Saint Lucia Map

• Saint Lucia is a Commonwealth realm; Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of State of Saint Lucia, represented on the island by a Governor-General. Executive power, however, is in the hands of the Prime Minister and his cabinet. The prime minister is normally the head of the party commanding the support of the majority of the members of the House of Assembly, which has 17 seats. The other chamber of Parliament, the Senate, has 11 appointed members. Saint Lucia is a two-party parliamentary democracy. Prime Minister Stephenson King of the business-friendly United Workers Party took office in 2007. Saint Lucia is a full and participating member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and La Francophonie.

• The population of about 170,000 is evenly divided between urban and rural areas, although the capital, Castries, contains more than one-third of the population. Saint Lucia's population is predominantly of African and mixed African-European descent, with a small Indo-Caribbean minority (3%). Members of other or unspecified ethnicity groups, account for about 2% of the population.

• The official language is English, however Creole (Kweyol), which is a French-based Creole, is spoken by 95% of the population. Saint Lucian Creole French is used in literature and music, and is gaining official recognition. It evolved from French, African languages, and Carib. Saint Lucia is a member of La Francophonie.

• Saint Lucia boasts the highest ratio of Nobel laureates produced with respect to the total population of any country in the world. Two winners have come from Saint Lucia: Sir Arthur Lewis won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1979, and Derek Walcott received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992. Both were born on the same day in 1915 and 1930, respectively: January 23.

• About 70% of the population is Roman Catholic, influenced from the days of French Catholic rule and evangelization. Most of the rest belong to other Christian denominations, including Seventh-day Adventisms (7%), Pentecostalism (6%), Anglicanism (2%), Evangelical Christianity (2%), and the Baptist faith; in addition, about 2% of the population adheres to the Rastafari movement.

• Despite a high emigration rate, the population is growing rapidly, about 1.2% per year. Migration from Saint Lucia is primarily to Anglophone countries, with the United Kingdom having almost 10,000 Saint Lucian-born citizens, and over 30,000 of Saint Lucian heritage. The second most popular destination for Saint Lucian expatriates is the United States, where combined (foreign and national born Saint Lucians) almost 14,000 reside. Canada is home to a few thousand Saint Lucians. Most other countries in the world have fewer than 50 citizens of Saint Lucian origin (the exceptions being Spain and France with 124 and 117 Saint Lucian expats respectively).

• Tourism is vital to Saint Lucia's economy. Its economic importance is expected to continue to increase as the market for bananas becomes more competitive. Tourism tends to be more substantial during the dry season (January to April). Saint Lucia tends to be popular due to its tropical weather and scenery and its numerous beaches and resorts.

• Other tourist attractions include a drive-in volcano, Sulphur Springs (at Soufrière), the Botanical Gardens, the Majestic twin Peaks "The Pitons", A world heritage site, the rain forests, and Pigeon Island National Park, which is home to Fort Rodney, an old British military base.

• The majority of tourists visit Saint Lucia as part of a cruise. Most of their time tends to be spent in Castries, although Soufriere, Marigot Bay and Gros Islet are popular locations to visit.

• Saint Lucia has 11 quarters, or parishes of the island, under the French colonial government which was continued by the British:Anse la Raye QuarterCastries QuarterChoiseul QuarterDauphin QuarterDennery QuarterGros Islet QuarterLaborie QuarterMicoud QuarterPraslin QuarterSoufrière QuarterVieux Fort QuarterSaint Lucia has 17 electoral segments for the 17 seats in the House of Assembly (each with title "Parliamentary Representative"):