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Background:
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 First
settled by the British in 1623, the islands became an
associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The
island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971.
Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983. In 1998,
a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts
fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Nevis is once
more trying to separate from the Saint Kitts. |
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Location:
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Caribbean,
islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from
Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago |
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Geographic coordinates:
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17 20 N, 62 45 W |
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Map references:
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Central
America and the Caribbean |
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Area:
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total: 261
sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)
water: 0 sq km
land: 261 sq km |
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Area - comparative:
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1.5 times the
size of Washington, DC |
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Land boundaries:
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0 km |
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Coastline:
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135 km |
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Climate:
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tropical tempered
by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature
variation; rainy season (May to November) |
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Terrain:
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volcanic with
mountainous interiors |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m |
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Natural resources:
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arable land |
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Land use:
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arable land:
16.67%
permanent crops: 2.78%
other: 80.55% (1998 est.) |
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Irrigated land:
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NA sq km |
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Natural hazards:
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hurricanes (July
to October) |
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Environment - current issues:
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NA |
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Environment - international agreements:
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party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements |
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Geography - note:
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with coastlines
in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic
islands are separated by a three-km-wide channel called The
Narrows; on the southern tip of long, baseball bat-shaped
Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the
center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball
shape complements that of its sister island |
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Population:
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38,836 (July 2004
est.) |
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Age structure:
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0-14 years:
28.6% (male 5,675; female 5,422)
15-64 years: 63% (male 12,242; female 12,236)
65 years and over: 8.4% (male 1,349; female 1,912)
(2004 est.) |
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Median age:
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total:
27.3 years
male: 26.5 years
female: 28.1 years (2004 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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0.25% (2004 est.) |
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Birth rate:
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18.26
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
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Death rate:
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8.65 deaths/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Net migration rate:
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-7.11 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2004 est.) |
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Sex ratio:
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at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
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Infant mortality rate:
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total:
14.94 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 13.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 16.72 deaths/1,000 live births |
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Life expectancy at birth:
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total
population: 71.86 years
male: 69.03 years
female: 74.86 years (2004 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
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NA% |
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Nationality:
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noun:
Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s)
adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian |
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Ethnic groups:
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predominantly
black; some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese |
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Religions:
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Anglican,
other Protestant, Roman Catholic |
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Languages:
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English |
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Literacy:
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definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97%
male: 97%
female: 98% (1980 est.) |
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Country name:
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conventional
long form: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis
former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis |
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Government type:
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constitutional
monarchy with Westminster-style parliament |
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Capital:
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Basseterre |
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Administrative divisions:
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14 parishes;
Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint
George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James
Windward, Saint John Capesterre, Saint John Figtree, Saint
Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capesterre, Saint Paul Charlestown,
Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint Thomas
Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point |
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Independence:
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19 September 1983
(from UK) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day,
19 September (1983) |
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Constitution:
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19 September 1983 |
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Legal system:
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based on English
common law |
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Executive branch:
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chief of
state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
represented by Governor General Cuthbert Montraville SEBASTIAN
(since 1 January 1996)
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the
governor general is appointed by the monarch; following
legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or
leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime
minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister
appointed by the governor general
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general in
consultation with the prime minister
head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS
(since 6 July 1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Sam CONDOR
(since 6 July 1995) |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral
National Assembly (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly
elected from single-member constituencies; members serve
five-year terms)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats
by party - SKNLP 8, CCM 2, NRP 1
elections: last held 6 March 2000 (next to be held by
July 2005) |
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Judicial branch:
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Eastern Caribbean
Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme
Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Concerned
Citizens Movement or CCM [Vance AMORY]; Nevis Reformation
Party or NRP [Joseph PARRY]; People's Action Movement or PAM
[Lindsey GRANT]; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party or SKNLP
[Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of
mission: Ambassador Dr. Izben Cordinal WILLIAMS
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20016
telephone: [1] (202) 686-2636
FAX: [1] (202) 686-5740
consulate(s) general: New York |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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the US does not
have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador to
Barbados, Ambassador Mary E. KRAMER, is accredited to Saint
Kitts and Nevis |
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Economy - overview:
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Sugar was the
traditional mainstay of the Saint Kitts economy until the
1970s. Although the crop still dominates the agricultural
sector, activities such as tourism, export-oriented
manufacturing, and offshore banking have assumed larger roles
in the economy. As tourism revenues are now the chief source
of the islands' foreign exchange, a decline in stopover
tourist arrivals following the September 11, 2001 terrorist
attacks has eroded government finances. The opening of a
1,000+ bed Marriott hotel in February 2003 was expected to
bring in much-needed revenue. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power
parity - $339 million (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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-1.9% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power
parity - $8,800 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture:
3.5%
industry: 25.8%
services: 70.7% (2001) |
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Population below poverty line:
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NA% (1997 est.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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1.7% (2001 est.) |
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Labor force:
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18,172 (June
1995) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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NA |
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Unemployment rate:
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4.5% (1997) |
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Budget:
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revenues:
$89.7 million
expenditures: $128.2 million, including capital
expenditures of $19.5 million (2003 est.) |
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Industries:
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sugar processing,
tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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NA% |
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Electricity - production:
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100.3 million kWh
(2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel:
100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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93.26 million kWh
(2001) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001
est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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710 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Agriculture - products:
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sugarcane, rice,
yams, vegetables, bananas; fish |
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Exports:
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$70 million (2002
est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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machinery, food,
electronics, beverages, tobacco |
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Exports - partners:
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US 65.7%, Canada
7.1%, UK 7.1%, Portugal 5.7% (2002) |
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Imports:
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$195 million
(2002 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery,
manufactures, food, fuels |
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Imports - partners:
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US 39%, Trinidad
and Tobago 15.4%, Canada 9.2%, UK 6.7%, Denmark 6.2% (2002) |
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Debt - external:
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$171 million
(2001) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$8 million (2001) |
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Currency:
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East Caribbean
dollar (XCD) |
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Currency code:
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XCD |
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Exchange rates:
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East Caribbean
dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001),
2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999) |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |
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Telephones - main lines in use:
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23,500 (2002) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular:
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5,000 (2002) |
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Telephone system:
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general
assessment: good interisland and international connections
domestic: inter-island links to Antigua and Barbuda and
Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) are handled
by VHF/UHF/SHF radiotelephone
international: country code - 1-869; international
calls are carried by radiotelephone to Antigua and Barbuda and
switched there to submarine cable or to Intelsat; or carried
to Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) by
radiotelephone and switched to Intelsat |
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Radio broadcast stations:
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AM 3, FM 3,
shortwave 0 (2004) |
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Television broadcast stations:
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1 (plus three
repeaters) (2004) |
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Internet country code:
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.kn |
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Internet hosts:
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2 (2002) |
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Internet users:
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10,000 (2002) |
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Railways:
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total: 50
km
narrow gauge: 50 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to
serve sugarcane plantations during harvest season (2002) |
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Highways:
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total: 320
km
paved: 136 km
unpaved: 184 km (1999 est) |
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Waterways:
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none |
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Ports and harbors:
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Basseterre,
Charlestown |
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Merchant marine:
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none |
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Airports:
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2 (2003 est.) |
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Airports - with paved runways:
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total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
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Military branches:
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Saint Kitts and
Nevis Defense Force (including Coast Guard), Royal Saint Kitts
and Nevis Police Force (including Special Service Unit) |
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Military expenditures - dollar figure:
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NA |
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Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
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NA |
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Disputes - international:
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joins other
Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island
sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which
permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a
large portion of the Caribbean Sea |
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Illicit drugs:
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transshipment
point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe;
some money-laundering activity |
This page was last updated on 11 May, 2004
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