Demographics of Saint Lucia

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Saint Lucia, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Saint Lucia's population is predominantly of African and mixed African-European descent, with small East Indian and European minorities. English is the official language, although many St. Lucians speak a French-based creole language. Ninety percent of the population is Roman Catholic, a further reflection of early French influence on the island. The population of just over 147,000 is evenly divided between urban and rural areas, although the capital, Castries, contains more than one-third of the population. Despite a high emigration rate, the population is growing rapidly, about 1.2% per year.

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

Demographics of Saint Lucia, Data of FAO, year 2005 ; Number of inhabitants in thousands

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

156,260 (July 2000 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 33% (male 26,087; female 25,159)
15-64 years: 62% (male 47,420; female 49,290)
65 years and over: 5% (male 3,113; female 5,191) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate

1.21% (2000 est.)

Birth rate

22.20 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

5.43 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate

-4.67 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate

15.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 72.31 years
male: 68.74 years
female: 76.14 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.42 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality

noun: Saint Lucian(s)
adjective: Saint Lucian

Ethnic groups

African people 80%, Mixed race 13%, East Indian 2.4%, White 1.0%, and East Asians, Middle eastern people and Latin Americans 3.6%.

Religions

Roman Catholic 70%, Protestant 7%, Anglican 3%, and other (i.e. Hinduism or Islam) and unspecified 20%.

Languages

English (official), Antillean Creole (French patois), Broken English

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 67%
male: 65%
female: 69% (1980 est.)