Capital: Basseterre
Official Language: English
Status: Independent 19 September 1983
Area: 269 sq Km, 104 sq Mi
Population: 52,650 (2010)
Currency: East Caribbean dollar
Motto: Country above Self
Mother Colony of the West Indies
The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island state in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, in both area and population. Carib Indians occupied the islands of the West Indies for hundreds of years before the British began settlement in 1623. In 1967, the island territory of Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla became an associated state of the UK with full internal autonomy.
Minister of Public Infrastructure, Utilities, Posts, and Urban Development
Government Headquarters,
Church Street,
Basseterre
Tel: 869 467-1450
Email: pwutp@yahoo.com / shawn.richards@gov.kn
Tel: 868 467 1450 / 868 467 1466
Email: darell.lloyd@gov.kn
St. Kitts and Nevis is located in the Leeward’s Islands group in the eastern Caribbean. A channel of about 3.2 km in width separates the two islands.
St Kitts and Nevis was originally settled by the Amerindians (Caribs) and by the British in 1623, who fought with the French for possession. The islands were finally ceded to Britain in 1783, and gained independence in 1983.
Both islands have pleasant scenery, good beaches and historic buildings, which have favoured the development of tourism as the economy’s most promising growth area. A deep-water harbour, cruise-ship and container facilities are significant features in this sector’s growth.
In the agricultural sector, sugar was the main crop for generations. St. Kitts and Nevis has, however, decided to stop sugar production as the sector became less economically viable.
There is also economic development in the manufacturing sectors. The main areas include food processing and production of beverages and electronic components.
Robert Llewlyn Bradshaw International (St. Kitts); Vance Amory International (Nevis)
Commercial: 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon to 4/4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday
Government: 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon, 1:00 p.m. to 4/4:30 p.m. Monday to Thursday; 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Friday
New Year’s Day, January 1;Carnival Day, January 2; Good Friday; Easter Monday; Labour Day, May 5;Whit Monday; Emancipation Day, first Monday in August; Culturama Day (sometime in August); national Heroes’ Day, September 16; Independence Day, September 19; Christmas Day December 25; Boxing Day December 26. Holidays that fall on a Sunday are observed the following Monday.
26 July, 1974
Green – Fertility
Red – Struggle for independence
Black – African heritage
Yellow – Sunshine
White Stars – Hope and freedom