Economy of Saint Lucia

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Economy of Saint Lucia

Castries, the financial center of Saint Lucia
Currency	East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Fiscal year	1 April–March 31
Trade organisations	WTO, CARICOM, OECS
Country group	Developing/Emerging[1] Upper middle income economy[2]
Statistics
Population	185,886 (March 2023)[3]
GDP	$2.262 billion (nominal, 2023 est)[4] $3.399 billion (PPP, 2023 est)[5]
GDP rank	186th (nominal, 2023) 182nd (PPP, 2023)
GDP growth	12.2% (2021)[6] 14.9% (2022)[6] 3.0% (2023f)[6] 2.2% (2024f)[6]
GDP per capita	$12,264 (nominal, 2023 est.)[7] $18,435 (PPP, 2023 est.)[8]
GDP per capita rank	70th (nominal, 2023) 90th (PPP, 2023)
GDP by sector	agriculture: 2.2% industry: 10.9% services: 86.9% (2020 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	6.4% (2022)
Population below poverty line	NA[9] 20.3% on less than $5.50/day (2016)[10]
Gini coefficient	51.2 high (2016)[11]
Human Development Index	0.715 high (2021)[12] (106th) 0.559 medium IHDI (2021)[13]
Labour force	95,790 (2020)[14] 57.4% employment rate (2016)[15]
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 7.9% industry: 15.6% services: 76.5% (Apr 2021 est.)
Unemployment	17.5% (2022)[16] 26.2% youth unemployment (2022)[17]
Main industries	tourism; clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, lime processing, coconut processing
External
Exports	$185.1 million (2017 est.)[9]
Export goods	crude petroleum, beer, jewelry, bananas, refined petroleum, rum
Main export partners	United States 17.2%  Guyana 16.3%  Trinidad and Tobago 14.2%  Barbados 8.84%  Suriname 6.84% (2022)[18]
Imports	$600 million (2017 est.)[9]
Import goods	crude petroleum, refined petroleum, cars, poultry meats, natural gas
Main import partners	United States 75.9% (2022)[19]
Gross external debt	$570.6 million (31 December 2017 est.)[9]
Public finances
Budget balance	+0.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)[9]
Expenses	392.8 million (2017 est.)[9]
Foreign reserves	$321.8 million (31 December 2017 est.)[9]
All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

Once a single-crop agricultural economy, Saint Lucia has shifted to a tourism and banking serviced-based economy. Tourism, the island's biggest industry and main source of jobs, income and foreign exchange, accounts for 65% of its GDP. Agriculture, which was once the biggest industry, now contributes to less than 3% of GDP, but still accounts for 20% of jobs. The banana industry is now on a decline due to strong competition from low-cost Latin American producers and reduced European trade preferences, but the government has helped revitalize the industry, with 13,734 tonnes exported in 2018. Agricultural crops grown for export are bananas, mangoes, and avocados. The island is considered to have the most diverse and well-developed manufacturing industry in the eastern Caribbean.

Saint Lucia has been able to attract many foreign businesses and investors.^{[citation needed]}