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| Scuba St. Kitts & Nevis Coral Reef |
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Resources Overview
lThis small independent state consists of two volcanic islands with steep mountainous slopes. There are fringing reefs along much of the coastline, and a number of deeper submerged reef structures. There is little published information about these reefs. Tourism is an important industry and there are now a number of dive operators.
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Geography
Area: St. Kitts 168 sq. km. (65 sq. mi.); Nevis 93 sq. km. (36 sq. mi.).
Cities: Capital--Basseterre (pop. about 15,000).
Terrain: Generally mountainous; highest elevations are 1,156 m. (3,792 ft.) at Mt. Liamuiga on St. Kitts and 985 m. (3,232 ft.) at Nevis peak on Nevis. |
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s).
Population (2001 est.): 45,000.
Annual growth rate (2000): 4.8%.
Ethnic groups: Predominantly of African origin; some of British, Portuguese, and Lebanese descent.
Religions: Principally Anglican, with Evangelical Protestant and Roman Catholic minorities.
Languages: English (official).
Education (2001): Years compulsory--9. Literacy--98%.
Health (2000): Infant mortality rate--12.7/1,000. Life expectancy--70 yrs. |
Economy
GDP (2001): $342.7 million.
GDP growth rate (2001): 2.0%.
Per capita GDP (2001 est.): $6,500.
Natural resources: Negligible.
Agriculture: Products--sugarcane, cotton, peanuts, vegetables.
Industry (2001): Financial and business services, tourism, construction, sugar processing, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, beverages, and tobacco.
Trade (2001): Exports--$50.8 million. Major markets--U.K., U.S. and CARICOM. Imports--$171.5 million.
Exchange rate: Eastern Caribbean $2.70=U.S.$1. |
Profile
Since St. Kitts and Nevis attained full independence in 1983, relations with the U.S. have been friendly. The U.S. Embassy in Bridgetown, Barbados, conducts bilateral relations with St. Kitts and Nevis.
The United States seeks to help St. Kitts and Nevis develop economically and to help strengthen its moderate, democratic, parliamentary form of government. St. Kitts and Nevis is a beneficiary of the U.S. Caribbean Basin Initiative. U.S. assistance is primarily channeled through multilateral agencies such as the World Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), and the newly opened USAID satellite office in Bridgetown, Barbados. In addition, St. Kitts and Nevis receives counternarcotics assistance and benefits from U.S. military exercises and humanitarian civic action construction projects.
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History
At the time of European discovery, Carib Indians inhabited the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis. Christopher Columbus landed on the larger island in 1493 on his second voyage and named it after St. Christopher, his patron saint. Columbus also discovered Nevis on his second voyage, reportedly calling it Nevis because of its resemblance to a snowcapped mountain (in Spanish, "nuestra senora de las nieves" or our lady of the snows). European colonization did not begin until 1623-24, when first English, then French colonists arrived on St. Christopher's Island, whose name the English shortened to St. Kitt's Island. As the first English colony in the Caribbean, St. Kitts served as a base for further colonization in the region.
The English and French held St. Kitts jointly from 1628 to1713. During the 17th century, intermittent warfare between French and English settlers ravaged the island's economy. Meanwhile Nevis, settled by English settlers in 1628, grew prosperous under English rule. St. Kitts was ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. The French seized both St. Kitts and Nevis in 1782.
The Treaty of Paris in 1783 definitively awarded both islands to Britain. They were part of the colony of the Leeward Islands from 1871-1956, and of the West Indies Federation from 1958-62. In 1967, together with Anguilla, they became a self-governing state in association with Great Britain; Anguilla seceded late that year and remains a British dependency. The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis attained full independence on September 19, 1983. |
| Information provided by CIA Worldfactbook, US Department of State, Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN). ReefBase: Oliver, J. and M. Noordeloos. Editors. 2002, UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center, |
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