| Saint Lucia |
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| Motto: "The Land, The People, The Light" | ||||||
| Anthem: Sons and Daughters of Saint Lucia |
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| Capital (and largest city) |
Castries |
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| Official languages | English | |||||
| Demonym | Saint Lucian | |||||
| Government | Parliamentary democracy and Constitutional monarchy | |||||
| - | Queen | Elizabeth II | ||||
| - | Governor-General | Dame Pearlette Louisy | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Stephenson King | ||||
| Independence | ||||||
| - | from the United Kingdom | 22 February 1979 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 620 km² (193rd) 239 sq mi |
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| - | Water (%) | 1. The flag of Saint Lucia was adopted on March 1, 1967. The exact design has varied The Saint Lucian Coat of Arms was designed by Sydney Bagshaw in 1967 and was adopted in the same year during pre-independence and at the time of Internal self-government A motto (from the Italian word motto, meaning witticism sentence is a phrase meant to formally describe the general motivation or intention of a social group A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history traditions and struggles of its people recognized either by a nation's "Sons and Daughters of Saint Lucia" is the National anthem of Saint Lucia, first adopted in 1967 upon achieving self government and confirmed Saint Lucia 's population is predominantly of African and mixed African-European descent with small East Indian and European minorities Castries (ˈkæstriːz population 10634 aggl 37963 (2001-05-12 is the Capital city of Saint Lucia, a country in the West Indies. An official language is a Language that is given a special legal status in a particular Country, State, or other territory English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States A demonym or gentilic is a word that denotes the members of a People or the inhabitants of a place For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government. A parliamentary system, also known as parliamentarianism (and parliamentarism in American English) is a System of government in which A constitutional monarchy, or a limited monarchy, is a form of Constitutional Government, wherein either an elected or hereditary Monarch is The monarchy of Saint Lucia (the Saint Lucian monarchy) is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign of Saint Lucia For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II This is a list of Governors-General of Saint Lucia. Governors-General of Saint Lucia 1979-present Sir Allen Montgomery Lewis Dame Calliopa Pearlette Louisy GCMG (born 8 June 1946 is the Governor-General of Saint Lucia. This page lists Prime Ministers of Saint Lucia. See also List of Governors-General of Saint Lucia, Lists of incumbents. Stephenson King is a Saint Lucian politician who is currently the country's Prime Minister Independence is the Self-government of a Nation, Country, or State by its residents and population or some portion thereof generally exercising The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Events 1495 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) Area is a Quantity expressing the two- Dimensional size of a defined part of a Surface, typically a region bounded by a closed Curve. M^2 redirects here For other uses see M². CM2 redirects here This is a list of the countries of the world sorted by total area. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. Water is a common Chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of Life. In Mathematics, a percentage is a way of expressing a number as a Fraction of 100 ( per cent meaning "per hundred" 6 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2005 census | 160,765 | ||||
| - | Density | 298/km² (41st) 672/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2002 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $866 million (197th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $5,950 (98th) | ||||
| HDI (2007) | ▲ 0. In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume List of countries and dependencies by Population density in inhabitants/km² The purchasing power parity ( PPP) theory uses the long-term equilibrium Exchange rate of two currencies to equalize their Purchasing power. There are three lists of Countries of the world sorted by their Gross domestic product (GDP (the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation Per capita is a Latin phrase meaning for each head with Per meaning 'through' or 'by' This article includes three lists of Countries of the world sorted by their Gross domestic product (GDP at Purchasing power parity (PPP Per capita The Human Development Index ( HDI) is an index combining normalized measures of Life expectancy, Literacy, Educational attainment, and GDP 795 (medium) (72nd) | |||||
| Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
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| Time zone | (UTC-4) | |||||
| Internet TLD | .lc | |||||
| Calling code | +1 758 | |||||
Saint Lucia (pronounced /ˌseɪnt ˈluːʃɪə/) is an island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. This is a list of countries by Human Development Index as included in the United Nations Development Program 's Human Development Report 2007 A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of Goods and/or services It is one form of Money, where money is The East Caribbean dollar ( Currency code XCD) is the Currency of eight of the nine members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States ISO 4217 is the International standard describing three-letter codes (also known as the currency code) to define the names of currencies established A country This is a list of country calling codes defined by ITU-T recommendation E An island country is a Country that is wholly confined to an Island, several islands an Island group or several island groups and has no territory on For the region see Caribbean. The Caribbean Sea (kəˈrɪbiən or /ˌkærɨˈbiːən/ is a tropical Sea in the Western Hemisphere Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. The Lesser Antilles, also known as the Caribbees, are part of the Antilles, which together with the Bahamas and Greater Antilles form the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles chain of the Caribbean Sea. Barbados ( Portuguese word for bearded-ones, bɑrˈbeɪdoʊz -dɒs situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent Island nation Martinique is an Island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, having a land area of 1128 km² It is also known as the "Helen of the West Indies" because it switched between British and French control so often it was likened to the mythical Helen of Troy. This article is about the mythological figure Helen of Troy For other uses see Helen (disambiguation and Helen of Troy (disambiguation.
Saint Lucia is one of the Windward Islands, named for Saint Lucy of Syracuse. This article is about the Caribbean island group For the eastern Society Islands in French Polynesia, see Windward Islands (Society Islands. This article is about the Catholic saint For other meanings see Saint Lucia (disambiguation Saint Lucy of Syracuse also known as Saint Lucia It was first visited by Europeans in about the year 1500 and first colonized successfully by France who signed a treaty with the native Carib peoples in 1660. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Cariban languages Carib, Island Carib or Kalinago people after whom the Caribbean Sea was named live in the Lesser Antilles islands Great Britain took control of the island from 1663 to 1667 then went to war with France over it fourteen times, and finally took complete control in 1814. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands Representative government came about in 1924 (with universal adult suffrage from 1953) and from 1958 to 1962 the island was a member of the Federation of the West Indies. Suffrage (from the Latin suffragium, meaning "voting tablet" and figuratively "right to vote" probably from suffrago "hough" and originally The West Indies Federation, also known as the Federation of the West Indies, was a short-lived Caribbean Federation that existed from January 3 1958 Finally, on February 22, 1979, Saint Lucia became an independent state of the Commonwealth of Nations. Events 1495 - King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) The island nation celebrates this every year with a public holiday.
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As a Commonwealth Realm, Saint Lucia recognizes Queen Elizabeth II as the Head of State of Saint Lucia, represented on the island by a Governor-General. Pre-European people Saint Lucia 's first known inhabitants were Arawaks believed to have come from northern South America around 200 - 400 The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States ( OECS) created in 1981 is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration protection of Politics of Saint Lucia takes place in the framework of an independent parliamentary democratic Commonwealth Realm with Queen Elizabeth II as Saint Lucia has no extant international disputes aside from tension resulting from the island's status as a transit point for South American drugs destined for the A Commonwealth realm is any one of 16 sovereign states within the Commonwealth of Nations that each have Elizabeth II as their respective Monarch For the ship see RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Context States headed by Elizabeth II Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a Monarchic or Republican Nation-state The term governor general or governor-general refers to a vice-regal representative of a Monarch in an independent realm or a major colonial circonscription Executive power, however, is in the hands of the prime minister and his cabinet. In Political science and Constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the State. This article is about the government position For other uses see Prime Minister (disambiguation. A cabinet is a body of high-ranking members of Government, typically representing the executive branch. The prime minister is normally the head of the party winning the elections for the House of Assembly, which has 17 seats. The Legislature has two chambers. The House of Assembly is the popular elected chamber of the Legislature. The other chamber of Parliament, the Senate, has 11 appointed members. The Parliament of Saint Lucia has two chambers. the House of Assembly has 17 members elected for a five year term in single-seat constituencies The Legislature has two chambers. The upper house is the Senate with 11 appointed members
Saint Lucia is a full and participating member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). The Caribbean Community ( CARICOM) is an organization of Caribbean nations and dependencies The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States ( OECS) created in 1981 is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration protection of
Saint Lucia is divided into 11 quarters:
The volcanic island of Saint Lucia is more mountainous than many other Caribbean islands, with the highest point being Mount Gimie, at 950 metres (3,120 ft) above sea level. Saint Lucia is one of many small land masses composing the insular group known as the Windward Islands. Plate tectonics and hotspots Divergent plate boundaries At the The Caribbean (ˌkærəˡbiən kæ'rəbiən Cariben|Caraïben or Caraïben; Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Caribe is a Region consisting Mount Gimie is the tallest mountain on the island of St Lucia. Two other mountains, the Pitons, form the island's most famous landmark. The Pitons are two Volcanic plugs in a World Heritage Site in Saint Lucia. They are located between Soufrière and Choiseul on the western side of the island. Soufrière is a town on the Southwest coast of Saint Lucia in the West Indies. Choiseul is a Quarter of the Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia. Saint Lucia is also one of the few islands in the world that boasts a drive-in volcano.
The capital city of Saint Lucia is Castries, where about one third of the population lives. Castries (ˈkæstriːz population 10634 aggl 37963 (2001-05-12 is the Capital city of Saint Lucia, a country in the West Indies. Major towns include Gros Islet, Soufrière and Vieux Fort. Gros Islet is the newest town in Saint Lucia, having been recently promoted from a village to a town For the town in Guadeloupe see Vieux-Fort Guadeloupe. Vieux Fort is located in the southern part of St The local climate is tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds, with a dry season from January to April and a rainy season from May to December. Climate encompasses the temperatures humidity rainfall atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorogical factors in a given region over long periods of A tropical climate is a kind of Climate typical in the Tropics. The trade winds (also called trades) are the prevailing pattern of easterly winds found in the Tropics near the Earth's Equator.
The recent change in the European Union import preference regime and the increased competition from Latin American bananas have made economic diversification increasingly important in Saint Lucia. Saint Lucia 's economy depends primarily on revenue from Banana production and Tourism with some input from small-scale manufacturing The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in For the fruit see Banana. For other meanings see Banana (disambiguation. The island nation has been able to attract foreign business and investment, especially in its offshore banking and tourism industries, which is the island's main source of revenue. Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean area, and the government is trying to revitalize the banana industry. Manufacturing (from Latin manu factura, "making by hand" is the use of tools and labor to make things for use or sale Despite negative growth in 2001, economic fundamentals remain solid, and GDP growth should recover in the future.
The population of Saint Lucia is of mostly African descent (82. Saint Lucia 's population is predominantly of African and mixed African-European descent with small East Indian and European minorities 5% of the population). There is a significant Mixed minority representing 11. The terms multiracial and mixed-race describe people whose ancestries come from different races. 9%, and with a Indo-Caribbean or East Indian groups at 2. Indo-Caribbean people or Indo-Caribbeans are people with roots in the Indian subcontinent who reside in the Caribbean. 4% and the small European origin minority (descendants of French, British, and Irish colonists). Other or unspecified ethnicity accounts for 3. 1%. There are small numbers of Lebanese, Syrians and Asians. Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية
The official language is English, but a creole language called Kwéyòlaka is spoken by 80% of the population. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States A creole language, or simply a creole, is a stable Language that originates seemingly as a nativized Pidgin. Antillean Creole is a French -lexified Creole language spoken primarily in the Lesser Antilles. It evolved from French, Carib and elements of African languages. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Carib, also known as Caribe, Cariña, Galibi, Galibí, Kali'na, Kalihna, Kalinya, Galibi Carib, There are an estimated 2000 Languages spoken in Africa. About a hundred of these are widely used for inter-ethnic communication Saint Lucia is a member of La Francophonie. La Francophonie is an international organisation of French-speaking countries and governments and in French, the community of French-speaking peoples
St. Lucia boasts the highest ratio in the world for number of Nobel laureates produced with respect to the total population of the nation. The Nobel Prize (Nobelpriset (Nobelprisen is a Swedish prize established in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel; it was first awarded in Peace, Literature Two winners have come from St. Lucia: Sir Arthur Lewis won the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel ("Nobel Prize in Economics") in 1979, and Derek Walcott received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992. Sir William Arthur Lewis ( January 23, 1915 June 15, 1991) was a Saint Lucian economist well known for his contributions in the field The Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, officially named The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (Sveriges riksbanks pris i ekonomisk Derek Alton Walcott (born January 23, 1930) is a West Indies poet playwright writer and visual artist who writes mainly in English. The Nobel Prize in Literature (Nobelpriset i litteratur is awarded annually since 1901 to an author from any country who has in the words from the will of Alfred Both were born on January 23rd, but in different years.
About 70% of the population is Roman Catholic. The rest are Seventh-day Adventists (7%), Pentecostalists (6%), Anglicans (2%), Evangelicals (2%) and Rastafari (2%). The Seventh-day Adventist (abbreviated " Adventist " Church is a Christian denomination which is distinguished mainly by its observance Pentecostalism is a renewalist religious movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the Baptism Anglicanism is a tradition of Christian faith Churches in this tradition either have historical connections to the Church of England or have similar beliefs Evangelicalism is a theological movement tradition and system of beliefs most closely associated with Protestant Christianity, which identifies with the Gospel The Rastafari movement (also known as Rastafari, Rastafarianism or simply Rasta) is a monotheistic, Abrahamic, New Testament [1]
Migration from Saint Lucia is primarily to Anglophone countries, with the United Kingdom (see Saint Lucian British) having almost 10,000 Saint Lucian born citizens, and over 30,000 of Saint Lucian heritage. An Anglophone (or anglophone) is someone who speaks the English language. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Saint Lucian British' people or Saint Lucian Britons are citizens or residents of the United Kingdom whose ethnic origins lie fully or partially in the 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. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Canada is home to a few thousand Saint Lucians, whilst most other countries is the world have less than 50 citizens of Saint Lucian origin (the exceptions being Spain and France with 124 and 117 Saint Lucian expats respectively). Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. [2]
The culture of Saint Lucia has been influenced by African, French and English heritage. The Culture of Saint Lucia blends the influences of African French and English heritage Derek Alton Walcott (born January 23, 1930) is a West Indies poet playwright writer and visual artist who writes mainly in English. Saint Lucia, an island in the Caribbean, is home to many vibrant oral and folk traditions One of the secondary languages is Kreole, a form of French patois. Antillean Creole is a French -lexified Creole language spoken primarily in the Lesser Antilles. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Patois is any language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in Linguistics.
Saint Lucian cultural festivals include La Rose and La Marguerite, the one representing the Rosicrucian order, the other one representing Freemasonry, which can be seen on a mural painted by Dunstan St. The term Rosicrucian (symbol the Rose Cross) describes a secret society of mystics allegedly formed in late mediaeval Germany, holding a doctrine "built on Omer, depicting the holy trinity of Osiris, Horus and Isis. SSC RF "Troitsk Institute of Innovative and Termonuclear Research" or TRINITY for shprt Троицкий Институт инновационных и термоядерных Osiris ( Greek language, also Usiris; the Egyptian language name is variously transliterated Asar, Aser, Ausar, Ausir Isis is a goddess in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs and is celebrated in their mythology as the ideal mother and wife patron of nature and magic friend of slaves sinners
Traditionally, in common with other Caribbean countries, Saint Lucia held a carnival before Lent. Carnival is a festival season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February and March Lent, in some Christian denominations, is the forty-day-long liturgical season of fasting and prayer before Easter. In 1999, it was moved to mid-July in order to not to coincide with the much larger Trinidad and Tobago carnival, so as to attract more overseas visitors. The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is celebrated two days before Ash Wednesday.
A popular folk dance is the Quadrille. for the equestrian form of quadrille see Quadrille (dressage The term may also refer to Quad paper and a Square tiling
As well as other Caribbean music genres such as soca, zouk, kompa, and reggae, Saint Lucia has a strong indigenous folk music tradition. Zouk is a style of rhythmic Music originating from the French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Reggae is a Music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s
Each May since 1992, Saint Lucia has hosted an internationally-renowned Jazz Festival. The St Lucia Jazz Festival is an annual internationally-known event which takes place on the Caribbean island of Saint Lucia.
Tourism is vital to St. Saint Lucia, an island in the West Indies, has a relatively large and lucrative tourism industry attracting an estimated 350000 visitors per year Lucia's economy and the economic importance of such 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). St Lucia tends to be popular due to its tropical weather and scenery and its large number of beaches and resorts.
Other tourist attractions include the world's only drive-in volcano, Sulfur Springs (at Soufriere), the Botanical Gardens, the rain forests and Pigeon Island National Park, which is home to Fort Rodney, an old British military base. Plate tectonics and hotspots Divergent plate boundaries At the Sulfur Springs is a popular tourist attraction found in Soufrière, Saint Lucia. St Lucia Botanical Garden is one of the many tourist sites The Botanical garden is located in Soufrière, the south of the beautiful island St
The majority of tourists visit St. 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. Castries (ˈkæstriːz population 10634 aggl 37963 (2001-05-12 is the Capital city of Saint Lucia, a country in the West Indies. Marigot Bay is a Bay in the Caribbean, located on the western coast of Saint Lucia, situated a few miles from Castries. Gros Islet is the newest town in Saint Lucia, having been recently promoted from a village to a town Tourists should venture from the beaten path of shops and beaches and explore the beautiful nature of St. Lucia. Marigot Bay is where second homes to some stars like George Foreman and Mick Jagger are situated. Marigot Bay is a Bay in the Caribbean, located on the western coast of Saint Lucia, situated a few miles from Castries. George Edward Foreman (born January 10, 1949) is an American two-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger, Kt (born 26 July 1943 is a Golden Globe -winning and two-time Grammy -winning English rock
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Gros Piton seen from the Ladera Hotel restaurant – September 2007 |
Petit Piton seen from the Ladera Hotel restaurant – December 2004 |
View from Pigeon Point (Fort Rodney) – 2006 |
Soufrière Bay – February 2006 |
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Unspoiled St Lucia beach – February 2006 |
Typical sight in Canaries: houses on hills – June 2006 |
View from a hilltop overlooking a beach resort – June 2006 |
Soufrière – June 2006 |
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Beach resort – June 2006 |
View from the Le Sport resort – March 2006 |
View of Marigot Bay - December 2007 |