Date: 1/21/2008

Country Motto: Country Above Self

Background: St Kitts’ history is littered with fierce, bloody battles for control of the island. From the Indian tribes fighting among each other to the French and British battles for supremacy. Ultimately St Kitts was settled by the British in 1623, and  the islands became an associated state with full internal autonomy in 1967. The island of Anguilla rebelled and was allowed to secede in 1971. Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence in 1983.

Location: Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago

Geographic coordinates: 17 20 N, 62 45 W
Area - comparative: 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC
Population: 38,958 (July 2005 est.)
Country name: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Government type: constitutional monarchy with Westminster-style parliament
Capital: Basseterre

Administrative divisions: 14 parishes:

Constitution: 19 September 1983
Legal system: based on English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Independence: 19 September 1983 (from UK)
St Kitts-Nevis National Holidays and Observed days (2008):

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms)

Elections: last held 25 October 2004 (next to be held by 2009) election
Results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SKNLP 7, CCM 2, NRP 1, PAM 1

Political parties and leaders: Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Vance AMORY]; Nevis Reformation Party or NRP [Joseph PARRY]; People's Action Movement or PAM [Lindsey GRANT]; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party or SKNLP [Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS]

International organization participation: ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, MIGA, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO