Saint Lucia

parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

name: Castries geographic coordinates: 14 00 N, 61 00 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: in 1785, the village of Carenage was renamed Castries, after Charles Eugene Gabriel de La Croix de CASTRIES, who was then the French Minister of the Navy and Colonies

chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Acting Governor General Cyril Errol CHARLES (since 11 November 2021) head of government: Prime Minister Philip J. PIERRE (since 28 July 2021) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister election/appointment process: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the governor general usually appoints the leader of the majority party or majority coalition as prime minister; deputy prime minister also appointed by governor general

legislature name: Houses of Parliament legislative structure: bicameral

highest court(s): the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is the superior court of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States; the ECSC is headquartered on St. Lucia and consists of the Court of Appeal -- headed by the chief justice and 4 judges -- and the High Court with 18 judges; the Court of Appeal travels to member states on a schedule to hear appeals from the High Court and subordinate courts; member of the Caribbean Court of Justice judge selection and term of office: chief justice of Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court appointed by the British monarch; other justices and judges appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, an independent body of judicial officials; Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 65; High Court judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 62 subordinate courts: magistrate's court

history: previous 1958, 1960 (pre-independence); latest presented 20 December 1978, effective 22 February 1979 amendment process: proposed by Parliament; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the House of Assembly membership in the final reading and assent of the governor general; passage of amendments to various constitutional sections, such as those on fundamental rights and freedoms, government finances, the judiciary, and procedures for amending the constitution, require at least three-quarters majority vote by the House and assent of the governor general; passage of amendments approved by the House but rejected by the Senate require a majority of votes cast in a referendum

ACP, ACS, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CD, CDB, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW, Petrocaribe, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

no regular military forces; Ministry of Home Affairs, Justice, and National Security: Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) (2025)

Saint Lucia has been a member of the Caribbean Regional Security System (RSS) since its creation in 1982; RSS signatories (Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Saint Kitts, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) agreed to prepare contingency plans and assist one another, on request, in national emergencies, prevention of smuggling, search and rescue, immigration control, fishery protection, customs and excise control, maritime policing duties, protection of off-shore installations, pollution control, national and other disasters, and threats to national security (2025)

$4.359 billion (2024 est.) $4.196 billion (2023 est.) $4.105 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$24,300 (2024 est.) $23,400 (2023 est.) $23,000 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

3.9% (2024 est.) 2.2% (2023 est.) 20.4% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

-0.1% (2024 est.) 4.1% (2023 est.) 6.4% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

69.2% of GDP (2016 est.)

$1.6 billion (2024 est.) $1.419 billion (2023 est.) $1.29 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$1.446 billion (2024 est.) $1.292 billion (2023 est.) $1.2 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

11% (2024 est.) 11.1% (2023 est.) 16% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $414.77 million (2017 est.) expenditures: $351.956 million (2017 est.) note: central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

tourism; clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, lime processing, coconut processing

coconuts, bananas, tropical fruits, fruits, root vegetables, plantains, vegetables, cassava, chicken, milk (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 168,462 (2025 est.) male: 81,678 female: 86,784

0.25% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 17.9% (male 15,505/female 14,607) 15-64 years: 66.7% (male 54,260/female 57,747) 65 years and over: 15.4% (2024 est.) (male 11,752/female 14,167)

11.17 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

8.41 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 79.4 years (2024 est.) male: 76.7 years female: 82.3 years

urban population: 19.2% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 0.98% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Black/African descent 85.3%, mixed 10.9%, East Indian 2.2%, other 1.6%, unspecified 0.1% (2010 est.)

English (official), Saint Lucian Creole

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.)

forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential

tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts to eliminate trafficking compared with the previous reporting period, therefore Saint Lucia was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List; for more details, go to: https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/saint-lucia/

refugees: 5 (2024 est.)

2 (2025)

total subscriptions: 176,000 (2022 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 99 (2022 est.)

percent of population: 74% (2022 est.)