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.

Geographic coordinates: 17 20 N 62 45 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 261 km² (Saint Kitts 168 km²; Nevis 93 km²)
Land: 261 km²
Water: 0 km²
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
Extremes 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)

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

Population: 39,349 (July 2007 est.)
Growth rate: 0.623% (2007 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Kittitian, Nevisian
Adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian

Ethnic groups: predominantly black; some British Portuguese and Lebanese

Languages: English

Religions: Anglican other Protestant Roman Catholic

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/1000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate: 8.16 deaths/1000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate: -3.51 migrant(s)/1000 population (2007 est.)

Environment
Current issues: NA
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.049 male/female
15-64 years: 1.002 male/female
65 years and over: 0.711 male/female
Total population: 0.988 male/female (2007 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 13.74 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 15.44 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 11.93 deaths/1000 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.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: NA
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: NA

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
Total population: 97.8%
Male: NA%
Female: NA% (2003 est.)

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
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]

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
In the us chancery: 3,216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,016
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 686-2,636
In the us fax: [1] (202) 686-5,740
In the us consulates general: New York
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

Economy overview: 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.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $726 million (2006 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 4.9% (2005 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $8,200 (2005 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 3.5%
Industry: 25.8%
Services: 70.7% (2001)

Agriculture products: sugarcane rice yams vegetables bananas; fish

Industries: tourism cotton salt copra clothing footwear beverages

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

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%

Budget
Revenues: $89.7 million
Expenditures: $128.2 million (2003 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 8.7% (2005 est.)

Exports: $70 million (2004 est.)
Commodities: machinery food electronics beverages tobacco
Partners: US 61.9% Canada 9.4% Netherlands 6.6% Azerbaijan 5% (2006)

Imports: $405 million (2004 est.)
Commodities: machinery manufactures food fuels
Partners: US 49.5% Trinidad and Tobago 13.3% UK 4.5% (2006)

Debt external: $314 million (2004)

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2006) 2.7 (2005) 2.7 (2004) 2.7 (2003) 2.7 (2002)

Electricity
Production: 125 million kWh (2005)
Consumption: 116.3 million kWh (2005)
Exports: 0 kWh (2005)
Imports: 0 kWh (2005)

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2005 est.)
Consumption: 0 m³ (2005 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 25,000 (2004)
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

Internet
Country code: .kn
Hosts: 45 (2007)
Users: 10,000 (2002)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: NA

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

Airports: 2 (2007)
With paved runways total: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2007)

Railways
Total: 50 km
Narrow gauge: 50 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts for tourists (2006)

Roadways
Total: 320 km
Paved: 138 km
Unpaved: 182 km (1999 est)

Merchant marine
Total: 104 ships (1000 GRT or over) 465,056 GRT/663,511 DWT
By type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 66, chemical tanker 8, container 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 15, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 2
Foreign owned: 76 (Belgium 1, Egypt 2, Estonia 1, Greece 2, India 1, Iran 1, Latvia 4, Monaco 1, Romania 1, Russia 14, Spain 1, Syria 5, Tanzania 1, Turkey 13, Ukraine 5, UAE 22, Yemen 1) (2007)

Ports and terminals: Basseterre Charlestown

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 eastern Caribbean Sea

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