Most of the population of Saint Lucia is of African descent (81% of the population). There is also a significant racially mixed minority representing 11.9%, with Indo-Caribbean or Indian groups at 2.4%, and a small ethnic European minority (descendants of French, British, and Irish colonists). Members of other or unspecified ethnicity groups account for 3.1%. There are small numbers of Greeks, Lebanese, Syrians, Italians, Chinese, North Americans, Portuguese, Germans. Arawak-Carib Amerindian groups account for 1.6%.
The official language is English, but an Antillean Creole, which is based on French, is spoken by 80% of the population. Antillean Creole is increasingly used in literature and music, and is gaining official recognition. It evolved from French, African languages, and Carib. Saint Lucia is a member of La Francophonie.
Saint Lucia boasts the highest ratio of Nobel laureates produced with respect to the total population of any country in the world. Two winners have come from St. Lucia: Sir Arthur Lewis won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1979, and Derek Walcott received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1992. Both were born on the same date in 1915 and 1930, respectively: January 23.
About 70% of the population is Roman Catholic, influenced from the days of French Catholic rule and evangelization. Most of the rest belong to other Christian denominations, including Seventh-day Adventisms (7%), Pentecostalism (6%), Anglicanism (2%), Evangelical Christianity (2%), and the Baptist faith; in addition, about 2% of the population adheres to the Rastafari movement.
Migration from Saint Lucia is primarily to Anglophone countries, with the United Kingdom (see Saint Lucian British) having almost 10,000 Saint Lucian-born citizens, and over 30,000 of Saint Lucian heritage. The second most popular destination for Saint Lucian expatriates is the United States, where combined (foreign and national born Saint Lucians) almost 14,000 reside. Canada is home to a few thousand Saint Lucians. Most other countries in the world have fewer than 50 citizens of Saint Lucian origin (the exceptions being Spain and France with 124 and 117 Saint Lucian expats respectively).
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