Saint Lucia

The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries, was contested between England and France throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries (changing possession 14 times); it was finally ceded to the UK in 1814. Even after the abolition of slavery on its plantations in 1834, Saint Lucia remained an agricultural island, dedicated to producing tropical commodity crops. Self-government was granted in 1967 and independence in 1979.
==Economical characteristics==
* Currency: East Caribbean Dollar (ISO code: XCD)
* This country does not seem to have a central bank.
* Central bank discount rate: 6.5% (31 December 2008)
* Commercial banks lending rate: 10.08% (31 December 2008)
* Stock of money (M1): $261.3 million (31 December 2008)
* Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $800.1 million (31 December 2008)
===Statistics===
Statistic / Year 	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
GDP (million USD)World Bank. "Saint Lucia: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	693 	708 	687 	705 	748 	801 	879 	933 	960 	996
Govt. debt (% of GDP)World Bank. "Saint Lucia: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)World Bank. "Saint Lucia: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)World Bank. "Saint Lucia: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Debt to revenue (years) 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
==External links==
* Saint Lucia on Wikipedia
Category:Countries