]! ^! 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. 
]" ^" Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago ^# 13 53 N, 60 68 W ^$ Central America and the Caribbean ^% `! 616 sq km `" 606 sq km `# 10 sq km ^& 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 158 km ^) `$ 12 nm `H 24 nm `I 200 nm `J 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin ^* tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to April, rainy season from May to August ^+ volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys ^, `% Caribbean Sea 0 m `& Mount Gimie 950 m ^- forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential ^. `' 6.56% `( 22.95% `) 70.49% (2001) ^/ 30 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 hurricanes and volcanic activity ^1 deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region _J `K 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 `L none of the selected agreements ^2 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 
]# ^3 166,312 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 30.3% (male 25,937/female 24,391) `+ 64.6% (male 52,813/female 54,544) `, 5.2% (male 3,172/female 5,455) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 24.81 years `- 24.03 years `. 25.66 years (2005 est.) ^6 1.28% (2005 est.) ^7 20.05 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 5.12 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 -2.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.07 male(s)/female `0 1.06 male(s)/female `+ 0.97 male(s)/female `, 0.58 male(s)/female `1 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 13.53 deaths/1,000 live births `- 14.66 deaths/1,000 live births `. 12.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 73.61 years `- 70.05 years `. 77.42 years (2005 est.) ^= 2.21 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 Saint Lucian(s) `3 Saint Lucian ^B black 90%, mixed 6%, East Indian 3%, white 1% ^C Roman Catholic 67.5%, Seventh Day Adventist 8.5%, Pentecostal 5.7%, Anglican 2%, Evangelical 2%, other Christian 5.1%, Rastafarian 2.1%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.5%, none 4.5% (2001 census) ^D English (official), French patois ^E `M age 15 and over has ever attended school `1 90.1% `- 89.5% `. 90.6% (2001 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 none `5 Saint Lucia ^H Westminster-style parliamentary democracy ^I Castries ^J 11 quarters; Anse-la-Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery, Gros-Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin, Soufriere, Vieux-Fort ^K 22 February 1979 (from UK) ^L Independence Day, 22 February (1979) ^M 22 February 1979 ^N based on English common law ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Pearlette LOUISY (since September 1997) `7 Prime Minister Kenneth Davis ANTHONY (since 24 May 1997) and Deputy Prime Minister Mario MICHEL (since 24 May 1997) `8 Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister `9 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 ^Q 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) `9 House of Assembly - last held 3 December 2001 (next to be held in December 2006) `: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - SLP 55%, UWP 37%, NA 3.5%; seats by party - SLP 14, UWP 3 ^R 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) ^S 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] ^T NA ^U 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 ^V `N Ambassador Sonia Merlyn JOHNNY `O 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 `P [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795 `Q [1] (202) 364-6723 `R Miami and New York ^W the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia ^X blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border 
]% ^Y 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, even though unemployment needs to be cut. ^Z $866 million (2002 est.) ^[ 3.3% (2002 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $5,400 (2002 est.) ^] `; 7% `< 20% `= 73% (2002 est.) ^^ 43,800 (2001 est.) ^_ agriculture 21.7%, industry, commerce, and manufacturing 24.7%, services 53.6% (2002 est.) ^` 20% (2003 est.) ^a NA _! `> NA `? NA _" 3% (2001 est.) _# `@ $141.2 million `A $146.7 million, including capital expenditures of $25.1 million (2000 est.) _$ bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa _% clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism, lime processing, coconut processing _& -8.9% (1997 est.) _' 270.3 million kWh (2002) _( 251.3 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 2,400 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ $66 million (2002 est.) _0 bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil _1 UK 41.4%, US 16.5%, Brazil 11.6%, Barbados 5.8%, Antigua and Barbuda 4.6%, Dominica 4.5% (2004) _2 $267 million (2002 est.) _3 food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels _4 US 27.8%, Trinidad and Tobago 20.4%, UK 8%, Venezuela 7.6%, Finland 7% (2004) _5 $214 million (2000) _6 $51.8 million (1995) _7 East Caribbean dollar (XCD) _8 East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000) _9 1 April - 31 March 
]& _: 51,100 (2002) _; 14,300 (2002) _< `B adequate system `C system is automatically switched `D 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 _= AM 2, FM 7, shortwave 0 (2004) _> 2 (of which one is a commercial broadcast station and one is a community antenna television or CATV channel) (2004) _? .lc _@ 41 (2003) _A 13,000 (2002) 
]' _B `! 1,210 km `E 63 km `F 1,147 km (1999 est.) _C Castries, Cul-de-Sac, Vieux-Fort _D 2 (2004 est.) _E `! 2 `G 1 `^ 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (includes Special Service Unit, Coast Guard) _N NA _O NA 
]) _H 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 _I transit point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe 