St. Lucia: Subsidies and other transfers (% of expense)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, St. Lucia's subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) rose 2.1 percentage points on 2016 (from 21.94% to 24.05%).

Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2016), the average change was +0.29 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.13 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 10.92 percentage points in 2008 and the biggest yearly fall was 10.53 percentage points in 2006. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.36 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 64% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

Closest to St. Lucia in the 2017 ranking

• St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 2nd of 3: 23.47%
• Afghanistan — 3rd of 3: 10.5%

What this measures

Subsidies are current unrequited payments that government units, including nonresident government units, make to enterprises on the basis of the levels of their production activities or the quantities or values of the goods or services that they produce, sell, export or import. This indicator is expressed as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 18 values

Subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) in nearby economies

• Argentina — 68.76% (2023)
• Bahamas, The — 22.5% (2023)
• Barbados — 37.88% (2016)
• Brazil — 62.76% (2023)
• Chile — 50.29% (2023)
• Colombia — 60.77% (2023)
• Costa Rica — 14.92% (2023)
• Dominican Republic — 20.89% (2023)
• Ecuador — 36.63% (2022)
• El Salvador — 23.34% (2023)

More public sector data for St. Lucia

• Intentional homicides (per 100,000 people) — 39.04 (2023)
• Intentional homicides, male (per 100,000 male) — 68.85 (2023)
• Intentional homicides, female (per 100,000 female) — 9.92 (2023)
• CPIA business regulatory environment rating (1=low to 6=high) — 3.5 (2025)
• CPIA debt policy rating (1=low to 6=high) — 3 (2025)
• CPIA economic management cluster average (1=low to 6=high) — 3.67 (2025)
• CPIA policy and institutions for environmental sustainability rating (1=low to 6=high) — 4 (2025)
• CPIA quality of budgetary and financial management rating (1=low to 6=high) — 3 (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is St. Lucia's subsidies and other transfers (% of expense)?

24.05% in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is up 6.82 percentage points from 17.23% in 2000. The highest value was 24.05% in 2017 and the lowest 9.43% in 2007.

Is the latest change in subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) unusual for St. Lucia?

In 2017, St. Lucia's subsidies and other transfers (% of expense) rose 2.1 percentage points on 2016 (from 21.94% to 24.05%). Across the 16 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2016), the average change was +0.29 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.13 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.TRFT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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