Five current indicators, with dates and comparisons.
Five releases tell a more demanding story than any single headline. Official values stay distinct from SLPA calculations and interpretation.
WorkQ1 2026
12.1%overall unemployment
−2.0 pp year on year
Overall unemployment fell two points, with an 8.2-point gender gap.
Show comparison and context
Women16.2%
Men8.0%
Youth18.4%
SLPA uses the Table 2 estimates of 98,837 employed and 13,576 unemployed. Table 1 gives an incompatible 18.2% rate and very different totals; CSO clarification is needed. Q1 is not directly interchangeable with the 2025 annual average.
Official releaseOfficial releaseThe displayed value is presented from the named public producer's release; SLPA adds layout and interpretation, not a replacement statistic.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closes
Q2 accommodation and food fell 8.0%, construction 9.1% and wholesale/retail 5.7%; manufacturing rose 8.5%.
Official inputs · SLPA derivedSLPA-derived valueThe displayed result is arithmetic from cited official inputs. The source period, units and interpretation remain visible.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closes
Cruise supplied 58.8% of 2025 arrivals; stay-over remained above 2019.
Show comparison and context
Cruise58.8%
Stay-over37.6%
Yacht3.6%
Recent totals omit excursionists. Segment shares are calculated from the published arrival components.
Official inputs · SLPA derivedSLPA-derived valueThe displayed result is arithmetic from cited official inputs. The source period, units and interpretation remain visible.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closes
SLPA recalculates the balance as exports minus imports because several published balance signs are inconsistent.
Official inputs · SLPA derivedSLPA-derived valueThe displayed result is arithmetic from cited official inputs. The source period, units and interpretation remain visible.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closes
Annual inflation fell to 0.7% after the 2022 price shock.
Show comparison and context
20229.7%
2024−0.8%
20250.7%
The headline uses the CSO revised annual series where standalone CPI releases conflict.
Official releaseOfficial releaseThe displayed value is presented from the named public producer's release; SLPA adds layout and interpretation, not a replacement statistic.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closes
Tools, trackers & experimental labs10 tools for reasoning, household prices, forecasts, communities, elections, infrastructure, audits, procurement and transport.Each tool states its evidence date, current status, scope and best use.10 tools
Deeper analysisExplore evidence age, trends, charts and long-range pressures.Open the visual workbench when you need comparisons beyond the latest indicators or a single official table.23 views + source gateways
Latest publication dates
How recent is the evidence?
A national dashboard should show the age of its evidence as clearly as the value. This scan records the latest visible period in each official source area.
Current 4Watch 3Overdue 4SLPA freshness labelsCurrent means the visible period can still anchor near-term analysis; Watch means a newer release may be due; Overdue means the period is too old to stand alone as a current baseline.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closes
Latest period by official sourceCheck 11 source areas.4 current · 3 watch · 4 overdue
Reviewed 14 August 2026These labels describe the periods visible in the official archive at that review. “Overdue” means the source is too old to use alone as a current policy baseline.
Choose a system. Every chart keeps the official period visible, exposes exact values and separates source facts from SLPA inference.
Labour market · annual series
Employment gains remain uneven by gender.
12.6%annual unemployment · 2025
What the data saysOverall unemployment fell sharply after 2021, then rose 1.8 percentage points in 2025. The female rate ended the year at roughly twice the male rate.
SLPA inferenceThe next employment agenda should be tested against the gender gap, job quality and sector resilience, not only the headline rate.
Source authorityCSO · Main Labour Force Indicators (Annual), 1994–2025
OverallWomenMen
View exact values
Series
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Overall
16.8%
21.7%
21.9%
16.5%
14%
10.8%
12.6%
Women
18.9%
24.9%
23.9%
18.6%
17.3%
12%
16.9%
Men
14.9%
18.6%
20.1%
14.8%
11.2%
9.8%
8.4%
Reading noteAnnual averages shown here. The CSO homepage currently displays 11% for 2025, while its detailed annual table reports 12.6%. SLPA uses the detailed series pending CSO clarification; do not substitute the Q4 rate of 10.8% for the annual rate.
02
Policy horizon
Long-term population, health and fiscal pressures.
Three international source systems extend the national evidence base. Estimates and projections stay visibly separate from Saint Lucia’s official outturns, and are used to test policy capacity, not to manufacture certainty.
UN medium scenario · estimates to 2023 Evidence statusThe source’s estimate or projection status stays attached to every figure. These values complement rather than replace national official outturns.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closes
A smaller, older population changes the operating model of the state.
The question is not only how many people Saint Lucia may have, but the sequence through which age structure changes schools, labour, care, migration and the tax base.
−39.6%population change, 2023 to 2100 in the UN medium projection
What the source says
The scenario rises gently to about 181,503 people in 2032, then falls to 172,086 in 2050 and 108,220 in 2100. Births fall below deaths in 2033.
What this changes in policy design
Treat schools, housing, migration, skills, transport, prevention and pensions as one capacity portfolio. Decisions made for today’s headcount should carry explicit 2035 and 2050 utilisation tests.
RIPPLE-4 cascadeScenario pathway for policy testing
O1Smaller birth cohorts
O2Fewer pupils and labour-market entrants
O3Migration, wage and care responses
O4Pension, tax-base and settlement redesign
WorkforceSchool estateCare capacityPensionsTax base
Source systemOur World in Data · underlying UN World Population Prospects 2024UN estimates through 2023 · medium projection from 2024
EstimateUN medium projection
2023
2050
2100
Under 2525–6465+
Evidence limits
UN medium-variant population projection. Reconcile it with the latest Saint Lucian census and annual estimates before planning.
WHO modelled estimates · through 2021 Evidence statusThe source’s estimate or projection status stays attached to every figure. These values complement rather than replace national official outturns.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closes
Longer life matters less if healthy life does not keep pace.
Health policy propagates through attendance, informal care, household income, medicine demand, workforce participation and the public balance sheet.
9.4 yearsgap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in 2021
What the source says
Life expectancy rose from 73.2 years in 2000 to 76.1 in 2019, then fell to 71.1 in 2021. Healthy life expectancy was 61.8 years in 2021; NCDs represented 53% of estimated deaths.
What this changes in policy design
Make functional independence a whole-of-economy outcome. Fund prevention and primary care against avoided disability, household care hours and labour-force retention, not clinic throughput alone.
RIPPLE-4 cascadeScenario pathway for policy testing
O1Risk and morbidity accumulate
O2Primary-care and medicine demand rises
O3Care work displaces household income
O4Fiscal and workforce pressures reinforce
Primary careNCD preventionCare workHousehold income
Source systemWorld Health Organization · Global Health EstimatesLife / HALE series through 2021 · modelled estimates
Life expectancyHealthy life expectancyYears lived with reduced health
Non-communicable diseases53%Communicable, maternal, perinatal and nutritional33%Other pandemic-related outcomes9%Injuries5%
WHO life expectancy and healthy life expectancy estimates
Year
Life expectancy
Healthy life expectancy
Status
2000
73.2 years
63.5 years
WHO modelled estimate
2001
73.3 years
63.6 years
WHO modelled estimate
2002
73.5 years
63.8 years
WHO modelled estimate
2003
73.8 years
64.0 years
WHO modelled estimate
2004
74.0 years
64.2 years
WHO modelled estimate
2005
74.4 years
64.5 years
WHO modelled estimate
2006
74.7 years
64.7 years
WHO modelled estimate
2007
75.2 years
65.1 years
WHO modelled estimate
2008
75.5 years
65.3 years
WHO modelled estimate
2009
75.8 years
65.5 years
WHO modelled estimate
2010
76.0 years
65.6 years
WHO modelled estimate
2011
76.2 years
65.8 years
WHO modelled estimate
2012
76.4 years
65.9 years
WHO modelled estimate
2013
76.2 years
65.7 years
WHO modelled estimate
2014
76.3 years
65.8 years
WHO modelled estimate
2015
76.4 years
65.9 years
WHO modelled estimate
2016
76.2 years
65.8 years
WHO modelled estimate
2017
76.1 years
65.7 years
WHO modelled estimate
2018
76.1 years
65.7 years
WHO modelled estimate
2019
76.1 years
65.7 years
WHO modelled estimate
2020
75.6 years
65.2 years
WHO modelled estimate
2021
71.1 years
61.8 years
WHO modelled estimate
IMF WEO · April 2026 vintage Evidence statusThe source’s estimate or projection status stays attached to every figure. These values complement rather than replace national official outturns.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closes
A modest recurring cost can become a large inherited constraint.
After the rebound, the IMF projects slower growth while gross debt stays near 77% of GDP. That makes maintenance, readiness and stop rules part of policy design.
77.5%projected gross debt-to-GDP ratio in 2026
What the source says
The pandemic shock is exceptional. The more persistent planning signal is projected real growth of roughly 1.5%–2.0% with debt remaining around 77% of GDP through 2031.
What this changes in policy design
Appraise the recurring envelope, debt service, maintenance and next-shock buffer together. Attach forecast-revision gates and automatic scope responses before a programme creates beneficiaries and political lock-in.
RIPPLE-4 cascadeScenario pathway for policy testing
O1Growth normalises; debt stays high
O2Recurring room and buffers narrow
O3Maintenance or resilience is crowded out
O4The next shock produces a larger adjustment
Public balance sheetGrowthDebt serviceShock buffer
Source systemInternational Monetary Fund · WEO April 2026Growth / CPI projections from 2025 · debt projection from 2026
Real GDP growthGross debt / GDPProjection area
Forecast-revision gate
+1.7%IMF full-year 2025 projectionversus−2.8%CSO-derived H1 2025 reading used elsewhere on SLPA
These are not like-for-like periods. The divergence is a prompt to refresh assumptions, not proof that either series is wrong.
Evidence limits
IMF projections from the April 2026 WEO. Use later national outturns for budget decisions.
Static evidence snapshot prepared 3 August 2026. SLPA should re-check the source vintage before a live Cabinet, budget or programme appraisal.
03
Official-data views
Explore 20 official-data charts.
Explore work, economy, people and essential systems. Every view keeps its reference period, exact values, official source and analytical limits attached.
20 interactive views · newest: Q1 2026
WorkQ1 2026 · latestEvidence statusSLPA calculated this view from the official values named in the attached source and reading note.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closes
Q1 2026 unemployment: 12.1% overall, 16.2% for women and 8.0% for men.
The newest Labour Force release becomes a direct Q1-to-Q1 comparison, separating the national improvement from the groups still furthest from work.
12.1%overall unemployment · Q1 2026
What the table saysOverall unemployment was 12.1%, down from 14.1% in Q1 2025. Women were at 16.2%, men at 8.0% and youth at 18.4%.
SLPA inferenceThe next labour-market test is whether gains close the gender and youth gaps while employment quality improves.
Visualised fromCSO Labour Force Survey · Statistical Report, Q1 2026
Q1 2025Q1 2026
Overall14.1%12.1%-2.0 pp
Women19.1%16.2%-2.9 pp
Men9.0%8.0%-1.0 pp
Youth21.4%18.4%-3.0 pp
View exact official values
Unemployment rate, Q1 2025 and Q1 2026
Group
Q1 2025
Q1 2026
Change
Overall
14.1%
12.1%
-2.0 pp
Women
19.1%
16.2%
-2.9 pp
Men
9.0%
8.0%
-1.0 pp
Youth
21.4%
18.4%
-3.0 pp
Reading noteQuarterly estimates carry sampling variation. Comparisons use Q1 2025 and Q1 2026; the 8.2-point gender gap is an SLPA subtraction.
Eight findings across water, population, health, education, electricity, poverty, births and crime.
The central circuit separates fixed official readings from transparent SLPA models; eight compact findings then reveal what sits beneath the headline.
SLPA National Pulse
Three official values and two transparent SLPA calculations.
Two values use transparent time-distribution models; three remain fixed at their latest official periods.
≈ SLPA modelled flow2025 official base
EC$1.56bnmodelled through this point in 2026
Goods trade gap at the 2025 pace
Saint Lucia imported EC$2.464bn of goods and recorded EC$244.1m in total exports and re-exports in 2025.
How this number is calculatedSLPA scale model: the EC$2.220bn annual trade gap distributed evenly across 2026.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closes≈ EC$70.40 per secondSource ↗
Days since the public production and loss series was updated
A newer 2025 customer consumption and revenue table is public, but the production-and-consumption series needed to inspect system loss still stops at January–October 2020.
How this number is calculatedCalendar days since the official page’s 23 May 2021 update; a measure of public-data age.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closes+1 day at midnight ASTSource ↗
Cruise supplied 58.8% of recorded arrival episodes; stay-over supplied 37.6% and yacht visitors 3.6%.
Cruise668,086
Stay-over426,676
Yacht41,349
How this number is calculatedFixed official 2025 arrival total; counts arrival episodes.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closesCentral Statistical Office · Visitor arrivals by typeSource ↗
The rate was 2.0 percentage points below Q1 2026 and 3.3 points below Q2 2025.
How this number is calculatedThe displayed value is the Q2 2026 Labour Force Survey estimate reported in an official Government release citing the Central Statistical Office. The full Q2 statistical report was not located at this review.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closesGovernment of Saint Lucia · release citing CSO Q2 2026 Labour Force SurveySource ↗
The national average can conceal sharply different category pressures, including housing/utilities and health.
How this number is calculatedRevised official 2025 annual-average inflation rate.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closesCentral Statistical Office · Revised inflation ratesSource ↗
The 33.2-point district spread is historical evidence, not a current poverty estimate. The 2025/26 living-conditions survey is intended to refresh this picture.
About two-thirds of measured crimes were not reported.
Reported34.2%
Not reported65.8%
The survey estimated 18.0% adult victimisation, while 38.0% felt unsafe or very unsafe walking alone at night. Survey estimates carry sampling uncertainty.
Maps, reports, classifications, instruments, Census databases and survey systems are part of the evidence infrastructure. They belong in the same public doorway.
783official site pages audited
672embedded data-table pages mapped
16subject families indexed
16data, method and survey gateways
217
tables the central Data Tables directory does not surface
The official sitemap exposes 672 embedded tables; the office-wide directory reaches about 455 after redirects and Crime drill-downs. SLPA’s coverage audit follows the wider archive.
Sources and reuse termsSee source warnings, publication dates and licences.8 alerts · 4 source systems
Population
Census counts and survey estimates use different methods.
The provisional 2022 Census count of 172,948 should not be silently joined to later Labour Force Survey modelled household-population estimates.
Labour
The CSO reports misalignment in some 2020 labour tables.
Use the office’s caution note and prefer the current published headline series until corrected tables are identified.
Tourism
Preserve gaps in published data series.
The official visitor-arrivals table has no 2021 series. The timeline retains a visible gap instead of drawing a false line.
Trade
Derive the trade balance from components when signs conflict.
Some published balance values omit a minus sign. Imports, domestic exports and re-exports remain visible so readers can verify the relationship.
Quarterly GDP
Quarterly GDP compares each quarter with the same quarter a year earlier.
The current quarterly level table does not state seasonal adjustment and estimates may revise. Each quarter is compared with the same quarter one year earlier.
Prices
Use the newest published revision.
Some standalone 2025 CPI values differ from the revised summary. Headline views use the revised series and keep the version visible.
Freshness
Use the observation date, not the page-edit date.
Banking ends in 2019, greenhouse gases in 2010, transport mostly in 2020 and electricity in 2023. Every view uses the observation period, not the page-modified date.
Coverage
Construction and ICT pages contain no published data block.
Two additional subject shells contain no published data block and therefore do not enter the 16-domain count.
“This product was adapted from the information of The Central Statistical Office of Saint Lucia, which is licensed under the Open Licence Agreement of The Central Statistical Office of Saint Lucia.”
Saint Lucia Policy Analysis is an independent presentation and analysis layer. It is not the CSO and does not imply official endorsement.Read the official licence
Use official evidence before drawing a policy conclusion.
Start with the official table, then inspect what it may mean for policy.