Saint Kitts and Nevis

Full name of country: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis

Region: Central America and Caribbean

Official language: English

Population: 55,133 (2024 est.)

Nationality: Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s) (noun), Kittitian, Nevisian (adjective)

Land area: 261 sq km (101 sq miles)

Capital: Basseterre

National anthem: “Oh Land of Beauty!” by Kenrick Anderson Georges

National holiday: Independence Day, September 19 (1983)

Population growth: 0.56% (2024 est.)

Time zone: UTC –4

Flag: The flag is divided by a black diagonal band edged in yellow that runs from the lower left (hoist) corner to the upper right corner. Situated on the black band are two white, five-pointed stars. The upper triangle of the flag is green, and the lower triangle is red.

Motto: “Country above Self”

Independence: September 19, 1983 (from the UK)

Government type: parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legal system: English common law

The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis is located among the Leeward Islands in the eastern Caribbean. A former colony of Great Britain, the country gained its independence in 1983 and remains a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The islands have had a bloody history as pawns in the struggle for power in the Western Hemisphere, and British influence is still strong.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

The overwhelming majority of the population of Saint Kitts and Nevis is descended from Africans who were enslaved and brought there by the European colonial powers. A minority is of mixed African and European ancestry. Other minority groups include British, Portuguese, and Lebanese. English is the official language, and virtually everyone in the nation speaks it. An English-based creole known as Saint Kitts Creole is also widely spoken.

By 2022, 31 percent of the population lived in urban centers. The capital, Basseterre, is the country’s main urban center, with an estimated population of 14,000 in 2018. Charlestown is the only large town on Nevis and the second-largest town in the country.

Most residents practice Christianity, primarily Anglicanism and other Protestant denominations. There is a significant Roman Catholic population as well.

Indigenous People: The earliest inhabitants of Saint Kitts and Nevis were members of a preagricultural society known to archaeologists only as the Archaic people. They migrated to the islands from what is now Florida sometime between 3000 and 2000 BCE. This culture disappeared within a few centuries. The next known inhabitants were the Saladoid people, an agricultural society known for their distinctive ceramic style, who traveled north from Venezuela and settled in the islands around 100 BCE.

Later groups included the Igneris, an Arawak people, and the Carib (or Kalinagos), also from South America. Today, at least two dozen archaeological sites yield artifacts of the Igneris and Carib, including pottery, shells, flint tools, and occasionally (especially after a particularly hard rain) human remains.

British settlers arrived in 1623, quickly followed by the French. The last of the Carib on the island of Nevis were massacred by British and French settlers at Bloody Point in 1626. As the sugarcane plantations were developed, the Europeans brought in enslaved African laborers and forced them to work the plantations. The descendants of these enslaved people make up the majority of the modern population.

In the twenty-first century, the islands’ mostly rural inhabitants work on small farms, sugarcane estates, and large coconut farms.

Education: School attendance in Saint Kitts and Nevis is compulsory for children between the ages of five and sixteen. Primary school lasts for seven years, and secondary school for five. Two years of preprimary schooling and two years of postsecondary schooling are also available. The country has both public and private schools; several of the private schools are church-affiliated.

Basseterre is home to the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College in Basseterre, which confers bachelor’s and associate’s degrees; a University of the West Indies Open Campus center; and Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. In addition, several private medical schools have opened in Saint Kitts and Nevis, including the International University of the Health Sciences School of Medicine (established in 1997) in Basseterre, the Medical University of the Americas (established in 1998) in Charlestown, and the Windsor University School of Medicine (est. 2000) in Cayon.

Health Care: Life expectancy in Saint Kitts and Nevis is 80.1 years for women and 75.2 years for men (2024 estimate). Diabetes mellitus, cerebrovascular disease, cancer, heart disease, hypertension, and substance abuse are common health problems. Prevalent infectious illnesses include respiratory infections, typhoid, chikungunya, hepatitis A and B, and yellow fever. Workers are covered for illness and injury by the country’s social security system.

The government provides prenatal and postpartum care for mothers and infants. The infant mortality rate was 8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024.

Food: Spicy dishes and unusual combinations of flavors are common in the food of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Sauces for meat and fish dishes are made from a combination of mango, banana, passion fruit, and coconut, mixed with herbs and spices. Beef, lobster, chicken, mutton, fish, and pork are all eaten.

The national dish is goatwater, a stew of mutton or goat. Souse, another favorite, is a spicy stew made with pork. Other popular dishes include roast suckling pig, crab back, spiny lobster, and curries. Conch, a delicacy, may be served in a salad, marinated, or as a curry. Turtle stew is another favorite island dish.

As in most Caribbean countries, spiced rice with peas is a staple of the local cuisine. Common vegetables and fruits include yams, breadfruit, christophine (a vegetable), papayas, bananas, and mangoes.

Arts & Entertainment: Traditional Caribbean arts are popular in Saint Kitts and Nevis, including sea island cottons and colorful batiks, wood carvings, and crafts using coconut shells, coral, and seashells.

The islands’ Carnival, or Sugar Mas, begins each year in the middle of December and runs through early January. Events include contests for the titles Calypso King, Calypso Queen, and Miss Saint Kitts. Calypso contests and talent shows are presented in the evenings. Moko jumbies, colorfully costumed stilt walkers, perform throughout the event.

Other festivals include the Saint Kitts Music Festival, a June show featuring a variety of musical styles, including salsa, soca, samba, reggae, jazz, and soul. In early August, the Nevis Culturama offers costumed troupes, arts and crafts, talent shows, beauty contests, calypso competitions, and a local food fair.

Popular sports in Saint Kitts and Nevis include football (soccer), cricket, track and field, netball (similar to basketball), golf, and tennis. Swimming, horse racing, fishing, and drag racing are also enjoyed on Nevis. Outstanding athletes from the islands include Kim Collins, who won the 2003 World Championship in the 100-meter sprint. Tiandra Ponteen won the silver medal in the women’s 400-meter sprint at the twentieth Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games in 2005.

Holidays: Although Saint Kitts and Nevis is a secular state, some Christian holidays are officially observed, including Christmas (December 25). In Great Britain and its former colonies, December 26 is known as Boxing Day. Traditionally, this was a day when British gentry gave presents to their servants and tradespeople.

Secular holidays include Carnival Last Lap, the end of the ten-day Carnival (end of December to first Tuesday in January), Labour Day (first Monday in May), Emancipation Day/August Monday (August 1), National Heroes Day (September 16), and Independence Day (September 19).

Environment and Geography

Topography: The twin Caribbean islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis lie at the southern end of the Leeward Islands chain in the West Indies, about 310 kilometers (190 miles) east of Puerto Rico. To the northwest lie the islands of Sabah and St. Eustatius, of the Netherlands Antilles. Barbuda is to the northeast, and Antigua lies to the southeast.

Saint Kitts is shaped vaguely like a baseball bat, and Nevis somewhat like a ball. They are separated by the Narrows, a strait about three kilometers (two miles) wide. Both islands are volcanic. The Great Salt Pond on the southeastern peninsula of Saint Kitts attracts marsh and water birds. Both islands have narrow, fertile coastal plains, black volcanic sand beaches and rolling landscapes.

The center of Nevis is dominated by Nevis Peak, rising to 985 meters (3,232 feet). Saint Kitts is dominated by Mount Liamuiga, also known as Mount Misery, which rises 1,156 meters (3,792 feet) above sea level. This extinct volcano, topped by a crater one mile in diameter, is the highest point in the country.

Natural Resources: The primary resource of Saint Kitts and Nevis is arable land, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the country’s total area.

Plants & Animals: Although it is a small country, Saint Kitts and Nevis enjoys a great deal of biodiversity.

The blossom of the poinciana is the national flower. Common trees include the screw pine, coconut palm, kapok (silk cotton tree), bamboo, cilliment (West Indian bay tree), white cedar, joint wood, and tree fern.

More than one hundred bird species are common to Saint Kitts and Nevis. The national bird is the brown pelican. Other birds found on the islands include terns, doves, feral pigeons, brown boobies, frigate birds, cattle egrets, grey kingbirds, bananacquits, purple-throated Carib birds, and Lesser Antillean bullfinches.

The islands’ largest wild animal is the green vervet monkey. These primates live in extended family groups in the rainforests of the mountain slopes. Other mammals include mongooses, cats, dogs, goats, and donkeys. All of these are introduced species.

Native to Saint Kitts and Nevis are several species of lizards, bats, frogs, several kinds of land crabs, and toads. In addition, the islands are home to about sixty types of butterflies, including several species of sulphur butterflies. Four species of sea turtles, including the 680-kilogram (1,500-pound) leatherback, come to the islands to lay their eggs.

Common forms of marine life include sharks, rays, snappers, sea fans, lobsters, sea urchins, giant basket sponges, soft coral, and rare black coral. In the fall and spring, more than thirty species of dolphins and whales visit the islands, including orcas, false orcas, humpbacks, melon-headed whales, and short-finned pilot whales.

Climate: The climate of Saint Kitts and Nevis is tropical, with constant sea winds to temper the heat. Temperatures range from 17 degrees to 33 degrees Celsius (62 degrees to 92 degrees Fahrenheit). The average temperature is 25 degrees Celsius (78 degrees Fahrenheit), with high humidity.

Most rain in Saint Kitts and Nevis falls between May and November. On average, Saint Kitts receives about 1,400 millimeters (55 inches) of precipitation each year, while Nevis receives about 1,200 millimeters (48 inches). Natural hazards include hurricanes, which usually occur from July through October.

Economy

Sugar was the basis of Saint Kitts and Nevis’s economy until the 1970s, when it was overtaken by tourism. The fading sugar industry was finally closed by the government after the 2005 harvest. Tourism, export manufacture, and offshore banking now account for a large share of the gross domestic product (GDP). As tourism depends on the world economy, fluctuations in the world market often send the unemployment rate skyrocketing in Saint Kitts and Nevis.

In 2023, the GDP was estimated at US$1.422 billion, or US$30,400 per capita.

Industry: In addition to tourism, the islands’ main industries are manufacturing, primarily of apparel and footwear, and the production of cotton, salt, beverages, and copra.

The primary exports are machinery, electrical components, and food and beverages. The country’s major export partners include the United States, Italy, Canada, and Germany. It primarily imports from the United States, Trinidad and Tobago, China, Jamaica, and Germany.

Agriculture: Agriculture accounts for a very small share of the islands' GDP. Although sugar is no longer a major commercial industry, sugarcane is still the main crop raised on Saint Kitts. Agriculture on Nevis consists of small farms where vegetables, bananas and other fruit, and cotton are grown. Other common agricultural products include rice, yams, and fish.

In general, farmers do not look on the islands’ vervet monkeys with favor. The monkeys often come down the mountainside to steal crops.

Tourism: Approximately 1.2 million tourists visited Saint Kitts and Nevis in 2019. That year travel and tourism generated 28.2 percent of national GDP and about 14,100 jobs, or 59.1 percent of total employment. However, tourism dropped sharply in 2020 due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and global travel restrictions, which negatively impacted the sector. By 2022, the industry had largely recovered with numbers of visitors nearing pre-pandemic levels.

Attractions include the islands’ beaches, scenery, music, and sunny climate. In addition, ancient archaeological sites and historic forts dating to the seventeenth century dot the country. St. Kitts is home to one of the only growing rainforests in the world. Charlestown, on Nevis, boasts many historic sites and homes, including the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton and the Cottle Church, the first integrated church in the West Indies, which was built by Methodists in 1824.

Spas, beach resorts, and restaurants throughout the islands cater to tourists. Ecotourism is highly popular, including hikes to the peaks of the dormant volcanoes, birdwatching, and tours through lava formations and seaside lagoons.

Government

Great Britain gained complete control of Saint Kitts in 1713. Later, Saint Kitts, Nevis, and Anguilla were administered as a single colony, which became an associated state of Britain in 1967. In 1980, Anguilla separated from the other two islands. Saint Kitts and Nevis became the independent Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis in 1983.

The government is a parliamentary democracy with a unicameral legislature. Saint Kitts and Nevis is divided into fourteen administrative districts, called parishes, and is under the jurisdiction of the Caribbean Court of Justice.

The chief of state is the British monarch, represented by an appointed governor-general. The head of state is the prime minister, who is usually the leader of the party with the most seats in the legislature.

The legislature is the fourteen-seat National Assembly. Eleven members are elected by popular vote, and three are appointed by the governor-general. They serve five-year terms.

As a member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Saint Kitts and Nevis’s highest court is the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. It consists of the sixteen-judge High Court and the three-justice Court of Appeal.

Nevis has its own legislature, the Nevis Island Assembly, for all internal affairs. It also has the option of seceding from the federation. In 1998, Nevis came close to passing a referendum for secession.

Interesting Facts

• Captain John Smith and his crew are said to have visited Nevis for several days in 1607 on their way to found the colony of Virginia.
• It is thought that Saint Kitts (the shortened form of Saint Christopher) was named by Italian explorer Christopher Columbus. Nevis takes its name from the Spanish word nieve (snow) because of the snowy white cloud that surrounds the island’s volcanic peak.
• Alexander Hamilton, the first US secretary of the treasury, was born on Nevis, as was famed British admiral Horatio Nelson.
• Saint Kitts and Nevis is the smallest country in the Americas in both population and land area.

Bibliography

"Economic Impact Reports." World Travel and Tourism Council, 2020, wttc.org/Research/Economic-Impact. Accessed 24 Aug. 2020.

“The Government.” The Government of St. Kitts & Nevis, www.gov.kn. Accessed 20 Oct. 2023. ‌

"Saint Kitts and Nevis." Human Development Reports, United Nations Development Programme, 13 Mar. 2024, hdr.undp.org/data-center/specific-country-data#/countries/KNA. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

“Saint Kitts and Nevis.” The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 16 Jan. 2025, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/saint-kitts-and-nevis/. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.

“St Kitts and Nevis.” The Commonwealth, Commonwealth Secretariat, thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/st-kitts-and-nevis. Accessed 8 July 2022.

"St. Kitts and Nevis." The World Bank, 2024, data.worldbank.org/country/st-kitts-and-nevis. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.