liament consists of the Senate (11
seats; six members appointed on the advice of the prime minister,
three on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and two after
consultation with religious, economic, and social groups) and the
House of Assembly (17 seats; members are elected by popular vote
from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)

elections: House of Assembly - last held 23 May 1997 (next to be
held NA 2002)

election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - SLP 16, UWP 1

Judicial branch: Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (jurisdiction
extends to Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin
Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint
Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

Political parties and leaders: National Freedom Party or NFP
[Martinus FRANCOIS]; Saint Lucia Labor Party or SLP [Kenneth
ANTHONY]; United Workers Party or UWP [Dr. Morella JOSEPH]

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: ACCT (associate), ACP, C,
Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol,
IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Sonia Merlyn JOHNNY

chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016

telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795

FAX: [1] (202) 364-6728

consulate(s) general: Miami and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US: the US does not have an
embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited
to Saint Lucia

Flag description: blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black
arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border

Saint Lucia Economy

Economy - overview: The recent changes in the EU import preference
regime and the increased competition from Latin American bananas
have made economic diversification increasingly important in Saint
Lucia. Improvement in the construction sector and growth of the
tourism industry helped expand GDP in 1998-99. The agriculture
sector registered its fifth year of decline in 1997 primarily
because of a severe decline in banana production. The manufacturing
sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean, and the
government is beginn