Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "The Land, The People, The Light"
Anthem: Sons and Daughters of Saint Lucia
Capital and largest city	Castries
Official languages	English[1][2]
Vernacular languages	Saint Lucian French Creole[1][2]
Ethnic groups	[source?] 68% Afro-Caribbean 5% European 17% Mixed 2% Carib Amerindian 5% Indo-Caribbean 3% others
Demonym(s)	Saint Lucian
Government	Parliamentary democracy under constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Charles III
• Governor-General	Cyril Errol Charles
• Prime Minister	Philip J. Pierre
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Assembly
Independence
• from the United Kingdom	22 February 1979
Area
• Total	617 km2 (238 sq mi) (191st)
• Water (%)	1.6
Population
• 2021 estimate	184,401 (177th)
• 2010 census	165,595
• Density	299.4/km2 (775.4/sq mi) (29th)
GDP (PPP)	2020 estimate
• Total	$2.480 billion[3]
• Per capita	$13,708[3]
GDP (nominal)	2020 estimate
• Total	$1.77 billion[3]
• Per capita	$9,780[3]
Gini (2016)	51.2[4] high
HDI (2019)	0.759[5] high · 86th
Currency	East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Time zone	UTC−4
Driving side	left
Calling code	+1 758
ISO 3166 code	LC
Internet TLD	.lc

Saint Lucia is a tropical island country in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It is a part of the Lesser Antilles island group, and it is north of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and south of Martinique. As of 2010 there are about 174,000 people.

The official language is English.^[1][2] Saint Lucian Creole French (Kwéyòl), which is a French-based Creole is spoken by 95% of the people. About 70% of the people are Roman Catholic.

Two Nobel laureates, Arthur Lewis, an economist, and Derek Walcott, a poet and playwright, have come from the island.

Saint Lucia is a full and participating member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and La Francophonie.

Saint Lucia is the only country in the world to be named after a woman, Saint Lucy.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} "About St. Lucia". Castries, St. Lucia: St. Lucis Tourist Board. Archived from the original on 2013-06-05. Retrieved 2011-11-11. The official language spoken in Saint Lucia is English although many Saint Lucians also speak a French dialect, Creole (Kwéyòl).
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs (U.S. Department of State) (August 12, 2011). "Background Note: Saint Lucia". United States Department of State. Retrieved 2011-11-11. Languages: English (official); a French patois is common throughout the country.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} "St. Lucia". International Monetary Fund. 2016.
4. ↑ "Gini Index coefficient". CIA World Factbook. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
5. ↑ Human Development Report 2020 The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 15 December 2020. pp. 343–346. ISBN 978-92-1-126442-5. Retrieved 16 December 2020.