Browse a full set of economic indicators

St. Lucia

Includes Saint Lucia real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.

Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Saint Lucia economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Saint Lucia best banks and safest banks are also available.

Basic Information

Government Type: Parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

Capital City: Castries

GDP & Economic Information

Macroeconomy & Sovereign Data

Central Bank Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
Currency East Caribbean dollars (XCD)
International Reserves USD 0.29 billion (2018)

International Monetary Fund (IMF), data retrieved October 2019
Gross Domestic Product – GDP USD 1.9 billion (2018, estimate)
GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) Intl$ 2.5 billion (2018, estimate)

GDP Data

Real GDP growth 2007 2.1%
2008 5%
2009 -1.5%
2010 0.3%
2011 4.1%
2012 -0.3%
2013 -2%
2014 0%
2015 0.3%
2016 3.9%
2017* 3.7%
2018* 1%

*Estimate
GDP per capita – current prices USD 10,610.3 (2018, estimate)
GDP per capita – PPP Intl$ 14,354.8 (2018, estimate)
GDP (PPP) – share of world total 1980 0%
1990 0%
2000 0%
2010 0%
2019* 0.002%

*Estimate
GDP – composition by sector agriculture: 2.1%
industry: 9.7%
services: 75.1%
(2018 estimate)
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP) N/A
Inflation 2015 -1%
2016 -3.1%
2017 0.1%
2018* 2%
2019* 2.1%

*Estimate

Inflation & Debt

Inflation 2015 -1%
2016 -3.1%
2017 0.1%
2018* 2%
2019* 2.1%

*Estimat
Government Bond Ratings Standard & Poor’s: N/A

Moody’s: N/A

Standard & Poor’s / Moody’s
Unemployment rate 2015 N/A
2016 N/A
2017 N/A
2018* N/A
2019*N/A

*Estimate
Household saving rates N/A
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP) 2015 66.1%
2016 66.2%
2017 65.5%
2018* 64.3%
2019* 65.9%

*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP) 2015 -2.5%
2016 -1.5%
2017 -2.2%
2018* -1.4%
2019* -2.2%

*Estimate

Market value of publicly traded shares 2016 N/A
2017 N/A
2018 N/A
Largest Companies N/A

Import/Export

Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services) 36.3% (2016)
Shares in world total merchandising export 0.0005% (2018)
Shares in world total commercial services export 0.02% (2018)
Total exports USD 1.1 billion (2018 estimate)
Export commodities Bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, avocados, mangoes, coconut oil (2010 est.)
Total imports USD 972.5 million (2018 estimate)
Import commodities Food, manufactured goods, machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals, fuels
Exports – major partners US 67.6%, UK 5.9%, Trinidad and Tobago 5.5% (2017)
Imports – major partners US 53.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 10.8% (2017)

Competitiveness & Trade

Current account balance USD 0.1 billion (2018 estimate)
Current account balance by percentage of GDP 3.0 % (2018 estimate)
FDI inflows 2016 USD 129 million
2017 USD 131 million
2018 USD 135 million
FDI Outflows 2016 USD 5.4 million
2017 USD 5.6 million
2018 USD 13.2 million
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser 2015 N/A
2016 N/A
2017 N/A
2018 N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014 N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015 N/A
Best countries for doing business Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

Overall ranking:

93 out of 190 countries

​Subcategories:
Starting a Business: 69 out of 190 countries
Dealing with Construction Permits: 38 out of 190 countries
Getting Electricity: 56 out of 190 countries
Registering Property: 107 out of 190 countries
Getting Credit: 165 out of 190 countries
Protecting Minority Investors: 79 out of 190 countries
Paying Taxes: 84 out of 190 countries
Trading across Borders: 93 out of 190 countries
Enforcing Contracts: 79 out of 190 countries
Resolving Insolvency: 131 out of 190 countries
Global competitiveness ranking N/A
Index of Economic Freedom Ranking: 38 / Score: 68.7 (Moderately free)

(100=totally free 0=totally repressed)

Population & Geographic Data

Total Area 616 sq km


Total Population 1990 0.13 Million
2000 0.16 Million
2010 0.17 Million
2015 0.17 Million
2020 0.18 Million
Urban population as % of total population 1960 21.5%
1980 26.5%
2000 27.8%
2018 18.7%
Population median age 35.5 years
Population growth rate 0.31% (2018 estimate)
Life expectancy 78.1 years (2018 estimate)
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day 10.6% (last available estimate, 2016)
Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index) 51.2 (last available estimate, 2016)
Freedom House rating Free
Political Rights: 1
Civil Liberties: 1 (2019)
(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Total telephone subscribers as % of population Fixed: 20.1% Mobile: 101.7% (2018)

(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)
Internet users as % of total population 50.82 % (2017)

Language & Religon

Languages English (official), French patois
Literacy N/A
Religions Roman Catholic 61.5%, Protestant 25.5% (includes Seventh Day Adventist 10.4%, Pentecostal 8.9%, Baptist 2.2%, Anglican 1.6%, Church of God 1.5%, other Protestant 0.9%), other Christian 3.4% (includes Evangelical 2.3% and Jehovah’s Witness 1.1%), Rastafari

World Rankings

Population 0.18 million
Mercer Cost of living index N/A
C02 Emissions per capita 2.28 metric tons per capita (2014)

Global Finance Rankings & Awards: Saint Lucia

Global Finance Magazine holds several conferences and awards ceremonies throughout the year to recognize the winning financial institutions and companies in a host of categories including World’s Best Trade Finance Banks, World's Biggest Banks, World's Safest Banks, World's Best Developed & Emerging Markets Banks, World's Best Internet Banks, and World’s Best Investment Banks.


Data Sources:

IMF World Economic Outlook

UN World Population Prospects

World Inequality Report

S&P Global Ratings

Moody’s

Fitch Ratings

IMF Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS)

UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

CIA The World Factbook

World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution

Forbes Global 2000

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