about 4,600, shortwave 9 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 19,459 km
standard gauge: 18,037 km 1.435-m gauge (11,354 km electrified) narrow gauge: 123 km 1.000-m gauge (122 km electrified); 1,299 km 0.950-m gauge (161 km electrified) (2005) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 90%, Anglican 3%, other Protestant 7% | approximately 90% Roman Catholic (about one-third regularly attend services); mature Protestant and Jewish communities and a growing Muslim immigrant community |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal (except in senatorial elections, where minimum age is 25) |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate system
domestic: system is automatically switched international: 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 |
general assessment: modern, well developed, fast; fully automated telephone, telex, and data services
domestic: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks international: country code - 39; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (with a total of 5 antennas - 3 for Atlantic Ocean and 2 for Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and NA Eutelsat; 21 submarine cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 51,100 (2002) | 25.049 million (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 14,300 (2002) | 72.2 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (of which one is a commercial broadcast station and one is a community antenna television or CATV channel) (2004) | 358 (plus 4,728 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys | mostly rugged and mountainous; some plains, coastal lowlands |
Total fertility rate | 2.25 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 1.28 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16.5% (1997 est.) | 7.7% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | - | 2,400 km
note: used for commercial traffic; of limited overall value compared to road and rail (2004) |