St Lucia - Society

Population: 167,000 (2008); 28% lives in urban areas; growth 1.4% p.a. 1970–90 and 1.1% p.a. 1990–2006; birth rate (2006) 19 per 1,000 people (41 in 1970); life expectancy 74 years (64 in 1970). St Lucia’s population is mostly of mixed African and European descent.

Religion: Mainly Christians (Roman Catholics more than 80%, Anglicans, Methodists, Seventh Day Adventists, Baptists).

Language: English, French-based Creole and French.

Media: St Lucia’s newspapers and TV stations are all privately owned; only the radio network, Radio Saint Lucia (RSL), is run by the government.

Private TV stations include the Catholic Broadcasting TV Network (CBTN), Helen Television Systems (HTS) and Daher Broadcasting Service (DBS). Radio Caribbean International broadcasts programmes in English and Creole.

There are no daily newspapers in St Lucia. The main newspapers are The Voice of St Lucia, The Star (three times weekly), The Crusader, The Mirror and The Vanguard.

Visions Magazine provides local information for tourists and is published by the St Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association.

There are 341 TV sets (2003), 173 personal computers (2004) and 667 internet users (2007) per 1,000 people.

Education: Public spending on education was 6.6% of GDP in 2006. There are 12 years of compulsory education starting at age five. Net enrolment ratios are 98% for primary (2006) and 68% for secondary (2005). The pupil–teacher ratio for primary is 24:1 (2006) and for secondary 17:1 (2005). The school year starts in September.

The Sir Arthur Lewis Community College offers a diversity of courses and St Lucia shares in the regional University of the West Indies, which has campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago. Illiteracy among people age 15–24 is 4.6% (5.2% for males and 4.1% for females, 2001 census).

Health: The Victoria Hospital and the new Tapion Hospital provide a range of medical treatment, and the Golden Hope Hospital caters for psychiatric cases. There are cottage hospitals at Vieux Fort, Dennery and Soufrière, and more than 20 health centres. Nurses are trained in the nursing department of the Community College. 98% of the population uses an improved drinking water source and 89% adequate sanitation facilities (2006). Infant mortality was 12 per 1,000 live births in 2006.

Communications: Country code 1 758. Phonecard telephone booths are found throughout the island and sale of phonecards is widely available.

Internet access is available at the internet kiosk at Pointe Seraphine and internet cafes are located around the island. There are post office branches in all towns and villages.

There are 326 main telephone lines (2006) and 657 mobile phone subscriptions (2007) per 1,000 people.

Public holidays: New Year (two days), Independence Day (22 February), Labour Day (1 May), Carnival (two days in July), Emancipation Day (first Friday in August), Thanksgiving Day (early October), All Saints’ Day (1 November), All Souls’ Day (2 November), St Lucia Day (13 December), Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
Religious and other festivals whose dates vary from year to year include Good Friday, Easter Monday, Whit Monday and Corpus Christi.