|
Featured Country - Saint Kitts and Nevis
|
| |
|
|
| |
 |
 |
|
 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.
|
|
| |
| |
 |
|
|
 |
| 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 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km) land: 261 sq km water:
0 sq km
|
| 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
|
| 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, Marine Dumping, 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
|
|
| |
| Return Top |
| |
 |
|
|
 |
| Population: |
| 39,349 (July 2007 est.) |
|
Age structure: |
| 0-14 years: 27.2% (male 5,472/female 5,218) 15-64 years: 64.9%
(male 12,779/female 12,752) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 1,300/female 1,828)
(2007 est.) |
| Median age: |
|
total: 28.1 years male: 27.4 years female: 28.8 years (2007 est.) Population
growth rate: 0.623% (2007 est.)
|
| Birth rate: |
|
17.89 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
|
Death rate: |
| 8.16 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
|
|
| Net migration rate: |
| -3.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
|
| Sex ratio: |
|
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.049 male(s)/female 15-64 years:
1.002 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.711 male(s)/female total population:
0.988 male(s)/female (2007 est.) Infant mortality rate: total: 13.74
deaths/1,000 live births male: 15.44 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.93
deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
|
| Life expectancy at birth: |
|
total population: 72.66 years male: 69.81 years female: 75.69 years (2007 est.)
|
| Total fertility rate: |
| 2.29 children born/woman (2007 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.)
|
|
| |
| Return Top |
| |
 |
|
|
 |
| 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: |
| parliamentary democracy |
| Capital: |
|
name: Basseterre geographic coordinates: 17 18 N, 62 43 W time difference:
UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) 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); 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
[Lindsay 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, ICCt, ICRM, IDA,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, 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
|
|
|
|
| |
| Return Top |
| |
 |
|
|
| Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the
Saint Kitts economy until the 1970s. The government closed the sugar industry
following the 2005 harvest after decades of losses at the state-run sugar
company. To compensate, the government has embarked on a program to diversify
the agricultural sector and to stimulate other sectors of the economy.
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 341,800 tourists visited Nevis
in 2005. 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): |
|
$453 million (2005) |
| GDP - real growth rate: |
|
4.9% (2005 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP): |
|
$8,200 (2005 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): 8.7% (2005 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: |
| tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages |
|
Industrial production growth rate: |
| NA% |
| Electricity - production: |
| 125 million kWh (2004) |
|
Electricity - consumption: |
|
116.3 million kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - exports: |
|
0 kWh (2004) |
|
Electricity - imports: |
| 0 kWh (2004) |
| Oil - production: |
|
0 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
|
Oil - consumption: |
| 800 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Oil - exports: |
|
NA bbl/day |
|
Oil - imports: |
| NA bbl/day |
|
Natural gas - production: |
| 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural gas - consumption: |
|
0 cu m (2004 est.) |
|
Exports: |
| $70 million (2004 est.) Exports - commodities: machinery, food,
electronics, beverages, tobacco Exports - partners: US 61.3%, Canada 8.1%, UK
5.6% (2005) |
|
Imports: |
| $405 million (2004 est.) Imports - commodities: machinery,
manufactures, food, fuels Imports - partners: US 46.9%, Trinidad and Tobago
13.7%, UK 5.4%, France 4.5%, Japan 4.2% (2005) |
|
Debt - external: |
| $314 million (2004) Economic aid - recipient: $NA |
|
Currency (code): |
| East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
|
|
Exchange rates: |
| East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005),
2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002) |
|
Fiscal year: |
| calendar year |
|
| |
| Return Top |
| |
 |
|
|
|
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 3 repeaters) (2004) |
|
Internet country code: |
| .kn |
|
Internet hosts: |
| 50 (2006) |
|
Internet users: |
| 10,000 (2002) |
|
| |
| Return Top |
| |
 |
|
|
|
Airports: |
| 2 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways: |
|
total: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
|
Railways: |
| total: 50 km narrow gauge: 50 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts
to serve sugarcane plantations during harvest season and for tourists (2005) |
|
Roadways: |
| total: 320 km paved: 138 km unpaved: 182 km (1999 est) |
|
Merchant marine: |
| total: 50 ships (1000 GRT or over) 261,556 GRT/381,593 DWT by
type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 36, chemical tanker 5, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum
tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: 41 (Greece 1, Monaco 1, Russia 5,
Spain 2, Syria 3, Tanzania 1, Turkey 6, UAE 19, Ukraine 3) (2006) |
|
Ports and terminals: |
| Basseterre, Charlestown |
|
| |
| Return Top |
| |
| |
|