Economy of Saint Lucia
Saint Lucia is considered to be a developing nation. The developmental stage of a nation is determined by a number of factors including, but not limited to, economic prosperity, life expectancy, income equality, and quality of life. As a developing nation, Saint Lucia may not be able to offer consistent social services to its citizens. These social services may include things like public education, reliable healthcare, and law enforcement. Citizens of developing nations may have lower life expectancies than citizens of developed nations. Each year, Saint Lucia exports around $0.21 billion and imports roughly $0.59 billion. 21% of population in the country are unemployed. The total number of unemployed people in Saint Lucia is 37,730. In Saint Lucia, 16.2% of the population lives below the poverty line. The percentage of citizens living below the poverty line in Saint Lucia is fairly high, but is not reason for complete concern with regard to investments. Potential financial backers should look at other economic markers, including GDP, urbanization rate, and strength of currency, before making any decisions regarding investments. Government expenditure on education is 4.5% of GDP. The Gini Index of the country is 42.6. Saint Lucia is experiencing poor equality. The gap between the richest and poorest citizens in this country is quite noticeable. Saint Lucia has a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.714. Saint Lucia has an upper medium HDI score. This indicates that the majority of citizens will be able to attain a desirable life, though some citizens will not be able to achieve high living standards. The strength of legal rights index for Saint Lucia is 5. Overall, it is considered to be rather inadequate - bancrupcy and collateral laws are able to protect the rights of borrowers and lenders to some degree; credit information may be sufficient, but hardly available, or, the oppoiste case, available but not sufficient.
Currency
The currency of Saint Lucia is eastern caribbean dollar. The plural form of the word eastern caribbean dollar is dollars. The symbol used for this currency is $, and it is abbreviated as XCD. The eastern caribbean dollar is divided into Cent; there are 100 in one eastern caribbean dollar.
Credit rating
The depth of credit information index for Saint Lucia is 0, which means that information, if any, is scarce, of insufficient details and almost inaccessible.
Central bank
In Saint Lucia, the institution that manages the state's currency, money supply, and interest rates is called Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. The average deposit interest rate offered by local banks in Saint Lucia is 2.8%.
Public debt
Saint Lucia has a government debt of 77% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as assessed in 2012.
Tax information
The corporate tax in Saint Lucia is set at 30%. Personal income tax ranges from 10% to 30%, depending on your specific situation and income level. VAT in Saint Lucia is 15%.
Finances
The total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) assessed as Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in Saint Lucia is $1978 billion. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) assessed as Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) per capita in Saint Lucia was last recorded at $11 million. PPP in Saint Lucia is considered to be below average when compared to other countries. Below average PPP indicates that citizens in this country find it difficult to purchase local goods. Local goods can include food, shelter, clothing, health care, personal care, essential furnishings, transportation and communication, laundry, and various types of insurance. Countries with below average PPP are dangerous locations for investments. The total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Saint Lucia is 1,336 billion. Based on this statistic, Saint Lucia is considered to have a small economy. Countries with small economies generally support less industries and opportunities for investment. However, worthwhile investment opportunities may be found. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in Saint Lucia was last recorded at $7 million. The average citizen in Saint Lucia has very high wealth. Countries with very high wealth per capita have an extended life expectancy and very high standard of living. Highly skilled workers can be found in many industries, and labor is very expensive in these countries. Countries with very high wealth offer opportunities for safe investments, as they are often supported by a diverse and thriving financial sector. GDP Annual Growth Rate in Saint Lucia averaged -1.1% in 2014. According to this percentage, Saint Lucia is currently experiencing significant decline. Countries that are experiencing significant decline could be experiencing dramatic decreases in personal consumption, employment rate, and personal income. A significant decline in GDP should warn investors that this location poses a high level of risk and should not be considered a safe location for investment. To read more about financial information click on finances of Saint Lucia.
Industry
Major industries in the country are tourism, clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, lime processing, coconut processing. The total labor force of Saint Lucia is 99,090 people, wherein 21% of population in the country are unemployed. The total number of unemployed people in Saint Lucia is 37,730. The Industrial Production growth rate of Saint Lucia is 2.6%.To read more about industrial information within Saint Lucia click on industry of Saint Lucia.
Agriculture
There are 39 km2 of arable land in Saint Lucia, and it comprises 6% of the country's total territory. There are 176 km2 of cultivated land in Saint Lucia. The country's major agricultural crops and products are bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa.To read more about agriculture click on agriculture of Saint Lucia.