Saint Lucia (pronounced /ˌseɪnt ˈluːʃiə/ saynt LOO-shee-ə; French: Sainte-Lucie) is an island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean.[3] Part of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the islands of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, northwest of Barbados and south of Martinique. Its size is 620 km² with an estimated population of 160,000. Its capital is Castries. The island nation has been the home of two Nobel laureates, Arthur Lewis and Derek Walcott. It is the nation with the second most such honorees per capita after Faroe Islands.

One of the Windward Islands, it was named for Saint Lucy of Syracuse by the French, the first European colonizers. They signed a treaty with the native Carib peoples in 1660. Great Britain took control of the island from 1663 to 1667; in ensuing years, it was at war with France 14 times and rule of the island changed frequently. In 1814, Britain finally took control of the island. Because it switched so often between British and French control, St.Lucia was also known as the “Helen of the West Indies.”

Saint Lucia has an efficient legal system based on British common law. The judiciary is independent and conducts generally fair public trials. St Lucia is ranked as the 25th most-free economy in the world in 2010. Saint Lucia scores above the world average in seven economic freedoms, including business freedom, freedom from corruption, and monetary freedom. The entrepreneurial environment is efficient and transparent, and efforts to eliminate price controls have encouraged economic growth. The government implements penalties for corruption through the relatively efficient judicial system. The financial sector has weathered the global financial crisis, but the recession has hurt tourism.

Representative government came about in 1924 (with universal adult suffrage from 1953). From 1958 to 1962 the island was a member of the Federation of the West Indies. Finally, on February 22, 1979, Saint Lucia became an independent state of the Commonwealth of Nations.[3] The island nation celebrates this every year with a public holiday. It is also a member of La Francophonie.[4]

[Castries]