Geography
Area: St. Kitts 168 sq. km. (65 sq. mi.);
Nevis 93 sq. km. (36 sq. mi.).
Cities:
Capital:
Basseterre (pop. about 15,000).
Terrain:
Generally mountainous; highest elevations are
1,156 m. (3,792 ft.) at Mt. Liamuiga on St.
Kitts and 985 m. (3,232 ft.) at Nevis peak on
Nevis.
Climate:
Tropical
People:
Nationality:
(Noun and adjective) Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s).
Population (1998 est.): 41,960 (St. Kitts 31,880;
Nevis 10,080).
Annual
growth rate (1996 est.): 0.85%.
Ethnic
groups:
predominantly of African origin; some of British,
Portuguese, and Lebanese descent.
Religions:
principally Anglican, with Evangelical Protestant
and Roman Catholic minorities.
Language:
English (official).
Education
(1995):
Years compulsory--9.
Literacy--97%.
Health
(1995 estimate):
Infant
mortality rate--19 per 1,000.
Life
expectancy--67 years.
Unemployment--12%.
Postage
Stamps.
St. Christopher (St. Kitts)
1870. - The first postage stamps issued for
the colony of Saint Christopher.
1903 until 1951 - Stamps were issued for Saint
Kitts-Nevis. Stamps for Leeward Islands were
also used concurrently.
1952
- Stamps were issued for St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla.
1980
- St. Christopher issues it's own stamps and
are inscribed with "St. Kitts".
Nevis
1861 - The first postage stamps were issued
for Nevis.
1890 to 1956 - Stamps of the Leeward Islands
were used.
1903
to 1980 - Stamps of St. Kitts and Nevis were
used.
1980
- Nevis issues it's own stamps with and are
inscribed with "Nevis".
Government
Type:
Constitutional monarchy with Westminster-style
parliament.
Constitution: 1983.
Independence:
19th September 1983.
Branches.
Executive: Governor General (Representing Queen
Elizabeth II, Head of State), Prime Minister
(Head of Government), Cabinet.
Legislative: An 11-member senate appointed by
the governor general (mainly on the advice of
the prime minister and the leader of the opposition)
and an 11-member popularly elected house of
representatives.
Judicial:
Magistrate's courts, Eastern Caribbean supreme
court (high court and court of appeals), final
appeal to privy council in London.
Administrative
subdivisions:
14 parishes.
Political parties:
St. Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (ruling), People's
Action Movement (PAM), Concerned Citizens Movement
(a Nevis-based party), and Nevis Reformation
Party.
Suffrage:
Universal at 18.
|
|
As
head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is represented
in St. Kitts and Nevis by a Governor-General, who
acts on the advice of the prime minister and the
cabinet.
The prime minister is the leader of the majority
party of the house, and the cabinet conducts affairs
of state. St. Kitts and Nevis has a bicameral legislature:
An 11-member senate appointed by the governor general
(mainly on the advice of the prime minister and
the leader of the opposition); and an 11-member
popularly elected house of representatives which
has eight St. Kitts seats and three Nevis seats.
The prime minister and the cabinet are responsible
to the parliament.
Constitutional
safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship,
movement, and association. Like its neighbours in
the English-speaking Caribbean, St. Kitts and Nevis
has an excellent human rights record. Its judicial
system is modeled on British practice and procedure
and its jurisprudence on English common law. The
Royal St. Kitts and Nevis police force has about
340 members.
Economy:
GDP
(1996): $247 million.
GDP growth rate (1996): 5.9%.
Per
capita GDP (1996): $5,686.
Natural
resources: Negligible.
Agriculture:
Products - sugar cane, cotton, peanuts, vegetables.
Industry (1996): sugar processing, tourism, cotton,
salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages, and
tobacco.
Trade
(1996):
Merchandise exports: $40.5 million.
Major markets: CARICOM, U.S., U.K.
Merchandise
imports: $131.4 million.
Exchange
rate: Eastern Caribbean $2.70=U.S.$1.
St.
Kitts and Nevis was the last sugar mono-culture
in the Eastern Caribbean. Faced with a sugar industry
which was finding it increasingly difficult to
earn a profit, the government of St. Kitts and
Nevis embarked on a program to diversify the agricultural
sector and stimulate the development of other
sectors of the economy.
The
government instituted a program of investment
incentives for businesses considering locating
in St. Kitts or Nevis, encouraging both domestic
and foreign private investment.
Government policies provide liberal tax holidays,
duty-free import of equipment and materials, and
subsidies for training provided to local personnel.
Tourism has shown the greatest growth. By 1987
tourism had surpassed sugar as the major foreign
exchange earner for St. Kitts and Nevis.
The
economy of St. Kitts and Nevis has shown strong
growth over the past five years.
Growth rates have averaged 3-5%, due to improved
performance in the tourism, agriculture (sugar
production), and construction industries. Consumer
prices have risen marginally over the past few
years. The inflation rate has been kept under
3%.
Foreign
Relations
St.
Kitts and Nevis maintains diplomatic relations
with the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom,
Taiwan, and South Korea, as well as with many
Latin American countries and neighbouring Eastern
Caribbean states.
It is a member of the Commonwealth, the United
Nations and several of its specialised and related
agencies, the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund, the Organisation of American States,
the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States,
the Eastern Caribbean Regional Security System
(RSS), and the Caribbean Community and Common
Market (CARICOM). The Eastern Caribbean Central
Bank is headquartered in St. Kitts.
|
|
Home|
Our offers|
Advertising
| Net development