Saint Lucia
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Castries
- Population
- 168,462 (2025 est.)
- Area
- 616 sq km
- Government
- parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
- Languages
- English (official), Saint Lucian Creole
- Religions
- Roman Catholic 61.5%, Protestant 25.5% (includes Seventh Day Adventist 10.4%, Pentecostal 8.9%, Baptist 2.2%, Anglican 1.6%, Church of God 1.5%, other Protestant 0.9%), other Christian 3.4% (includes Evangelical 2.3% and Jehovah's Witness 1.1%), Rastafarian 1.9%, other 0.4%, none 5.9%, unspecified 1.4% (2010 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Black/African descent 85.3%, mixed 10.9%, East Indian 2.2%, other 1.6%, unspecified 0.1% (2010 est.)
- Currency
- East Caribbean dollars (XCD)
- Life Expectancy
- 79.4 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .lc
- Climate
- tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season January to April, rainy season May to August
- Terrain
- volcanic and mountainous with broad, fertile valleys
- Natural Resources
- forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential
- Major Exports
- refined petroleum, gravel and crushed stone, beer, liquor, paper containers (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
England and France contested Saint Lucia -- with its fine natural harbor at Castries and burgeoning sugar industry -- throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries, with possession changing 14 times; it was finally ceded to the UK in 1814 and became part of the British Windward…