Carib Indians occupied the islands of the West Indies for hundreds of years before the British and French began settlement in 1623. During the course of 17th century, Saint Kitts became the premier base for English and French expansion into the Caribbean. The French ceded the territory to the UK in 1713. At the turn of the 18th century, Saint Kitts was the richest British Crown Colony per capita in the Caribbean, a result of the sugar trade. Although small in size and separated by only 3 km (2 mi) of water, Saint Kitts and Nevis were viewed and governed as different states until the late-19th century, when the British forcibly unified them along with the island of Anguilla. In 1967, the island territory of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla became an associated state of the UK with full internal autonomy. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. The remaining islands achieved independence in 1983 as Saint Kitts and Nevis. In 1998, a referendum on Nevis to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority vote needed.

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

1.5 times the size of Washington, DC

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

highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m

arable land

population clusters are found in the small towns located on the periphery of both islands

hurricanes (July to October)

volcanism: Mount Liamuiga (1,156 m) on Saint Kitts, and Nevis Peak (985 m) on Nevis, are both volcanoes that are part of the volcanic island arc of the Lesser Antilles, which extends from Saba in the north to Grenada in the south

deforestation; soil erosion and silting affects marine life on coral reefs; water pollution from uncontrolled dumping of sewage

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

smallest country in the Western Hemisphere both in terms of area and population; with coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic islands are separated by a 3-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

noun: Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s)

adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian

African descent 92.5%, mixed 3%, white 2.1%, East Indian 1.5%, other .6%, unspecified .3% (2001 est.)

English (official)

Protestant 74.4% (includes Anglican 20.6%, Methodist 19.1%, Pentecostal 8.2%, Church of God 6.8%, Moravian 5.5%, Baptist 4.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 4.7%, Evangelical 2.6%, Bretheren 1.8%, other .3%), Roman Catholic 6.7%, Rastafarian 1.7%, Jehovah's Witness 1.3%, other 7.6%, none 5.2%, unspecified 3.2% (2001 est.)

population clusters are found in the small towns located on the periphery of both islands

14,000 BASSETERRE (capital) (2018)

conventional long form: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis

conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis

former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis

etymology: Saint Kitts was, and still is, referred to as Saint Christopher and this name was well established by the 17th century (although who first applied the name is unclear); in the 17th century a common nickname for Christopher was Kit or Kitt, so the island began to be referred to as "Saint Kitt's Island" or just "Saint Kitts"; Nevis is derived from the original Spanish name "Nuestra Senora de las Nieves" (Our Lady of the Snows) and refers to the white halo of clouds that generally wreathes Nevis Peak

federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

name: Basseterre

geographic coordinates: 17 18 N, 62 43 W

time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

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 the UK)

Independence Day, 19 September (1983)

history: several previous (preindependence); latest presented 22 June 1983, effective 23 June 1983

amendments: proposed by the National Assembly; passage requires approval by at least two-thirds majority vote of the total Assembly membership and assent of the governor general; amendments to constitutional provisions such as the sovereignty of the federation, fundamental rights and freedoms, the judiciary, and the Nevis Island Assembly also require approval in a referendum by at least two thirds of the votes cast in Saint Kitts and in Nevis (2018)

English common law

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

citizenship by birth: yes

citizenship by descent only: yes

dual citizenship recognized: yes

residency requirement for naturalization: 14 years

18 years of age; universal

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Samuel W.T. SEATON (since 2 September 2015); note - SEATON was acting Governor General from 20 May to 2 September 2015

head of government: Prime Minister Timothy HARRIS (since 18 February 2015); Deputy Prime Minister Shawn RICHARDS (since 22 February 2015)

cabinet: Cabinet appointed by governor general in consultation with prime minister

elections/appointments: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by governor general

description: unicameral National Assembly (14 or 15 seats, depending on inclusion of attorney general; 11 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 3 appointed by the governor general - 2 on the advice of the prime minister and the third on the advice of the opposition leader; members serve 5-year terms)

elections: last held on 16 February 2015 (next to be held by 2020)

election results: percent of vote by party - SKNLP 39.3%, PAM 27.9% CCM 13.0% NRP 10.8%, PLP 9.0%; seats by party - PAM 4, SKNLP 3, CCM 2, NRP 1, PLP 1; composition as of early 2018, including the attorney general - men 11, women 4, percent of women 26.7%

highest courts: the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is the superior court of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States; the ECSC - headquartered on St. Lucia - consists of the Court of Appeal - headed by the chief justice and 4 judges - and the High Court with 18 judges; the Court of Appeal is itinerant, traveling to member states on a schedule to hear appeals from the High Court and subordinate courts; High Court judges reside in the member states, with 2 assigned to Saint Kitts and Nevis; note - the ECSC in 2003 replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) as the final court of appeal on Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Kitts and Nevis is also a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice

judge selection and term of office: chief justice of Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court appointed by Her Majesty, Queen ELIZABETH II; other justices and judges appointed by the Judicial and Legal Services Commission, an independent body of judicial officials; Court of Appeal justices appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 65; High Court judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement at age 62

subordinate courts: magistrates' courts

Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Mark BRANTLEY]
Nevis Reformation Party or NRP [Joseph PARRY]
People's Action Movement or PAM [Shawn RICHARDS]
People's Labour Party or PLP [Dr. Timothy HARRIS]
Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party or SKNLP [Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS]

ACP, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CDB, CELAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, Petrocaribe, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO

Ambassador Dr. Thelma Patricia PHILLIP-BROWNE (since 28 January 2016)

chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016

telephone: [1] (202) 686-2636

FAX: [1] (202) 686-5740

consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York

the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador to Barbados 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; green signifies the island's fertility, red symbolizes the struggles of the people from slavery, yellow denotes year-round sunshine, and black represents the African heritage of the people; the white stars stand for the islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, but can also express hope and liberty, or independence and optimism

brown pelican, royal poinciana (flamboyant) tree; national colors: green, yellow, red, black, white

name: Oh Land of Beauty!

lyrics/music: Kenrick Anderson GEORGES

The economy of Saint Kitts and Nevis depends on tourism; since the 1970s, tourism has replaced sugar as the economy’s traditional mainstay. Roughly 200,000 tourists visited the islands in 2009, but reduced tourism arrivals and foreign investment led to an economic contraction in the 2009-2013 period, and the economy returned to growth only in 2014. Like other tourist destinations in the Caribbean, Saint Kitts and Nevis is vulnerable to damage from natural disasters and shifts in tourism demand.

Following the 2005 harvest, the government closed the sugar industry after several decades of losses. To compensate for lost jobs, the government has embarked on a program to diversify the agricultural sector and to stimulate other sectors of the economy, such as export-oriented manufacturing and offshore banking. The government has made notable progress in reducing its public debt, from 154% of GDP in 2011 to 83% in 2013, although it still faces one of the highest levels in the world, largely attributable to public enterprise losses. Saint Kitts and Nevis is among other countries in the Caribbean that supplement their economic activity through economic citizenship programs, whereby foreigners can obtain citizenship from Saint Kitts and Nevis by investing there.

sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish

tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages

calendar year

US 49.6%, Poland 15.2%, Turkey 11.6% (2016)

machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco

machinery, manufactures, food, fuels

US 56.8%, Trinidad and Tobago 6.8%, Cyprus 6.2%, Japan 4% (2016)

East Caribbean dollars (XCD) per US dollar -

general assessment: good interisland and international connections; broadband access; expanded FttP (Fiber to the Home) and LTE markets; regulatory development (2018)

domestic: interisland links via ECFS; fixed-line teledensity about 33 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity is roughly 146 per 100 persons (2018)

international: country code - 1-869; landing points for the ECFS, Southern Caribbean Fiber and the SSCS submarine cables providing connectivity for numerous Caribbean Islands (2019)

the government operates a national TV network that broadcasts on 2 channels; cable subscription services provide access to local and international channels; the government operates a national radio network; a mix of government-owned and privately owned broadcasters operate roughly 15 radio stations

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Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Security, Labour, Immigration, and Social Security: Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force (includes Coast Guard), Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force (2013)

18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2012)

V4 (2016)

by type: bulk carrier 6, container ship 5, general cargo 44, oil tanker 55, other 130 (2018)

major seaport(s): Basseterre, Charlestown

joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea

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