Saint Kitts and Nevis

island sovereign state in the Caribbean Sea

The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis (pronounced /seɪnt ˌkɪts ænd ˈniːvɪs/, also known as the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis),[6] is a federal nation made up of two small islands in the Caribbean Sea. It is the smallest independent country in the Western Hemisphere.

Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis
Coat of arms of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Coat of arms
Motto: "Country Above Self"
Anthem: "O Land of Beauty!"
Location of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Capital
and largest city
Basseterre
17°18′N 62°44′W / 17.300°N 62.733°W / 17.300; -62.733
Official languagesEnglish
Vernacular languageSaint Kitts Creole
Ethnic groups
(2001)
Religion
(2010)[1]
Demonym(s)Kittitian or Nevisian
GovernmentFederal parliamentary
constitutional monarchy
• Monarch
Charles III
Dame Marcella Liburd
Terrance Drew
Anthony Michael Perkins
LegislatureNational Assembly
Independence
27 February 1967
• from the United Kingdom
19 September 1983
Area
• Total
261 km2 (101 sq mi) (187th)
• Water (%)
Negligible
Population
• 2021 estimate
47,606[2][3] (213th)
• 2011 census
46,204
• Density
164/km2 (424.8/sq mi) (64th)
GDP (PPP)2019 estimate
• Total
$1.758 billion
• Per capita
$31,095[4]
GDP (nominal)2019 estimate
• Total
$1.058 billion
• Per capita
$18,714[4]
HDI (2019)Increase 0.779[5]
high · 74th
CurrencyEast Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Time zoneUTC-4 (AST)
Driving sideleft
Calling code+1 869
ISO 3166 codeKN
Internet TLD.kn
  1. Or "Saint Kitts and Nevis".

The capital city is Basseterre. It is on the main island of St Kitts, also called Saint Christopher. The island of Nevis has some rights of self-government and two seats in the federal parliament.

St Kitts and Nevis is about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago.

The headquarters of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank is in St Kitts. That bank controls the East Caribbean dollar.

History and Politics

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The two islands were part of the Leeward Islands Colony from 1871 to 1956, and of the West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962.

The Islands, plus Anguilla, got limited self-government in 1967. Anguilla objected and the Metropolitan Police were sent there in 1968 to stop rioting. Until 19 December 1980 the official name of St Kitts and Nevis was Saint Christopher, Nevis and Anguilla.[7]

St Kitts and Nevis became an independent Commonwealth realm in 1983, Anguilla has stayed a British overseas territory.

In 1970, a movement to make Nevis separate from St Kitts started.

In 1983, the constitution set up a 15-member National Assembly. The Assembly is unicameral, that is, it only has one chamber. 3 members of the Assembly are appointed by the Governor General, on the advice of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The other members are elected. If the Speaker decides to stand for re-election he is automatically elected, without a contest.

In 2023 Terrance Drew said that he planned a public consultation on whether St Kitts and Nevis should become a republic.[8]

Nevis is responsible for its own internal affairs. There is an eight-member Nevis Island Assembly, and an Island administration headed by the premier.

Geography

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Map of Saint Kitts and Nevis
View of Nevis from St. Kitts

The country has two main islands, Saint Kitts and Nevis. The highest peak, at 1,156 metres, is Mount Liamuiga. There is also a smaller island named Booby Island. No one lives on Booby Island.

The islands are of volcanic origin. There are large central peaks covered in tropical rainforest. People do not live on the steeper slopes leading to these peaks. Most of the people on both islands live closer to the sea. There are many rivers coming from the mountains of both islands. These give fresh water to the people. St. Kitts also has one small lake.

Parishes

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The federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis is divided into fourteen parishes. There are nine divisions on Saint Kitts and five on Nevis.

Name Number of
people
Capital Other villages and towns
Saint Thomas Lowland, Nevis 2,035 Cotton Ground
  • Westbury
  • Barnes Ghaut
  • Jessup
  • Stuart's
Saint John Figtree, Nevis 2,922 Figtree
  • Bath
  • Church Ground
  • Brown Hill
  • Brown's Pasture
  • Pembroke
  • Bush Hill
  • St. Peter's Hill
  • Cole Hill
Saint George Gingerland, Nevis 2,568 Market Shop
  • Chicken Stone
  • Taylors Pasture
  • Zetlands
  • Hull Ground
  • Rawlins
  • Crook's Ground
  • Rices
  • Buck's Hill
  • Sheriffs
  • Holmes Hill
  • Fenton Hill
  • Stony Hill
  • Webb's Ground
  • Harris
  • Zion
  • New River
Saint Paul Charlestown, Nevis 1,820 Charlestown
  • Craddocks
Saint James Windward, Nevis 1,836 Newcastle
  • Rawlins
  • Fountain
  • Scarborough
  • Camps
  • Rick's
  • Brick Kiln
  • White Hall
  • Butler's
  • Burnaby
  • Mt. Lily
  • Spring Hall
  • Eden Browne
Saint George Basseterre, Saint Kitts 13,220 Basseterre
  • Bird Rock
  • Frigate Bay
Trinity Palmetto Point, Saint Kitts 1,692 Palmetto Point
  • Mattingley
  • Camps
  • West Farm
  • Boyds
  • Conphipps
  • Challengers
  • Stone Fort
Saint Thomas Middle Island,

Saint Kitts

2,332 Middle Island
  • Franklands
  • Old Road Town
  • Verchilds
  • Lamberts
  • Conyers
  • Godwin's Ghaut
  • Half Way Tree
  • New Guinea
Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint Kitts 3,140 Sandy Point Town
  • Fig Tree
  • La Vallée
  • Sir Gillee's
Saint Paul Capesterre, Saint Kitts 2,460 Saint Paul Capesterre
  • Cranston
  • Newton Ground
  • Belmont Estate
Saint John Capesterre, Saint Kitts 3,181 Dieppe Bay Town

and Saddlers[9]

Christ Church Nichola Town,

Saint Kitts

2,059 Nichola Town
  • Mansion
  • Borryeux
  • Molyneux
  • Phillips'
Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Kitts 3,374 Cayon
  • Lodge
  • Ottley's
  • Little Italy
  • Spooner's
  • Keys
Saint Peter Basseterre. Saint Kitts 3,472 Monkey Hill
  • New Road
  • Saint Peter's
  • Stapleton
  • Parry's
  • Ogee's
  • Morgan Heights
  • La Fontaine
  • Conaree

Cities and Towns

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These are some of the more important cities and towns in Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Name Number of
people
Feature
Basseterre 15,500 Capital of Saint George Basseterre and of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Cayon 3,000 Capital of Saint Mary Cayon
Charlestown 1,820 Capital of Saint Paul Charlestown and of Nevis
Dieppe Bay Town 450 Capital of Saint John Capesterre and first town ever founded in the Caribbean by France
Gingerland 2,500 Capital of Saint George Gingerland and largest town on Nevis
Newcastle 400 Location of Nevis' airport
Old Road Town 1,600 First town ever founded in the Caribbean by Britain
Sandy Point Town 3,000 Capital of Saint Anne Sandy Point and second largest town in Saint Kitts and Nevis

Sports

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Cricket is common in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Top players go to the West Indies cricket team. The late Runako Morton was from Nevis. Saint Kitts and Nevis is the smallest country on Earth to ever host a World Cup event. It was one of the host venues of the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

The St. Kitts and Nevis national football team, also known as the "Sugar Boyz", has had some international success. They went to the semifinal round of qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in the CONCACAF region. Led by Glence Glasgow they defeated U.S. Virgin Islands and Barbados. They then lost to Mexico, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

The St. Kitts and Nevis Billiard Federation, SKNBF, is the governing body for cue sports across the two islands.

Kim Collins is the country's best known track and field athlete. He has won gold medals in the 100 metres at both the World Championships in Athletics and Commonwealth Games. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics he was the country's first athlete to reach an Olympic final. He and three other athletes represented St. Kitts and Nevis at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The four by one hundred metre relay team won a bronze medal in the 2011 world championships.

American writer and former figure skater and triathlete Kathryn Bertine was given dual citizenship. She tried to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics representing St. Kitts and Nevis in women's cycling. She did not make enough points to go the Olympics.[10]

St. Kitts and Nevis had two athletes ride in the time trial at the 2010 UCI Road World Championships. Athletes included Reginald Douglas and James Weekes.[11]

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Other websites

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  • "Saint Kitts and Nevis". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency.
  • Official website of the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis [1][permanent dead link]

References

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  1. "Religions in St Kitts And Nevis | PEW-GRF". www.globalreligiousfutures.org. Archived from the original on 2021-06-25. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  2. "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  3. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX). population.un.org ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects". www.imf.org.
  5. Human Development Report 2020 The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 15 December 2020. pp. 343–346. ISBN 978-92-1-126442-5. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  6. Both the names Saint Christopher and Saint Kitts are given in the Constitution of Saint Christopher and Nevis.
  7. The Saint Christopher and Nevis Constitution Order 1983, S.I.1983:881 Section 2
  8. "St Kitts and Nevis is not totally free under King Charles III, says PM". BBC News. 2023-05-08. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  9. The northern part of Saint John Capesterre was once ruled by France with its capital in Dieppe bay Town. The southern part was British with its capital in Saddlers. When Britain took control of the entire island in 1713, the parish got 2 capitals, although Dieppe Bay Town is often given superiority
  10. ESPN – So You Wanna Be An Olympian? at sports.espn.go.com
  11. UCI Road World Championship Time Trial Results