A state on the island of the same name in the group of Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea between North and South America. Area - 616 km². Capital - Castries (57 thousand). Administrative-territorial division - 11 districts. Population - 166 thousand, 90% of African descent. Official language - English, the majority of the population speaks a local creole language based on French (patois). Religion: about 90% of the population practices Catholicism. Currency - East Caribbean dollar = 100 cents.
Diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation were established on April 19, 2004.
National holiday - February 22 - Independence Day (1979).
Saint Lucia is an independent state within the Commonwealth, headed by Great Britain. According to the constitution (which came into force on November 22, 1979), the head of state is recognized as the Queen of Great Britain, represented on the island by a Governor-General (since 1997 - P. Louisy). The legislative authority is vested in a bicameral parliament, consisting of a Senate (11 appointed members) and a House of Assembly. The House of Assembly (17 members) is elected by the population for 5 years (the last elections were in 2001). The executive authority is exercised by the government headed by the Prime Minister (K. Anthony).
Political parties: The Labour Party - founded in 1946, ruling. Leader - K. Anthony. The United Workers Party of Saint Lucia - founded in 1964. Leader - M. Joseph. National Alliance. Leader - D. Odlem.
Major trade unions: National Workers' Union, Seafarers and Port Workers' Union.
The Saint Lucia Workers' Union was established in 1945 and is a member of the ICFTU. The Saint Lucia Trade Union was founded in 1939 and is a member of the ICFTU and the WFTU.
X. Columbus discovered the island in 1502. English settlers attempted to establish themselves on it from 1605. In 1642, France declared the island its colony. Throughout the 17th to early 19th centuries, the island changed hands between England and France 14 times. Since 1814, according to the Treaty of Paris, it has been under British ownership. From 1958 to 1962, Saint Lucia was part of the West Indies Federation, and on March 1, 1967, it gained the status of "associated with Great Britain." Independence was proclaimed on November 22, 1979.
Member of the UN (since 1979), OAS (since 1979), Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, Caribbean Community, and other international organizations.
The country's GDP is $866 million (2002). The economy is primarily based on agriculture and servicing foreign tourists. About 30% of the island's working-age population is employed in agriculture. The area of cultivated agricultural land is 5,000 hectares. The main cash crop is bananas (about 100,000 tons), the export of which accounts for over 41% of foreign exchange earnings.
There are small enterprises for assembling electronic components, producing cardboard, cigarettes, fabrics, clothing, and toys. The island has a transit oil terminal and a refinery. A project for utilizing geothermal energy from the Soufrière volcano has begun. The manufacturing industry is based on the processing of local agricultural raw materials, including the processing of copra, production of coconut oil, rum, and soft drinks.
Foreign tourism is developing (about 300,000 tourists per year). Income from tourism accounts for about 50% of foreign exchange earnings. The USA accounts for 30% of all tourists; the number of tourists from Western Europe is increasing.
Export volume - $66 million, import - $267 million (2002). Exports include bananas, copra, coconut oil, clothing, and toys; imports include industrial goods (21% of import volume), machinery and equipment (19%), raw materials, fuel, and food (23%). Main trading partners: USA (53% of import value), Great Britain (over 45% of export value), Trinidad and Tobago.
Consumer price growth - 3% (2001). About 20% of the self-employed population is unemployed.
There are no railways. The length of roads is 1210 km (including paved - 63 km). Main ports - Castries and Vieux Fort. Near Vieux Fort is the international airport Hewanorra.
In Morne Fortune, there is a training center for preparing specialists with secondary technical and pedagogical education and a branch of the University of the West Indies. The newspaper "Voice of Saint Lucia" (6,000 copies), the monthly "Catholic Chronicle" (3,000), and the weekly "Crusader" (4,000) are published. There are 7 radio stations and 5 television channels.
