Saint Kitts and Nevis
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The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis (also known as the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis) is a federal two-island nation located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign nation in the Americas, in both area and population.The capital city and headquarters of government for the federated state is on the larger island of Saint Kitts. The smaller state of Nevis lies about 2 miles (3 km) southeast of Saint Kitts, across a shallow channel called "The Narrows".
Carib Indians occupied the islands for hundreds of years before the British began settlement in 1623. The islands became an associated state of the UK 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.
Geography
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: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)
arable land: 19.44%
permanent crops: 2.78%
other: 77.78% (2005)
Coastline: 135 km
Maritime Claims: Territorial sea: 12 nautical miles; contiguous zone: 24 nautical miles; exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles; continental shelf: 200 nautical miles or to the edge of the continental margin
Natural Hazards: Hurricanes (July to October)
Terrain: Volcanic with mountainous interiors. The highest point is Mount Liamuiga (1,156 meters).
Climate: Tropical, tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)
Capital: Basseterre
Ecology and Biodiversity
Due to the small size of the Leeward Islands, the forests are particularly important. The forests of the Leeward Islands moist forests ecoregion, including the forested cores and their peripheral edges, have provided the downslope communities with a wide variety of useful goods and services such as building materials, fuelwood, natural medicines, wild fruits, and a habitat for game species and other wildlife. By far however, the most important service provided by the forests is as a reliable source of domestic water for each respective island. Except for the more remote, inaccessible areas characterized by high relief, many of the forests on different islands in this ecoregion suffer from similar human-related pressures, i.e., agricultural encroachment, hunting, and limited enforcement of wildlife and environmental legislation. Increased communication, networking and effort of conservation on a regional basis are needed to ensure that these rich forests and their wildlife are maintained and protected.
See also Biological diversity in the Caribbean Islands
International Environmental Agreements
St. Kitts and Nevis is party to international agreements on: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, and Whaling.
People and Society
Population: 40,131 (July 2009 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 26.3% (male 5,397/female 5,138)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 13,231/female 13,196)
65 years and over: 7.9% (male 1,326/female 1,843) (2009 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 0.847% (2009 est.)
Birthrate: 17.73 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death Rate: 8.19 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net Migration Rate: -1.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 73.2 years (2009 est.)
Total Fertility Rate: 2.26 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Languages: English
Literacy: 97.8%
Water
Annual average yields for St Kitts are 3.6 million cubic meters (m3) for surface sources and 20 million m3 for groundwater sources. Currently the island experiences water shortages in some rural communities during the dry season. Nevis experiences lower annual rainfall than St. Kitts, and has lower yielding water sources.
See Water profile
Economy
The economy of Saint Kitts and Nevis is heavily dependent upon tourism revenues, which has replaced sugar, the traditional mainstay of the economy until the 1970s. Following the 2005 harvest, the government closed the sugar industry after decades of losses of 3-4% of GDP annually. To compensate for employment losses, the government has embarked on a program to diversify the agricultural sector and to stimulate other sectors of the economy, such as tourism, export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking. Economic growth was above average for Latin America from 2004 to 2006, but has since slowed. Like other tourist destinations in the Caribbean, the St. Kitts and Nevis is vulnerable to damage from natural disasters and shifts in tourism demand. The current government is constrained by a high public debt burden equivalent to nearly 185% of GDP by the end of 2006, largely attributable to public
GDP: (Purchasing Power Parity): $784.9 million (2008 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 3.5% (2008 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $19,700 (2008 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 25.8%
services: 70.7% (2001)
Industries: tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages
Currency: East Caribbean dollars (XCD)
Further Reading
- The CIA World Factbook
- World Wildlife Fund homepage
- Food and Agriculture Organizationof the United Nations
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