About St. Lucia

A spate of resort developments on St Lucia has made this high, green island one of the Caribbean's trendy package-tour destinations, but it's still a long way from being sanitised and overdeveloped. Bananas are still bigger business than tourism in this archetypal island paradise. Much of the island is rural: small coastal fishing villages give way to a hinterland of banana and coconut plantations folded within deep valleys topped by rich, mountainous jungle. The rugged terrain continues beneath the sea in a diving heaven of underwater mountains, caves and drop-offs.

Its most dramatic scenery is in the south, where the twin volcanic peaks of the Pitons rise sharply from the shoreline to form distinctive landmarks. The coastline is pocketed with secluded coves and beaches made for one (or, naturally, at sunset, for two).


Facts

Full country name: Saint Lucia
Area: 616 sq km
Population: 156,260
Capital City: Castries
People: African (90%), mixed descent (6%), European and East Indian (4%)
Language: English
Religion: Roman Catholic (90%), Protestant (7%), Anglican (3%)
Government: independent republic within the British Commonwealth
Head of State: Governor General Dame Pearlette Louisy
Head of Government: Prime Minister Kenny Anthony
GDP: US$866 million (2005 est.)
GDP per capita: US$5,400 (2005 est.)
Annual Growth: 7.9% (2005 est.)
Major Industries: Bananas, coconuts, cocoa, assembly of electronic components, clothing, tourism.
Major Trading Partners: USA, Caricom (Caribbean community) countries, UK, Japan, Canada




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