Saint Lucia (2008) | Swaziland (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 11 quarters; Anse-la-Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery, Gros-Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin, Soufriere, Vieux-Fort | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.4% (male 25,869/female 24,248)
15-64 years: 65.5% (male 55,115/female 56,641) 65 years and over: 5.1% (male 3,200/female 5,576) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 40.3% (male 230,238/female 226,184)
15-64 years: 56.1% (male 304,899/female 331,036) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 15,870/female 24,839) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep |
Airports | 2 (2007) | 18 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 17
914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2007) |
Area | total: 616 sq km
land: 606 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 17,363 sq km
land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than New Jersey |
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. 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. | Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted in 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s pressured King MSWATI III, the world's last ruling monarch, to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy, although he has backslid on these promises in recent years. Swaziland recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known rates of HIV/AIDS infection. |
Birth rate | 19.28 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 26.98 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $141.2 million
expenditures: $146.7 million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $977 million
expenditures: $1.034 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | name: Castries
geographic coordinates: 14 01 N, 61 00 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Mbabane
geographic coordinates: 26 18 S, 31 06 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Lobamba (royal and legislative capital) |
Climate | tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season January to April, rainy season May to August | varies from tropical to near temperate |
Coastline | 158 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 22 February 1979 | signed by the King in July 2005 went into effect on 8 February 2006 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Lucia |
conventional long form: Kingdom of Swaziland
conventional short form: Swaziland local long form: Umbuso weSwatini local short form: eSwatini |
Death rate | 5.03 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 30.35 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $257 million (2004) | $484 million (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Lynn ALLISON
embassy: Central Bank Building, Mahlokahla Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959 |
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, New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ephraim Mandla HLOPHE
chancery: 1712 New Hampshire Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5002 FAX: [1] (202) 234-8254 |
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 eastern Caribbean Sea | in 2006, Swazi king advocates resort to ICJ to claim parts of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal from South Africa |
Economic aid - recipient | $11.06 million (2005) | $46.03 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | The island nation has been able to attract foreign business and investment, especially in its offshore banking and tourism industries, with a surge in foreign direct investment in 2006, attributed to the construction of several tourism projects. 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. Saint Lucia is vulnerable to a variety of external shocks including declines in European Union banana preferences, volatile tourism receipts, natural disasters, and dependence on foreign oil. High debt servicing obligations constrain the KING administration's ability to respond to adverse external shocks. Economic fundamentals remain solid, even though unemployment needs to be reduced. | In this small, landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 80% of the population. The manufacturing sector has diversified since the mid-1980s. Sugar and wood pulp remain important foreign exchange earners. Mining has declined in importance in recent years with only coal and quarry stone mines remaining active. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives more than nine-tenths of its imports and to which it sends 60% of its exports. Customs duties from the Southern African Customs Union and worker remittances from South Africa substantially supplement domestically earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. More than one-fourth of the population needed emergency food aid in 2004-05 because of drought, and nearly two-fifths of the adult population has been infected by HIV/AIDS. |
Electricity - consumption | 282.9 million kWh (2005) | 1.3 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 872 million kWh; note - electricity supplied by South Africa (2005) |
Electricity - production | 304.2 million kWh (2005) | 460 million kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Gimie 950 m |
lowest point: Great Usutu River 21 m
highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion |
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, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | black 82.5%, mixed 11.9%, East Indian 2.4%, other or unspecified 3.1% (2001 census) | African 97%, European 3% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - NA (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003) | emalangeni per US dollar - 6.85 (2006), 6.3593 (2005), 6.4597 (2004), 7.5648 (2003), 10.5407 (2002) |
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 Stephenson KING (since 9 September 2007); note - Sir John COMPTON died in office Friday, 7 September 2007 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: King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986)
head of government: Prime Minister Absolom Themba DLAMINI (since 14 November 2003) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch from among the elected members of the House of Assembly |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit |
Exports - partners | France 69.7%, US 10.2%, UK 8.8% (2006) | South Africa 59.7%, EU 8.8%, US 8.8%, Mozambique 6.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5%
industry: 15% services: 80% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 11.9%
industry: 46.1% services: 41.9% (2006 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.1% (2005 est.) | 2.1% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 53 N, 60 58 W | 26 30 S, 31 30 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 | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 1.6%
highest 10%: 40.7% (2001) |
Illicit drugs | transit point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe | - |
Imports | 2,678 bbl/day (2004) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 21.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 14.9%, Italy 12.3%, France 11.8%, Venezuela 7.2%, UK 6.9%, Netherlands 5.8% (2006) | South Africa 95.6%, EU 0.9%, Japan 0.9%, Singapore 0.3% (2006) |
Independence | 22 February 1979 (from UK) | 6 September 1968 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -8.9% (1997 est.) | 3.7% (FY95/96) |
Industries | clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism; lime processing, coconut processing | coal, wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates, textile and apparel |
Infant mortality rate | total: 12.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.93 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 70.66 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 74 deaths/1,000 live births female: 67.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.9% (2005 est.) | 5.7% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (2003) | 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) | High Court; Supreme Court; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch |
Labor force | 43,800 (2001 est.) | 300,000 (2006) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 21.7%
industry: 24.7% services: 53.6% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 535 km
border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 km |
Land use | arable land: 6.45%
permanent crops: 22.58% other: 70.97% (2005) |
arable land: 10.25%
permanent crops: 0.81% other: 88.94% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
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 to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 11 December 2006 (next to be held in December 2011) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - UWP 50%, SLP 46.9%, other 3.1%; seats by party - UWP 11, SLP 6 |
bicameral Parliament or Libandla consists of the Senate (30 seats; 10 members appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; to serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats; 10 members appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 18 October 2003 (next to be held in October 2008) election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.08 years
male: 70.53 years female: 77.88 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 32.23 years
male: 31.84 years female: 32.62 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 90.1% male: 89.5% female: 90.6% (2001 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 81.6% male: 82.6% female: 80.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
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 |
none (landlocked) |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (includes Special Service Unit, Coast Guard) (2007) | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (USDF): Ground Force (includes air wing), Royal Swaziland Police Force (RSPF) (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 4.7% (2006) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 22 February (1979) | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) |
Nationality | noun: Saint Lucian(s)
adjective: Saint Lucian |
noun: Swazi(s)
adjective: Swazi |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and volcanic activity | drought |
Natural resources | forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc |
Net migration rate | -1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
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 [Sir John COMPTON] | the status of political parties, previously banned, is unclear under the new (2006) Constitution and currently being debated - the following are considered political associations; African United Democratic Party or AUDP [Stanley MAUNDZISA, president]; Imbokodvo National Movement or INM; Ngwane National Liberatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 170,649 (July 2007 est.) | 1,133,066
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 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 69% (2006) |
Population growth rate | 1.297% (2007 est.) | -0.337% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2003) | AM 3, FM 2 (plus 4 repeaters), shortwave 3 (2004) |
Railways | - | total: 301 km
narrow gauge: 301 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | 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) | Zionist 40% (a blend of Christianity and indigenous ancestral worship), Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 10%, other (includes Anglican, Bahai, Methodist, Mormon, Jewish) 30% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.067 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.973 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.574 male(s)/female total population: 0.974 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.018 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.921 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.639 male(s)/female total population: 0.947 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate system
domestic: system is automatically switched international: country code - 1-758; the East Caribbean Fiber Optic System (ECFS) and Southern Caribbean fiber optic system (SCF) submarine cables, along with Intelsat from Martinique, carry calls internationally; direct microwave radio relay link with Martinique and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; tropospheric scatter to Barbados |
general assessment: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system
domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: country code - 268; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 51,100 (2002) | 44,000 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 105,700 (2005) | 250,000 (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1 commercial broadcast station and 1 community antenna television or CATV channel) (2003) | 12 (includes 7 relay stations) (2004) |
Terrain | volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains |
Total fertility rate | 2.15 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.43 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 20% (2003 est.) | 40% (2006 est.) |