St Lucia Facts
Last Census - 2010
St Lucia, or Saint Lucia, is a sovereign island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It is part of the Lesser Antilles and located north/northeast of Saint Vincent and south of Marinique. In 2014, St Lucia has an estimated population of 182,000.
St Lucia Population 2014
St Lucia's 2014 population of 182,000 compares to the 2009 census of 173,700. Despite being one of the smallest countries in the world (617 square kilometers or 238 square miles) and ranking 191st, St Lucia has a fairly high population density of 298 people per square kilometer, which ranks 41st.
The capital and largest city is Castries, with a 2014 population of 70,000, or more than one-third of the total population. Castries is a major tourist destination and a cruise ship port.
St Lucia Demographics
St Lucia's population is evenly split between rural and urban areas, despite the high population in Catries. The population is mostly African or of mixed African-European descent, with a small population of Indo-Caribbeans (3%). Afro-Caribbeans account for 68% of the population, followed by mixed (17%) and European (5%).
The official language is English, with Saint Lucian Creole French (called Patwah locally) spoken by 95% of the people. 70% of the population is Roman Catholic, while most of the remaining population belonging to other denominations such as Seventh-day Adventism (7%) and Pentacostalism (6%).
Interestingly, St Lucia has produced the highest ratio of Nobel laureates compared to the total population of any sovereign nation.
St Lucia Population Growth
While St Lucia does have a high emigration rate, its population continues to grow steadily at about 1.2% per year. Many people migrate from the nation to Anglophone countries, particularly the United Kingdom (with 10,000 Saint Lucian-born residents) and the United States.