Economy
Overview: The economy depends primarily
on financial assistance from the UK. The
local population earns some income from
fishing, the rearing of livestock, and sales
of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs,
a large proportion of the work force have
left to seek employment overseas.
GDP: $NA, per capita $NA; real growth rate NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.1% (1986)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget: revenues $3.2 million; expenditures $2.9 million, including capital expenditures of NA (1984)
Exports: $23.9 thousand (f.o.b., 1984); commodities—fish (frozen skipjack, tuna, salt-dried skipjack), handicrafts; partners—South Africa, UK
Imports: $2.4 million (c.i.f., 1984); commodities—food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts; partners—UK, South Africa
External debt: $NA
Industrial production: growth rate NA%
Electricity: 9,800 kW capacity; 10 million kWh produced, 1,390 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fish
Agriculture: maize, potatoes, vegetables; timber production being developed; crawfishing on Tristan da Cunha
Aid: Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $168 million
Currency: St. Helenian pound (plural pounds); 1 St. Helenian pound (£S) = 100 pence
Exchange rates: St. Helenian pounds (£S) per US$1—0.6055 (January 1990), 0.6099 (1989), 0.5614 (1988), 0.6102 (1987), 0.6817 (1986), 0.7714 (1985); note—the St. Helenian pound is at par with the British pound
Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
Communications
Highways: 87 km bitumen-sealed roads,
20 km earth roads on St. Helena; 80 km
bitumen-sealed on Ascension; 2.7 km
bitumen-sealed on Tristan da Cunha
Ports: Jamestown (St. Helena), Georgetown (Ascension)
Merchant marine: 1 passenger-cargo ship totaling 3,150 GRT/2,264 DWT
Airports: 1 with permanent-surface runway 2,440-3,659 m on Ascension
Telecommunications: 1,500 radio receivers; stations—1 AM, no FM, no TV; 550 telephones in automatic network; HF radio links to Ascension, then into worldwide submarine cable and satellite networks; major coaxial cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK at Ascension; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations
Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the
UK
St. Kitts and Nevis
_St._Kitts_and_Nevis.jpg)
See regional map III
Geography
Total area: 360 km²; land area: 360 km²
Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC
Land boundaries: none
Coastline: 135 km
Maritime claims:
- Contiguous zone: 24 nm
- Extended economic zone: 200 nm
- Territorial sea: 12 nm
Climate: subtropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)
Terrain: volcanic with mountainous interiors
Natural resources: negligible
Land use: 22% arable land; 17% permanent crops; 3% meadows and pastures; 17% forest and woodland; 41% other
Environment: subject to hurricanes (July to October)
Note: located 320 km southeast of Puerto Rico
People
Population: 40,157 (July 1990), growth
rate 0.3% (1990)
Birth rate: 24 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: -11 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 40 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 71 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 2.7 children born/woman (1990)
Ethnic divisions: mainly of black African descent
Nationality: noun—Kittsian(s), Nevisian(s); adjective—Kittsian, Nevisian
265
