Wayzata World Factbook 1995/World Factbook - 1995 Edition - Wayzata Technology (1995).iso/mac/text/Build/orig BACKGR/BNOT0097.TXT

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National Trade Data Bank
ITEM ID     : ST BNOTES STLUCIA
DATE        : Oct 28, 1994

AGENCY      : U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
PROGRAM     : BACKGROUND NOTES
TITLE       : Background Notes - ST LUCIA

Source key      : ST
Program key     : ST BNOTES
Update sched.   : Occasionally
Data type       : TEXT
End year        : 1993
Date of record  : 19941018
Keywords 3      :
Keywords 3      : | ST LUCIA

BACKGROUND NOTES:  ST LUCIA, APRIL 1993
PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE

APRIL 1993

Official Name:  St. Lucia

PROFILE

Geography
Area:  619 sq. km. (238 sq. mi.).  Cities:  Capital--Castries
(pop. 57,000).  Other cities--Soufriere, Vieux Fort.  Terrain:
Mountainous.  Climate:  Tropical.

People
Nationality:  Noun and adjective--St. Lucian(s).  Population
(1992):  151,000.  Annual growth rate (1992):  2.2%.  Ethnic
groups:  African descent 90%, mixed 6%, East Indian 3%, Caucasian
.8%.  Religions:  Roman Catholic 90%, Church of England 3%,
remainder Protestant sects.  Languages:  English (official); a
French patois is common throughout the country.  Education:
Years compulsory--ages 5-15.  Attendance--more than 80% urban,
75% rural.  Literacy--82%.  Health (1992):  Infant mortality
rate--20/1,000.  Life expectancy--males 69 yrs., females 74 yrs.
Work force:  Agriculture--37%.  Industry and commerce--20%.
Services--18%.

Government
Type:  Parliamentary democracy; independent sovereign state
within the Commonwealth.  Independence:  February 22, 1979.
Constitution:  1979.

Branches:  Executive--governor general (representing Queen
Elizabeth II, head of state), prime minister (head of
government), cabinet.  Legislative--bicameral parliament.
Judicial--district courts, Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (high
court and court of appeals), Privy Council.

Administrative subdivisions:  16 parishes.

Political parties:  United Workers Party (ruling), St. Lucia
Labor Party (official opposition--designated by the number of
representatives in parliament), Progressive Labor Party
(opposition).  Suffrage:  Universal
at 18.

Flag:  Blue with a gold, black, and white triangle in the center.


Economy
GDP (1991):  $402 million.  Annual growth rate (1991):  2.3%.
Per capita GNP (1991):  $2,660.  Average inflation rate (1991):
6%.

Natural resources:  Forests, beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral
springs.

Agriculture (18% of GNP):  Products--bananas, cocoa, coconut,
citrus fruits, livestock.

Industry (including manufacturing, 10% of GNP):  Types--garments,
electronic components, beverages, corrugated boxes.

Tourism:  8% of GNP.

Mining:  1.3% of GNP.

Trade:  Exports--$127 million:  bananas, other agricultural
products, oils and fats, manufactured goods.  Partners--other
CARICOM countries, UK, European Community, US.  Imports--$271
million:  food, fuel, manufactured goods, machinery and transport
equipment.  Partners--US, European Community, UK, other CARICOM
countries.

Official exchange rate:  Eastern Caribbean $2.7=US$1.

PEOPLE
St. Lucia's population is primarily African and mixed
African-European, with small Caucasian and East Indian
minorities.  English is the official language, although many St.
Lucians speak a French patois.  Between 85% and 90% of the people
are Roman Catholic, a further reflection of early French
influence on the island.  The population of just over 150,000 is
evenly divided between urban and rural areas, although the
capital, Castries, has grown significantly in recent years and
contains over one third of the population.  Despite a high
emigration rate, the population is growing rapidly, about 2% per
year.

HISTORY
St. Lucia's first known inhabitants were the Arawaks, believed to
have come from northern South America to settle around 200-400
AD.  Numerous archaeological sites on the island have produced
specimens of the Arawaks' well-developed pottery.  Caribs
gradually replaced Arawaks during the period 800-1000.

Europeans first landed on the island in either 1492 or 1502,
during one of the New World voyages of navigator and cartographer
Juan de la Cosa, who explored the Windward Islands south to the
South American mainland.  The Dutch, English, and French all
tried to establish trading outposts on St. Lucia in the 17th
century but faced opposition from hostile Caribs.

The English, with their headquarters in Barbados, and the French,
centered on Martinique, found St. Lucia even more attractive when
the sugar industry developed in 1765.  British influence
gradually spread.  English commercial law was introduced in 1827,
criminal procedures in 1833, and in 1838, the French language was
officially abolished.  In that year, St. Lucia was incorporated
into the British Windward Islands administration, headquartered
in Barbados.  The system lasted until 1885, when the capital was
moved to Grenada.

St. Lucia's 20th century history has been marked by increasing
self-government.  A 1924 constitution gave the island its first
form of representative government, with a minority of elected
members provided for the previously all-nominated legislative
council.  Universal adult suffrage was introduced in 1951, and
elected members became a majority of the legislative council.
Ministerial government was introduced in 1956, and in 1958, St.
Lucia joined the short-lived West Indies Federation, a
semi-autonomous dependency of the United Kingdom.  When that
collapsed in 1962, following Jamaica's withdrawal, a smaller
federation was briefly attempted.  After the second failure, the
United Kingdom and the six Windward and Leeward Islands--Grenada,
St. Vincent, Dominica, Antigua, St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, and St.
Lucia--developed a novel form of cooperation called associated
statehood.

As an associated state of the United Kingdom from 1967 to 1979,
St. Lucia had full responsibility for internal self-government
but left its external affairs and defense responsibilities to the
United Kingdom.  This interim arrangement ended on February 22,
1979, when St. Lucia achieved full independence.  Ties to the UK
remain, as the nation recognizes Queen Elizabeth II as titular
head of state and is an active member of the Commonwealth.  The
island continues to cooperate with its neighbors through the
Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the East Caribbean Common Market
(ECCM), and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

GOVERNMENT
St. Lucia is a parliamentary democracy modeled on the British
Westminster system.  The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II,
Queen of St. Lucia, represented by the governor general.  The
governor general exercises basically ceremonial functions, but
residual powers under the constitution can be used at the
governor general's discretion.  The actual power in St. Lucia
lies with the prime minister and the cabinet, representing the
majority party in parliament.

The bicameral parliament consists of a 17-member House of
Assembly elected by universal adult suffrage for 5-year terms and
an 11-member Senate appointed by the governor general (6 on the
recommendation of the leader of the opposition and 2 entirely at
the governor general's discretion).  The parliament may be
dissolved by the governor general at any point during its 5-year
term, either at the request of the prime minister, in order to
take the nation into early elections, or at the governor
general's own discretion, if the House passes a vote of no
confidence in the government.

St. Lucia has an independent judiciary composed of district
courts and a high court.  Cases may be appealed to the Eastern
Caribbean Court of Appeals and, ultimately, to Elizabeth II's
Privy Council.

The island is divided into 16 parishes and an urban area (the
capital, Castries).  Popularly elected local governments in most
towns and villages perform such tasks as regulation of sanitation
and markets and maintenance of cemeteries and secondary roads.

Principal Government Officials
Head of State--Queen Elizabeth II
Governor General--Stanislaus A.  James
Prime Minister--John G. M. Compton
Minister of Foreign Affairs--George Mallet
Ambassador to the UN--Donatus St. Aimee
Ambassador to the US and the OAS--Joseph E. Edwards

St. Lucia maintains an embassy at 2100 M Street, NW, Suite 309,
Washington, DC 20037 (tel. [phone]).

POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Politics in St. Lucia is dominated by John Compton and his United
Workers Party (UWP), which has governed the country for all but 3
years since independence.  Compton was Premier of St. Lucia from
1964 until independence in February 1979 and remained Prime
Minister until elections later that year.  The  St. Lucia Labor
Party (SLP) won the first post-independence elections in July
1979, taking 12 of 17 seats in parliament.  A period of
turbulence ensued, in which squabbling within the party led to
several changes of prime minister.  Pressure from the private
sector and the unions forced the government to resign in 1982.
New elections were then called and were won resoundingly by
Compton's UWP, which took 14 of 17 seats.

The UWP was elected for a second time on April 16, 1987, but with
only 9 of 17 seats.  Seeking to increase his slim margin, Prime
Minister Compton suspended parliament and called new elections on
April 30.  This unprecedented snap election, however, gave
Compton the same results as before--the UWP retained 9 seats, the
SLP, 8.  On April 27, 1992, Prime Minister Compton's government
again defeated the SLP, led by businessman Julian Hunte.  In this
election, the government increased its majority in parliament to
11 seats.  The UWP has a reputation for being the more
conservative of the two major political parties, but they are
similar ideologically.  While past campaigns have been marked by
occasional inter-party name-calling and violence, the elections
themselves are generally considered to be free and fair.

ECONOMY
The economy has evolved from reliance on sugar to
diversification, including agriculture, industry, and tourism.
Agriculture, dominated by banana cultivation, is characterized by
the participation of a large number of small- and medium-sized
enterprises.  This sector has been largely responsible for the
extensive socio-economic changes that have taken place in St.
Lucia since the 1960s.  Its effects are felt in a number of
sectors, particularly transport, distribution, and construction.
Since over 60% of the foreign exchange earnings are from banana
exports to the United Kingdom, possible loss of this protected
market with the establishment of a single European market in 1992
poses a serious challenge to St. Lucia's economy.  A variety of
vegetables are produced for local consumption, and an attempt is
being made to expand agriculture by encouraging the establishment
of tree crops such as mangos and avocados.

Manufacturing, a small but robust sector, has been encouraged by
generous regulatory and tax relief, waiver of import duties,
provision of factory shells, and other government incentives.  A
relatively ambitious diversification program has stimulated
production of paper, metal products, textiles, beer, furniture,
chemicals, and electronic components.  Local manufacturers export
mainly to the CARICOM countries, but a number of US-based firms
have plants that export back to the United States.  Improvements
in roads, communications, and port facilities have created a more
suitable investment climate for manufacturing as well as tourism
and agriculture.  Foreign investors have also been lured by an
educated and skilled work force and relatively stable political
conditions.  The largest investment is a petroleum storage and
transshipment terminal built by Hess Oil.  A Caribbean
Development Bank-funded (CDB) airport expansion project is
currently underway.  A new deepwater harbor has been drawing
transshipment trade away from Barbados.  A major manufacturing
"free zone" has been established in Viuex Fort in the south.

The tourism sector has made significant gains, experiencing a
boom during the last few years despite some unfavorable external
factors.  Visitors to the island during the first 11 months of
1991 totaled 276,000, an increase of 23% over the same period in
1990.  Not only has St. Lucia benefited from an expansion of the
Caribbean tourist market as a whole, it has also been able to
attract tourists away from alternative Caribbean destinations.
St. Lucia has beautiful beaches and spectacular mountain scenery.
The development of the tourism sector has been helped, in no
small measure, by the government's commitment to providing a
favorable investment environment.  Incentives are available for
building and upgrading tourism facilities, there has been liberal
use of public funds to improve the physical infrastructure of the
island, and the government has made efforts to attract cultural
and sporting events and develop historical sites.  The Tourism
Board hopes to maintain momentum in the industry through
coordinating businesses' approach to the market, emphasizing
quality of service, and undertaking a publicity campaign to
promote hospitality, support for the tourist industry, and public
awareness of the importance of tourism to St. Lucia's economy.

St. Lucia is a beneficiary of the US Caribbean Basin Initiative.
It is also a member of the  13-nation Caribbean Economic
Community and Common Market, which has signed a framework
agreement with the United States to promote trade and investment
under the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
The major thrust of foreign affairs for St. Lucia is economic
development.  The government is seeking balanced international
relations with emphasis on mutual economic cooperation and trade
and investment.  It seeks to conduct its foreign policy chiefly
through its membership in the OECS.  St. Lucia participated in
the Grenada rescue mission, sending members of its special
services unit into active duty.

St. Lucia is a member of the Commonwealth, the Organization of
American States, and the United Nations.  It seeks pragmatic
solutions to major international issues.  While maintaining good
relations with its traditional friends--the United States, the
United Kingdom, Canada, and many others--it also maintains
diplomatic relations with Third World countries.  St. Lucia has
relations with both North and South Korea, with Cuba, and has
been active in eastern Caribbean regional affairs--the OECS and
CARICOM.

Only two diplomatic missions exist in St. Lucia--the Venezuelan
embassy, headed by a resident ambassador and an office of the
Barbados-based British High Commission.  Other countries maintain
representatives in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad, or Guyana.

St. Lucia has no major outstanding disputes with other nations.
It has no army but maintains a special defense unit within its
police force and is training a coast guard.  It claims an
exclusive economic zone for a distance of 320 kilometers (200
mi.) from its coasts.

US-ST. LUCIAN RELATIONS
The United States and St. Lucia enjoy excellent bilateral
relations.  The United States supports the St. Lucian
Government's efforts to expand its economic base and improve the
lives of its citizens.  US assistance in the past has been
channeled primarily through multilateral agencies such as the CDB
and the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development
Institute.

More recently, the US Agency for International Development
(USAID) has provided bilateral aid for hurricane relief (1981),
agricultural programs, and road construction.  USAID is assisting
the agricultural sector through a major land registration and
titling project that will help to establish security of land
tenure for local farmers.  It also is providing support to the
banana industry.  US security assistance programs provide limited
military training to the special services unit and coast guard.
The Peace Corps maintains about 20 volunteers in the country,
working primarily in education, agriculture, and health.

Principal US Officials
Ambassador--G. Philip Hughes
Deputy Chief of Mission--Tain P. Tompkins
Political/Economic Counselor--Thomas R. Hutson
Consul General--Thomas E. Cairns
Regional Labor Attache--Raymond Brown
Public Affairs Officer (USIS)--Gerald Waters
Director, USAID--Mosina Jordan
Director, Peace Corps--Richard Pyle (resident in St. Lucia)

The United States maintains no official presence in St. Lucia.
The ambassador and embassy officers are resident in Barbados and
frequently travel to St. Lucia.  The US embassy in Barbados is
located in the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Broad  Street,
Bridgetown (tel. [phone]).


TRAVEL NOTES:
Entry requirements:  US citizens visiting St. Lucia must show
proof of citizenship, but a passport is not mandatory.  Visitors
should have an onward air or sea ticket.

Currency:  St. Lucia is a member of the Eastern Caribbean (EC)
Currency Authority.  Its common currency with its neighboring
Windward and Leeward Islands is the EC dollar, pegged to the US
dollar at EC$2.65=US$1.  Barclays Bank and the Canadian Imperial
Bank of Commerce have branch offices at Castries and around the
island.

Transportation:  St. Lucia is served by two airports.  Vigie,
Near Castries, is the arrival point for inter-island scheduled
aircraft and small day-charter aircraft.  Hewanorra Airport on
the south coast near Vieux Fort has regularly scheduled jet
flights from North America and Europe.

Tourist attractions:  Besides its beautiful beaches and
attractive yacht harbors, St. Lucia boasts a safe, inactive
volcano that still emits hot vapors and gases in controlled,
constant activity.  The "drive-in" volcano and related sulfur
springs are located in southern St. Lucia, near the town of
Souffriere and are framed by the dramatic twin Pitons, scenic
ex-volcanic cones.  Points of historic interest include Morne
Fortune--site of a former fortress and Pigeon Island, Admiral
Rodney's headquarters in the French Wars of the late 18th
century, and later a US-leased base during World War II.  St.
Lucia is a regular port of call for cruise ships and has many
excellent hotels.


Published by the United States Department of State -- Bureau of
Public Affairs -- Office of Public Communication -- Washington,
DC --  April 1993 -- Editor:  Josephine C. Brooks; Managing
Editor:  Peter Knecht

Department of State Publication 9234
Background Notes Series -- This material is in the public domain
and may be reprinted without permission; citation of this source
is appreciated.

For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, US Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC  20402.