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 (Saint Kitts), Charlestown (Nevis)

Railroads

58 km 0.760-meter gauge on Saint Kitts for sugarcane

Telecommunications

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

Branches

Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force, Coast Guard

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

NA

Agriculture

cash crop - sugarcane; subsistence crops - rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fishing potential not fully exploited; most food imported

Budget

revenues $38.1 million; expenditures $68 million, including capital expenditures of $31.5 million (1991)

Currency

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

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY85-88), $10.7 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $67 million

Electricity

15,800 kW capacity; 45 million kWh produced, 1,117 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates

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

Exports

$24.6 million (f.o.b., 1990) commodities: sugar, clothing, electronics, postage stamps partners: US 53%, UK 22%, Trinidad and Tobago 5%, OECS 5% (1988)

External debt

$26.4 million (1988)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

exchange rate conversion - $146.6 million, per capita $3,650; real growth rate 2.1% (1990)

Imports

$103.2 million (f.o.b., 1990) commodities: foodstuffs, intermediate manufactures, machinery, fuels partners: US 36%, UK 17%, Trinidad and Tobago 6%, Canada 3%, Japan 3%, OECS 4% (1988)

Industrial production

growth rate 11.8% (1988 est.); accounts for 17% of GDP

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

4.2% (1990)

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

15% (1989)

Climate

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

Coastline

135 km

Comparative area

slightly more than 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

Disputes

none

Environment

subject to hurricanes (July to October)

Land area

269 km2

Land boundaries

none

Land use

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

Maritime claims

Contiguous zone: 24 nm Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

negligible

Note

located 320 km east-southeast of Puerto Rico

Terrain

volcanic with mountainous interiors

Total area

269 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

Constitution

19 September 1983

Diplomatic representation

Minister-Counselor (Deputy Chief of Mission), Charge d'Affaires ad interim Aubrey Eric HART; Chancery at Suite 608, 2100 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20037; telephone (202) 833-3550 US: no official presence since the Charge resides in Saint John's (Antigua and Barbuda)

Elections

House of Assembly: last held 21 March 1989 (next to be held by 21 March 1994); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (14 total, 11 elected) PAM 6, SKNLP 2, NRP 2, CCM 1

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

Leaders

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 NA November 1981) Head of Government: Prime Minister Dr. Kennedy Alphonse SIMMONDS (since 19 September 1983, previously Premier of the Associated State since NA February 1980); Deputy Prime Minister Michael Oliver POWELL (since NA)

Legal system

based on English common law

Legislative branch

unicameral House of Assembly

Long-form name

Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis; formerly Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis

Member of

ACP, C, CARICOM, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, IBRD, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IMF, INTERPOL, OAS, OECS, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO

National holiday

Independence Day, 19 September (1983)

Political parties and leaders

People's Action Movement (PAM), Kennedy SIMMONDS; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party (SKNLP), Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS; Nevis Reformation Party (NRP), Simeon DANIEL; Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), Vance AMORY

Suffrage

universal adult at age NA

Type

constitutional monarchy

Birth rate

22 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate

10 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic divisions

mainly of black African descent

Infant mortality rate

22 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force

20,000 (1981)

Languages

English

Life expectancy at birth

63 years male, 69 years female (1992)

Literacy

98% (male 98%, female 98%) age 15 and over having ever attended school (1970)

Nationality

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

Net migration rate

-9 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor

6,700

Population

40,061 (July 1992), growth rate 0.3% (1992)

Religions

Anglican, other Protestant sects, Roman Catholic

Total fertility rate

2.4 children born/woman (1992)