CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Saint Kitts and Nevis


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!| 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 is once more trying to separate from the Saint Kitts.
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!| Location: !| Geographic coordinates: !| Map references: !| Area: water: 0 sq km land: 261 sq km !| Area - comparative: !| Land boundaries: !| Coastline: !| Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm !| Climate: !| Terrain: !| Elevation extremes: highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m !| Natural resources: !| Land use: permanent crops: 2.78% other: 77.78% (2001) !| Irrigated land: !| Natural hazards: !| Environment - current issues: !| Environment - international agreements: signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements !| Geography - note:
 * Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago
 * 17 20 N, 62 45 W
 * Central America and the Caribbean
 * total: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)
 * 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
 * 0 km
 * 135 km
 * territorial sea: 12 nm
 * tropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)
 * volcanic with mountainous interiors
 * lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
 * arable land
 * arable land: 19.44%
 * NA sq km
 * hurricanes (July to October)
 * NA
 * party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
 * 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: !| Age structure: 15-64 years: 63% (male 12,242; female 12,236) 65 years and over: 8.4% (male 1,349; female 1,912) (2004 est.) !| Median age: male: 26.5 years female: 28.1 years (2004 est.) !| Population growth rate: !| Birth rate: !| Death rate: !| Net migration rate: !| Sex ratio: 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.) !| Infant mortality rate: female: 13.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 16.72 deaths/1,000 live births !| Life expectancy at birth: male: 69.03 years female: 74.86 years (2004 est.) !| Total fertility rate: !| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: !| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: !| HIV/AIDS - deaths: !| Nationality: adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian !| Ethnic groups: !| Religions: !| Languages: !| Literacy: total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1980 est.)
 * 38,836 (July 2004 est.)
 * 0-14 years: 28.6% (male 5,675; female 5,422)
 * total: 27.3 years
 * 0.25% (2004 est.)
 * 18.26 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * 8.65 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * -7.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
 * at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
 * total: 14.94 deaths/1,000 live births
 * total population: 71.86 years
 * 2.35 children born/woman (2004 est.)
 * NA
 * NA
 * NA
 * noun: Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s)
 * predominantly black; some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese
 * Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic
 * English
 * definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
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!| Country name: conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis !| Government type: !| Capital: !| Administrative divisions: !| Independence: !| National holiday: !| Constitution: !| Legal system: !| Suffrage: !| Executive branch: 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) !| Legislative branch: election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SKNLP 7, CCM 2, NRP 1, PAM 1 elections: last held 25 October 2004 (next to be held by 2009) !| Judicial branch: !| Political parties and leaders: !| Political pressure groups and leaders: !| International organization participation: !| Diplomatic representation in the US: 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: !| Flag description:
 * conventional long form: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
 * constitutional monarchy with Westminster-style parliament
 * Basseterre
 * 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
 * 19 September 1983 (from UK)
 * Independence Day, 19 September (1983)
 * 19 September 1983
 * based on English common law
 * 18 years of age; universal
 * chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Cuthbert Montraville SEBASTIAN (since 1 January 1996)
 * unicameral National Assembly (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms)
 * Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis)
 * 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]
 * NA
 * 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
 * chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Izben Cordinal WILLIAMS
 * 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
 * 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
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!| Economy - overview: !| GDP: !| GDP - real growth rate: !| GDP - per capita: !| GDP - composition by sector: industry: 25.8% services: 70.7% (2001) !| Population below poverty line: !| Household income or consumption by percentage share: highest 10%: NA !| Inflation rate (consumer prices): !| Labor force: !| Labor force - by occupation: !| Unemployment rate: !| Budget: expenditures: $128.2 million, including capital expenditures of $19.5 million (2003 est.) !| Agriculture - products: !| Industries: !| Industrial production growth rate: !| Electricity - production: !| Electricity - consumption: !| Electricity - exports: !| Electricity - imports: !| Oil - production: !| Oil - consumption: !| Oil - exports: !| Oil - imports: !| Exports: !| Exports - commodities: !| Exports - partners: !| Imports: !| Imports - commodities: !| Imports - partners: !| Debt - external: !| Economic aid - recipient: !| Currency: !| Currency code: !| Exchange rates: !| Fiscal year:
 * 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 11 September 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.
 * purchasing power parity - $339 million (2002 est.)
 * -1.9% (2002 est.)
 * purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2002 est.)
 * agriculture: 3.5%
 * NA
 * lowest 10%: NA
 * 1.7% (2001 est.)
 * 18,170 (June 1995)
 * NA
 * 4.5% (1997)
 * revenues: $89.7 million
 * sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish
 * sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages
 * NA
 * 100.3 million kWh (2001)
 * 93.26 million kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 kWh (2001)
 * 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * 710 bbl/day (2001 est.)
 * NA (2001)
 * NA (2001)
 * $70 million (2002 est.)
 * machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco
 * US 61.4%, UK 15.7%, Canada 8.6%, Germany 4.3% (2003)
 * $195 million (2002 est.)
 * machinery, manufactures, food, fuels
 * US 35.7%, Italy 16.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 14.5%, UK 6.4%, Denmark 5.2%, Canada 4.4% (2003)
 * $171 million (2001)
 * $8 million (2001)
 * East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
 * XCD
 * East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999)
 * calendar year
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!| Telephones - main lines in use: !| Telephones - mobile cellular: !| Telephone system: 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 !| Radio broadcast stations: !| Radios: !| Television broadcast stations: !| Televisions: !| Internet country code: !| Internet hosts: !| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): !| Internet users:
 * 23,500 (2002)
 * 5,000 (2002)
 * general assessment: good interisland and international connections
 * AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2004)
 * 28,000 (1997)
 * 1 (plus three repeaters) (2004)
 * 10,000 (1997)
 * .kn
 * 51 (2003)
 * 16 (2000)
 * 10,000 (2002)
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!| Railways: narrow gauge: 50 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane plantations during harvest season (2003) !| Highways: paved: 136 km unpaved: 184 km (1999 est) !| Ports and harbors: !| Merchant marine: !| Airports: !| Airports - with paved runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
 * total: 50 km
 * total: 320 km
 * Basseterre, Charlestown
 * none
 * 2 (2003 est.)
 * total: 2
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!| Military branches: !| Military manpower - military age and obligation: !| Military expenditures - dollar figure: !| Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
 * Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force (including Coast Guard), Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force (including Special Service Unit)
 * 18 years of age (est.) (2004)
 * NA
 * NA
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