Saint Lucia Economy 1997

Economy - overview Though foreign investment in manufacturing and information processingin recent years has increased Saint Lucia's industrial base, the economy remainsvulnerable due to its heavy dependence on banana production, which is subjectto periodic droughts and tropical storms. Indeed, the destructive effect ofTropical Storm Iris in mid-1995 caused the loss of 20% of the year's bananacrop. Increased competition from Latin American bananas will probably furtherreduce market prices, exacerbating Saint Lucia's need to diversify its economyin coming years, e.g., by further expanding tourism, manufacturing, and construction.

GDP purchasing power parity - $695 million (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 4.3% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $4,400 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture : 13.8%
industry: 17.4%
services: 68.8% (1992 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 3% (1996 est.)

Labor force
total: 43,800
by occupation: agriculture 43.4%, services 38.9%, industry and commerce 17.7% (1983est.)

Unemployment rate 25% (1995 est.)

Budget
revenues: $361.5 million
expenditures: $311 million, including capital expenditures of $104 million (1995 est.)

Industries clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboardboxes, tourism, lime processing, coconut processing

Industrial production growth rate NA %

Electricity - capacity 34,000 kW (1995)

Electricity - production NA kWh

Electricity - consumption per capita 801 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa

Exports
total value: $104.1 million (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: bananas 60%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil
partners: UK 56%, US 22%, Caricom countries 19% (1991)

Imports
total value: $270.5 million (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 21%,food and live animals, chemicals, fuels
partners: US 34%, Caricom countries 17%, UK 14%, Japan 7%, Canada 4% (1991)

Debt - external $115 million (1996)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $NA

Currency 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.7000 (February 1997; fixedrate since 1976)

Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March

NOTE: The information regarding Saint Lucia on this page is re-published from the 1997 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Saint Lucia Economy 1997 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Saint Lucia Economy 1997 should be addressed to the CIA.