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.
Government type: constitutional monarchy with
Westminster-style parliament
Capital: Basseterre
Currency: 1 East Caribbean dollar (XCD) = 100 cents
Geography of Saint Kitts and Nevis
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
Area:
total: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)
land: 261 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 135 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
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: 22%
permanent crops: 17%
permanent pastures: 3%
forests and woodland: 17%
other: 41% (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: hurricanes (July to October)
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, 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; Mount Nevis sits in the center of its almost
circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister
island.
People of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Population: 38,958 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 29.84%
15-64 years: 61.37%
65 years and over: 8.79%
Population growth rate: -0.11%
Birth rate: 18.78 births/1,000 population
Death rate: 9.21 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate: -10.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Infant mortality rate: 16.28 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.01 years
male: 68.22 years
female: 73.97 years
Total fertility rate: 2.41 children born/woman
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%
male: 97%
female: 98% (1980 est.)
SOURCE: The World Factbook |