Legend:
 Definition
 Field Listing
 Rank Order
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Background:
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The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries, was contested between England and France throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries (changing possession 14 times); it was finally ceded to the UK in 1814. Even after the abolition of slavery on its plantations in 1834, Saint Lucia remained an agricultural island, dedicated to producing tropical commodity crops. Self-government was granted in 1967 and independence in 1979.
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Location:
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Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago
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Geographic coordinates:
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13 53 N, 60 58 W
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Map references:
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Central America and the Caribbean
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Area:
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total: 616 sq km
land: 606 sq km
water: 10 sq km
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Area - comparative:
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3.5 times the size of Washington, DC
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Land boundaries:
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0 km
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Coastline:
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158 km
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Maritime claims:
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territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
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Climate:
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tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season January to April, rainy season May to August
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Terrain:
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volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Gimie 950 m
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Natural resources:
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forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential
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Land use:
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arable land: 6.45%
permanent crops: 22.58%
other: 70.97% (2005)
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Irrigated land:
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30 sq km (2003)
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Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
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total: 0.01
per capita: 81 cu m/yr (1997)
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Natural hazards:
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hurricanes; volcanic activity
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Environment - current issues:
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deforestation; soil erosion, particularly in the northern region
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Geography - note:
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the twin Pitons (Gros Piton and Petit Piton), striking cone-shaped peaks south of Soufriere, are one of the scenic natural highlights of the Caribbean
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Population:
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160,267 (July 2009 est.)
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Age structure:
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0-14 years: 24.4% (male 20,035/female 19,021)
15-64 years: 66.4% (male 51,593/female 54,843)
65 years and over: 9.2% (male 6,668/female 8,107) (2009 est.)
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Median age:
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total: 29.8 years
male: 28.7 years
female: 30.8 years (2009 est.)
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Population growth rate:
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0.416% (2009 est.)
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Birth rate:
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15.1 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Death rate:
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6.71 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
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Net migration rate:
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-4.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
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Urbanization:
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urban population: 28% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 1.4% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
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Sex ratio:
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at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
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Infant mortality rate:
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total: 13.43 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.47 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 14.44 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total population: 76.45 years
male: 73.78 years
female: 79.27 years (2009 est.)
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Total fertility rate:
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1.84 children born/woman (2009 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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NA
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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
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NA
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HIV/AIDS - deaths:
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NA
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Nationality:
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noun: Saint Lucian(s)
adjective: Saint Lucian
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Ethnic groups:
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black 82.5%, mixed 11.9%, East Indian 2.4%, other or unspecified 3.1% (2001 census)
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Religions:
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Roman Catholic 67.5%, Seventh Day Adventist 8.5%, Pentecostal 5.7%, Rastafarian 2.1%, Anglican 2%, Evangelical 2%, other Christian 5.1%, other 1.1%, unspecified 1.5%, none 4.5% (2001 census)
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Languages:
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English (official), French patois
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Literacy:
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definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 90.1%
male: 89.5%
female: 90.6% (2001 est.)
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School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
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total: 14 years
male: 13 years
female: 14 years (2006)
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Education expenditures:
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6.6% of GDP (2006)
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Country name:
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conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Lucia
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Government type:
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parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm
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Capital:
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name: Castries
geographic coordinates: 14 01 N, 61 00 W
time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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Administrative divisions:
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11 quarters; Anse-la-Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery, Gros-Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin, Soufriere, Vieux-Fort
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Independence:
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22 February 1979 (from the UK)
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 22 February (1979)
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Constitution:
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22 February 1979
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Legal system:
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based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Dame Pearlette LOUISY (since September 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Stephenson KING (since 9 September 2007); note - Sir John COMPTON died in office 7 September 2007
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
elections: the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general
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Legislative branch:
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bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (11 seats; six members appointed on the advice of the prime minister, three on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and two after consultation with religious, economic, and social groups) and the House of Assembly (17 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 11 December 2006 (next to be held in December 2011)
election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - UWP 50%, SLP 46.9%, other 3.1%; seats by party - UWP 11, SLP 6
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Judicial branch:
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Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (consists of a High Court and a Court of Appeals; based on Saint Lucia; three judges of the Supreme Court reside in Saint Lucia); member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)
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Political parties and leaders:
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National Alliance or NA [George ODLUM]; Saint Lucia Freedom Party or SFP [Martinus FRANCOIS]; Saint Lucia Labor Party or SLP [Kenneth ANTHONY]; Sou Tout Apwe Fete Fini or STAFF [Christopher HUNTE]; United Workers Party or UWP [Stephenson KING]
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA
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International organization participation:
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ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OIF, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Michael LOUIS
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016
telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795
FAX: [1] (202) 364-6723
consulate(s) general: Miami, New York
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia
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Flag description:
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blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border
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Economy - overview:
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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. The tourism sector is likely to face declining revenues with the global economic downturn as US and European travel declines. 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 70% 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.
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GDP (purchasing power parity):
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$1.801 billion (2008 est.)
$1.761 billion (2007)
$1.732 billion (2006)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP (official exchange rate):
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$1.031 billion (2008 est.)
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GDP - real growth rate:
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2.3% (2008 est.)
1.7% (2007 est.)
4.9% (2006 est.)
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GDP - per capita (PPP):
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$11,300 (2008 est.)
$11,100 (2007 est.)
$11,000 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 5%
industry: 15%
services: 80% (2005 est.)
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Labor force:
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43,800 (2001 est.)
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture: 21.7%
industry: 24.7%
services: 53.6% (2002 est.)
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Unemployment rate:
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20% (2003 est.)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
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Budget:
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revenues: $141.2 million
expenditures: $146.7 million (2000 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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1.9% (2007 est.)
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Central bank discount rate:
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6.5% (31 December 2007)
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Commercial bank prime lending rate:
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10.12% (31 December 2007)
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Stock of money:
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$264.7 million (31 December 2007)
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Stock of quasi money:
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$720.9 million (31 December 2007)
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Stock of domestic credit:
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$1.217 billion (31 December 2007)
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Agriculture - products:
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bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa
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Industries:
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clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism; lime processing, coconut processing
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Electricity - production:
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325 million kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - consumption:
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289.2 million kWh (2006 est.)
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2007 est.)
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Electricity - imports:
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0 kWh (2007 est.)
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2007 est.)
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Oil - consumption:
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2,780 bbl/day (2006 est.)
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Oil - exports:
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0 bbl/day (2005)
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Oil - imports:
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2,631 bbl/day (2005)
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Oil - proved reserves:
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0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
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Natural gas - production:
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0 cu m (2007 est.)
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Natural gas - consumption:
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0 cu m (2007 est.)
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Natural gas - exports:
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0 cu m (2007 est.)
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Natural gas - imports:
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0 cu m (2007 est.)
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Natural gas - proved reserves:
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0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
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Current account balance:
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-$199 million (2007 est.)
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Exports:
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$288 million (2006)
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Exports - commodities:
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bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil
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Exports - partners:
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US 24.5%, France 23.2%, UK 19.3%, Antigua and Barbuda 5%, Dominica 4.9%, Barbados 4.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.1% (2007)
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Imports:
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$791 million (2006)
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Imports - commodities:
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food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels
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Imports - partners:
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Brazil 63.6%, US 10.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 8.2% (2007)
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Debt - external:
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$257 million (2004)
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Exchange rates:
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East Caribbean dollars (XCD) per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003)
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This page was last updated on 14 May 2009
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