Profile
Background and figures as recorded in the CIA World Factbook.
Carib Indians occupied the islands of the West Indies for hundreds of years before the British and French began settlement in 1623. During the 17th century, Saint Kitts became the premier base for British 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.
- Capital
- Basseterre
- Government
- federal parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm
- Population
- 55,434
- Area
- 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)
- Location
- Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago
- Climate
- tropical, tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)
- Natural resources
- arable land
- Languages
- English (official)
- Independence
- 19 September 1983 (from the UK)
- Administrative divisions
- 14 parishes; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint…
- Currency
- East Caribbean dollars (XCD)
- Export partners
- Malta 49%; USA 21%; Turkey 7%; St. Vincent & the Grenadines 5%…
- Import partners
- USA 50%; Italy 11%; China 8%; Japan 2%…
Source: CIA World Factbook — a work of the US government, in the public domain