Saint Kitts and Nevis

Airports

2 total, 2 usable; 2 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; none with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air

no major transport aircraft

Highways

300 km total; 125 km paved, 125 km otherwise improved, 50 km unimproved earth

Ports

Basseterre (St. Kitts), Charlestown (Nevis)

Railroads

58 km 0.760-meter narrow gauge on St. Kitts for sugarcane

Telecommunications

good interisland VHF/UHF/SHF radio connections and international link via Antigua and Barbuda and St. Martin; 2,400 telephones; stations--2 AM, no FM, 4 TV

Branches

Royal St. Kitts and Nevis Police Force

Defense expenditures

NA

Military manpower

NA

Agriculture

accounts for 10% of GDP; cash crop--sugarcane; subsistence crops--rice, yams, bananas; fishing potential not fully exploited; most food imported

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $13.6 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $46 million

Budget

revenues $38.5 million; expenditures $45.0 million, including capital expenditures of $15.8 million (1988)

Currency

East Caribbean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 EC dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Electricity

15,800 kW capacity; 45 million kWh produced, 1,120 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1--2.70 (fixed rate since 1976)

Exports

$30.3 million (f.o.b., 1988); commodities--sugar, manufactures, postage stamps; partners--US 44%, UK 30%, Trinidad and Tobago 12% (1987)

External debt

$27.6 million (1988)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

$119 million, per capita $3,240; real growth rate 6% (1988 est.)

Imports

$94.7 million (c.i.f., 1988); commodities--foodstuffs, intermediate manufactures, machinery, fuels; partners--US 35%, UK 18%, Trinidad and Tobago 10%, Canada 6%, Japan 4% (1987)

Industrial production

growth rate 5.8% (1986)

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

0.9% (1987)

Overview

The economy has historically depended on the growing and processing of sugarcane and on remittances from overseas workers. In recent years, tourism and export-oriented manufacturing have assumed larger roles.

Unemployment rate

20-25% (1987)

Climate

subtropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)

Coastline

135 km

Comparative area

slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC

Contiguous zone

24 nm;

Environment

subject to hurricanes (July to October)

Extended economic zone

200 nm;

Land boundaries

none

Land use

22% arable land; 17% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures; 17% forest and woodland; 41% other

Natural resources

negligible

Note

located 320 km southeast of Puerto Rico

Terrain

volcanic with mountainous interiors

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

360 km2; land area: 360 km2

Administrative divisions

14 parishs; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Capisterre, Saint John Figtree, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capisterre, Saint Paul Charlestown, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point

Capital

Basseterre

Communists

none known

Constitution

19 September 1983

Diplomatic representation

Minister-Counselor (Deputy Chief of Mission), Charge d'Affaires ad interim Erstein M. EDWARDS; Chancery at Suite 540, 2501 M Street NW, Washington DC 20037; telephone (202) 833-3550; US--none

Executive branch

British monarch, governor general, prime minister, deputy prime minister, Cabinet

Flag

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

Independence

19 September 1983 (from UK)

Judicial branch

Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Clement Athelston ARRINDELL (since 19 September 1983, previously Governor General of the Associated State since November 1981); Head of Government--Prime Minister Dr. Kennedy Alphonse SIMMONDS (since 19 September 1983, previously Premier of the Associated State since February 1980); Deputy Prime Minister Michael Oliver POWELL (since NA)

Legal system

based on English common law

Legislative branch

unicameral House of Assembly (sometimes referred to as the National Assembly)

Long-form name

Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis

Member of

ACP, CARICOM, Commonwealth, FAO, IBRD, IMF, ISO, OAS, OECS, UN

National holiday

Independence Day, 19 September (1983)

Political parties and leaders

People's Action Movement (PAM), Kennedy Simmonds; St. Kitts and Nevis Labor Party (SKNLP), Lee Moore; Nevis Reformation Party (NRP), Simeon Daniel; Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), Vance Amory

Suffrage

universal adult at age NA House of Assembly--last held 21 March 1989 (next to be held by 21 March 1994); seats--(14 total, 11 elected) PAM 6, SKNLP 2, NRP 2, CCM 1

Type

constitutional monarchy

Birth rate

24 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate

10 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic divisions

mainly of black African descent

Infant mortality rate

40 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

20,000 (1981)

Language

English

Life expectancy at birth

64 years male, 71 years female (1990)

Literacy

80%

Nationality

noun--Kittsian(s), Nevisian(s); adjective--Kittsian, Nevisian

Net migration rate

- 11 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor

6,700

Population

40,157 (July 1990), growth rate 0.3% (1990)

Religion

Anglican, other Protestant sects, Roman Catholic

Total fertility rate

2.7 children born/woman (1990)