Saint Kitts and Nevis

§1. Saint Kitts and Nevis Introduction

Background:
  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
  continues in its efforts to try and separate from Saint Kitts.

§2. Saint Kitts and Nevis Geography

Location:
  Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from
  Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates:
  17 20 N, 62 45 W

Map references:
  Central_America_and_the_Caribbean

Area:
  total: 261 km² (Saint Kitts 168 km²; Nevis 93 km²)
  land: 261 km²
  water: 0 km²

Area - comparative:
  1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Land boundaries:
  0 km

Coastline:
  135 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 12 nm
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate:
  tropical, tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature
  variation; rainy season (May to November)

Terrain:
  volcanic with mountainous interiors

Elevation extremes:
  lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
  highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m

Natural resources:
  arable land

Land use:
  arable land: 19.44%
  permanent crops: 2.78%
  other: 77.78% (2005)

Irrigated land:
  NA km²

Natural hazards:
  hurricanes (July to October)

Environment - current issues:
  NA

Environment - international agreements:
  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

Geography - note:
  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

§3. Saint Kitts and Nevis People

Population:
  39,129 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 27.5% (male 5,515/female 5,263)
  15-64 years: 64.3% (male 12,605/female 12,572)
  65 years and over: 8.1% (male 1,313/female 1,861) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 27.8 years
  male: 27.1 years
  female: 28.6 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  0.5% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  18.02 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  8.33 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  -4.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
  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: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 14.12 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 15.85 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 12.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 72.4 years
  male: 69.56 years
  female: 75.42 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  2.31 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  NA

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  NA

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  NA

Nationality:
  noun: Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s)
  adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian

Ethnic groups:
  predominantly black; some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese

Religions:
  Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic

Languages:
  English

Literacy:
  definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
  total population: 97.8%
  male: NA%
  female: NA% (2003 est.)

§4. Saint Kitts and Nevis Government

Country name:
  conventional long form: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
  conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis
  former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis

Government type:
  constitutional monarchy with Westminster-style parliament

Capital:
  Basseterre

Administrative divisions:
  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

Independence:
  19 September 1983 (from UK)

National holiday:
  Independence Day, 19 September (1983)

Constitution:
  19 September 1983

Legal system:
  based on English common law

Suffrage:
  18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by
    Governor General Cuthbert Montraville SEBASTIAN (since 1 January 1996)
  head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS (since 6 July 1995)
    and Deputy Prime Minister Sam CONDOR (since 6 July 1995)
  cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general in consultation with the
    prime minister
  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

Legislative branch:
  unicameral National Assembly (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly
  elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms)
  elections: last held 25 October 2004 (next to be held by 2009)
  election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SKNLP 7,
    CCM 2, NRP 1, PAM 1

Judicial branch:
  Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the
  Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis)

Political parties and leaders:
  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]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  NA

International organization participation:
  ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, MIGA, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  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

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador
  to Barbados is accredited to Saint Kitts and Nevis

Flag description:
  divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad black band bearing
  two white, five-pointed stars; the black band is edged in yellow; the upper
  triangle is green, the lower triangle is red

§5. Saint Kitts and Nevis Economy

Economy - overview:
  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. Tourism revenues are now
  the chief source of the islands' foreign exchange; about 40,000 tourist
  visited Nevis during the 2003-2004 season. Additional tourist facilities,
  including a second cruise ship pier, hotels, and golf courses are under
  construction.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $339 million (2002 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  NA

GDP - real growth rate:
  -1.9% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $8,800 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 3.5%
  industry: 25.8%
  services: 70.7% (2001)

Labor force:
  18,170 (June 1995)

Unemployment rate:
  4.5% (1997)

Population below poverty line:
  NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: NA%
  highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  1.7% (2001 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $89.7 million
  expenditures: $128.2 million; including capital expenditures of $19.5
    million (2003 est.)

Agriculture - products:
  sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish

Industries:
  sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear,
  beverages

Industrial production growth rate:
  NA%

Electricity - production:
  111.7 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
  103.9 million kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
  0 kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
  0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
  700 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
  NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Exports:
  $70 million (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco

Exports - partners:
  US 57.5%, Canada 9%, Portugal 8.3%, UK 6.7% (2004)

Imports:
  $405 million (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  machinery, manufactures, food, fuels

Imports - partners:
  Ukraine 44.7%, US 22.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 8.8%, UK 6.2% (2004)

Debt - external:
  $171 million (2001)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $8 million (2001)

Currency (code):
  East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

Exchange rates:
  East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003),
  2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001)

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Saint Kitts and Nevis Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  25,000 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  10,000 (2004)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: good inter-island and international connections
  domestic: inter-island links via Eastern Caribbean Fiber Optic cable;
    construction of enhanced wireless infrastructure launched in November
    2004
  international: country code - 1-869; international calls are carried by
    submarine cable or Intelsat

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2004)

Television broadcast stations:
  1 (plus three repeaters) (2004)

Internet country code:
  .kn

Internet hosts:
  48 (2005)

Internet users:
  10,000 (2002)

§7. Saint Kitts and Nevis Transportation

Airports:
  2 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 2
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
  914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2005)

Railways:
  total: 50 km
  narrow gauge: 50 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane
    plantations during harvest season (2003)

Roadways:
  total: 320 km
  paved: 138 km
  unpaved: 182 km (1999 est)

Merchant marine:
  total: 34 ships (1000 GRT or over) 143,627 GRT/202,477 DWT
  by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 21, chemical tanker 3, passenger/cargo 2,
    petroleum tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 2
  foreign-owned: 30 (Monaco 1, Russia 4, Switzerland 1, Syria 1, Turkey 2,
    Ukraine 1, UAE 20) (2005)

Ports and terminals:
  Basseterre, Charlestown

§8. Saint Kitts and Nevis Military

Military branches:
  Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force (includes Coast Guard), Royal Saint
  Kitts and Nevis Police Force

Military service age and obligation:
  18 years of age (est.) (2004)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  NA

§9. Saint Kitts and Nevis Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  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

Illicit drugs:
  transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and
  Europe; some money-laundering activity


<Factbook 2006>
