Saint Lucia
| Country summary | |
|---|---|
|
Capital |
Castries |
|
Borders |
(N/A) |
|
Government type |
parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
|
Population |
160,267 (July 2010 est.)[1] |
|
Population growth |
0.416% (2010 est.)[1] |
|
Life expectancy |
76.45 years[1] |
|
Unemployment |
20% (2003 est.)[1] |
|
25[2] | |
|
22[3] | |
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.[1]
Economical characteristics
- Currency: East Caribbean Dollar (ISO code: XCD)
- This country does not seem to have a central bank.
- Central bank discount rate: 6.5% (31 December 2008)[1]
- Commercial banks lending rate: 10.08% (31 December 2008)[1]
- Stock of money (M1): $261.3 million (31 December 2008)[1]
- Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $800.1 million (31 December 2008)[1]
Statistics
| Statistic / Year | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (million USD)[4] | 693 | 708 | 687 | 705 | 748 | 801 | 879 | 933 | 960 | 996 |
| Govt. debt (% of GDP)[5] | ||||||||||
| Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[6] | ||||||||||
| Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[7] | ||||||||||
| Debt to revenue (years) |
References
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Saint Lucia", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Saint Lucia", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ Transparency International. "Saint Lucia", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Saint Lucia: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Saint Lucia: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Saint Lucia: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
- ↑ World Bank. "Saint Lucia: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
Links
- Saint Lucia on Wikipedia
