St. Christopher (St. Kitts) & Nevis Print
Written by Media   
Thursday, 09 July 2009 14:43

stkitts_nevisAccording to the Constitution, the two official names are St Kitts and Nevis or St Christopher and Nevis. 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.

 

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 separate from Saint Kitts.

 

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.  

 

 

Geography
Geographic coordinates
17 20 N, 62 45 W
Area
total: 261 sq km
Saint Kitts : 168 sq km
Nevis : 93 sq km
People
Population
40,131 (July 2009 est.)
Languages
English
Government
Head of Government

The Right Honourable Dr. Denzil Llewellyn Douglas, Prime Minister

Capital
Basseterre
Government type
constitutional monarchy with Westminster-style parliament
Independence
19 September 1983 (from UK)
Constitution
19 September 1983
Legal system
based on English common law
Date of OECS Membership 18th June 1981
Economy
GDP
purchasing power parity - $784.9 million (2008 est.)
GDP - per capita
purchasing power parity - $19,700 (2008 est.)
Agriculture - products
sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish
Industries
sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages
Websites
Government

St. Kitts and Nevis Federal Government - www.gov.kn;

Prime Minister's Communications Unit - www.cuopm.com;

Nevis Island Administration - www.nia.gov.kn

Tourism

http://www.stkittstourism.kn/

http://www.nevisisland.com/

Ref: The World Factbook 2009. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2009.
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.html

 

Last Updated on Thursday, 23 August 2012 08:47