Saint Kitts and Nevis : Ask Biography

General information

Common name

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Motto

"Country Above Self"

Anthem

"O Land of Beauty!"

Royal anthem

God Save the Queen

Capital

Basseterre

Largest city

capital

Official languages

English

Demonym

Kittitian (or, Alternatively, Kittian), Nevisian

Government

Government

Parliamentary democracy and Federal constitutional monarchy

Monarch

Elizabeth II

Governor-General

Sir Cuthbert Sebastian

Prime Minister

Dr. Denzil Douglas

Independence

Independence

from the United Kingdom

19 September 1983

Geography

Total Area

104 sq mi (269.4 km2) (207th)

Water %

negligible

Demography

Population Est.

51300 (209th)

Density (pop.)

163.7/km² (64th) (424/sq mi)

Economy

GDP PPP

$726 million (2009)

GDP (PPP) per capita

$13,429

GDP (nominal)

$557 million (2009)

GDP (nominal) per capita

$10,315

Other information

HDI

(-) 0.838 (2007) (high) (62nd)

Currency

East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

Drives on the

left

Internet TLD

.kn

Calling code

+1-869

Home | Country | Saint Kitts and Nevis

The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis (c-enaudio=En-us-Saint Kitts and Nevis, located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, in both area and population.

The capital city and headquarters of government for the federated state is Basseterre on the larger island of Saint Kitts. The smaller state of Nevis lies about 2 miles (3 km) southeast of Saint Kitts, across a shallow channel called "The Narrows".

Historically, the British dependency of Anguilla was also a part of this union, which was then known collectively as Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla. Saint Kitts and Nevis are geographically part of the Leeward Islands. To the north-northwest lie the islands of Sint Eustatius, Saba, Saint Barthélemy, Saint-Martin/Sint Maarten and Anguilla. To the east and northeast are Antigua and Barbuda, and to the southeast is the small uninhabited island of Redonda, and the island of Montserrat, which currently has an active volcano (see Soufrière Hills).

Saint Kitts and Nevis were among the first islands in the Caribbean to be settled by Europeans. Saint Kitts was home to the first English and French colonies in the Caribbean.