Economy - overview:
The island nation has been able to attract foreign business and investment, especially in its offshore banking and tourism industries, with a surge in foreign direct investment in 2006, attributed to the construction of several tourism projects. Although crops such as bananas, mangos, and avocados continue to be grown for export, tourism provides Saint Lucia's main source of income and the industry is the island's biggest employer. Tourism is the main source of foreign exchange, although tourism sector revenues declined with the global economic downturn as US and European travel dropped in 2009. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean area, and the government is trying to revitalize the banana industry, although recent hurricanes have caused exports to contract. Saint Lucia is vulnerable to a variety of external shocks including volatile tourism receipts, natural disasters, and dependence on foreign oil. The public debt-to-GDP ratio is about 77% and high debt servicing obligations constrain the KING administration's ability to respond to adverse external shocks. Economic fundamentals remain solid, even though unemployment needs to be reduced.
GDP (purchasing power parity): GDP (official exchange rate): GDP - real growth rate: GDP - per capita (PPP): GDP - composition by sector: Labor force: Labor force - by occupation: Unemployment rate: Population below poverty line: Household income or consumption by percentage share: Budget: Inflation rate (consumer prices): Central bank discount rate: Commercial bank prime lending rate: Stock of narrow money: Stock of broad money: Stock of domestic credit: Agriculture - products: Industries: Industrial production growth rate: Electricity - production: Electricity - consumption: Electricity - exports: Electricity - imports: Oil - production: Oil - consumption: Oil - exports: Oil - imports: Oil - proved reserves: Natural gas - production: Natural gas - consumption: Natural gas - exports: Natural gas - imports: Natural gas - proved reserves: Current account balance: Exports: Exports - commodities: Exports - partners: Imports: Imports - commodities: Imports - partners: Debt - external: Exchange rates:
NOTE: The information regarding Saint Lucia on this page is re-published from the 2011 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Saint Lucia Economy 2011 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Saint Lucia Economy 2011 should be addressed to the CIA.
$1.789 billion (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 188
note:
data are in 2010 US dollars
[see also: GDP (purchasing power parity) country ranks ]
$1 billion (2009 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]
1.1% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 178
[see also: GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]
$11,100 (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 102
note:
data are in 2010 US dollars
[see also: GDP - per capita country ranks ]
agriculture: 5%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - agriculture country ranks ]
industry:
15%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - industry country ranks ]
services:
80% (2005 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - services country ranks ]
79,700 (2007)
country comparison to the world: 184
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]
agriculture: 21.7%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - agriculture country ranks ]
industry:
24.7%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - industry country ranks ]
services:
53.6% (2002 est.)
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - services country ranks ]
20% (2003 est.)
country comparison to the world: 166
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]
NA%
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]
lowest 10%: NA%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10% country ranks ]
highest 10%:
NA%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - highest 10% country ranks ]
revenues: $320.9 million
[see also: Budget - revenues country ranks ]
expenditures:
$393.3 million (2000 est.)
[see also: Budget - expenditures country ranks ]
1.9% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54
[see also: Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks ]
6.5% (31 December 2009)
country comparison to the world: 63
[see also: Central bank discount rate country ranks ]
10.58% (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 89
[see also: Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks ]
$244.3 million (31 December 2009)
[see also: Stock of narrow money country ranks ]
$1.094 billion (31 December 2009)
[see also: Stock of broad money country ranks ]
$1.378 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 138
[see also: Stock of domestic credit country ranks ]
bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa
clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism; lime processing, coconut processing
NA%
[see also: Industrial production growth rate country ranks ]
325 million kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 166
[see also: Electricity - production country ranks ]
302.2 million kWh (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 167
[see also: Electricity - consumption country ranks ]
0 kWh (2008 est.)
[see also: Electricity - exports country ranks ]
0 kWh (2008 est.)
[see also: Electricity - imports country ranks ]
0 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 137
[see also: Oil - production country ranks ]
3,000 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 179
[see also: Oil - consumption country ranks ]
0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 181
[see also: Oil - exports country ranks ]
2,747 bbl/day (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 171
[see also: Oil - imports country ranks ]
0 bbl (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 130
[see also: Oil - proved reserves country ranks ]
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 137
[see also: Natural gas - production country ranks ]
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 157
[see also: Natural gas - consumption country ranks ]
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 135
[see also: Natural gas - exports country ranks ]
0 cu m (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 140
[see also: Natural gas - imports country ranks ]
0 cu m (1 January 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 141
[see also: Natural gas - proved reserves country ranks ]
-$199 million (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 88
[see also: Current account balance country ranks ]
$288 million (2006)
country comparison to the world: 176
[see also: Exports country ranks ]
bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil
Spain 29.41%, UK 15.28%, South Korea 10.54%, US 9.75%, India 9.52% (2009)
$791 million (2006)
country comparison to the world: 180
[see also: Imports country ranks ]
food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels
Brazil 83.44%, US 4.67%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.56% (2009)
$257 million (2004)
country comparison to the world: 173
[see also: Debt - external country ranks ]
East Caribbean dollars (XCD) per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003)
This page was last modified 09-Feb-11