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Caribbean Islands Population
St. Lucia's population was estimated at 140,000 in 1986. It
grew consistently at a relatively high annual rate of 1.8 percent
in the 1980s. These figures would have been even higher had it not
been for the steady emigration of adult workers in search of
employment; nearly 2 percent of the population left the island each
year.
St. Lucia had a population density of approximately 227
inhabitants per square kilometer in the late 1980s, almost evenly
dispersed between urban and rural areas. This pattern was expected
to change, however, because limited amounts of arable land caused
residents to migrate to the cities and towns. The Pan American
Health Organization (PAHO) estimated that there was a net annual
internal migration to Castries of approximately 0.8 percent in
1984. This trend was expected to continue into the foreseeable
future and to place the greatest burden on Castries and Vieux Fort.
St. Lucia's rapidly increasing population, caused by the
country's young population and high fertility rate, placed an
enormous stress on the society, which was already experiencing
underemployment, a growing informal economic sector, and increased
pressure on livable space in urban areas. Although emigration might
ameliorate the population problem, observers in the 1980s believed
that the government might have to develop a national birth control
program similar to those in other Eastern Caribbean islands.
Ethnically, St. Lucian society was homogeneous, with 90.5
percent of the population of African descent. The balance of the
population was composed of East Indians (3.2 percent), Europeans
(0.8 percent), and those of mixed ethnic background (5.5 percent).
The vast majority of St. Lucians were Roman Catholic; only 10 to 15
percent of the population practiced other religions. Nevertheless,
St. Lucia was not as uniform a society as it appeared. Language
remained a distinguishing characteristic and was the basis of
social discrimination. The official language was English, and 80
percent of the population was considered literate in English.
However, a French creole language, or patois, was also commonly
used, particularly in rural, interior portions of the country, and
by lower socioeconomic groups throughout the country.
This linguistic dualism originated in the colonial period when
St. Lucia was under the alternating stewardship of France and
Britain. Linguistic influences at this time included those of the
two European states, as well as the numerous African languages used
by the slave population. The development of patois during the
slavery period served two purposes. It facilitated communication
between the French and slave populations, as well as among the
various ethnolinguistic African groups who often did not share a
common language. Until St. Lucia became British, French and patois
coexisted harmoniously and were used interchangeably by the middle
and upper classes; the uneducated, however, particularly the slave
population, communicated only in patois.
The British, as the dominant social, political, and economic
group in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, replaced French
with English as the official language. English, however, lacked the
common roots that French shared with patois, causing a clash of
languages and cultures that previously had not existed. Although
patois was replaced by English over time, it was still employed in
some ceremonial functions. However, because patois continued to be
associated with a sense of vulgarity and lack of culture and
education, many St. Lucians hid their ability to communicate in it.
The effect of language on social status was still very
pronounced. Those elements that did not speak English, comprising
approximately 20 percent of the population, were excluded from the
education system and hence unable to participate fully in
political, economic, and social power sharing. The St. Lucian
government recognized the problem and was attempting to incorporate
this minority into the mainstream of society through language
outreach programs. An improved infrastructure, especially an
island-wide road network, was also bridging the gap between these
two groups.
Observers believed that with time, English would be spoken by
virtually the entire population, and as a result patois probably
would become less influential even among the French descendants on
the island. Nevertheless, it appeared unlikely that patois would
disappear completely, given the fact that it was a symbol of
cultural identity for many St. Lucians.
Data as of November 1987
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