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Saint Kitts and Nevis – Important Facts

Saint Kitts and Nevis, part of the Lesser Antilles, is a two-island nation located in the Caribbean Sea. Proximate countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, and Puerto Rico. Most of the islands are mountainous. The government system is a parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm; the chief of state is the queen of the United Kingdom, and the head of government is the prime minister. Saint Kitts and Nevis has a mixed economic system in which there is a variety of private freedom, combined with centralized economic planning and government regulation. Saint Kitts and Nevis is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).

The economy of St. Kitts and Nevis experienced strong growth for most of the 1990s but hurricanes in 1998 and 1999 contributed to a sharp slowdown. Real economic growth was 0.75% in 2002 after a decline of 4.3% in 2001. The economy experienced a mixed performance during 2002, with some sectors experiencing positive growth while others experienced varying levels of decline. The construction sector recorded a 4.51% decline, manufacturing and hotels and restaurants also recorded significant declines of 4.01 and 9.89% respectively, and sugar production fell by 5.1%. Significant new investment in tourism, including a 648-room Marriott hotel and convention center that opened in December 2002, as well as continued government efforts to diversify the economy, are expected to improve economic performance. Consumer prices have risen marginally over the past few years. The inflation rate was 3%-4% for most of the 1990s.

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 2009-2013, and the economy returned to growth only in 2014. Like other tourist destinations in the Caribbean, St. 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.

Important Details

  • Country ISO3 : KNA
  • Country Code : 659
  • Income Group : High income
  • Lending Category : IBRD
  • Region : Latin America & Caribbean
  • Currency Unit: East Caribbean dollar
  • WTO Member : Yes
  • Trade organisations : Caricom, WTO
  • world rank : NA
  • Regional Ranking : NA