]! ^! First settled by the British in 1623, 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. In 1998, a vote in Nevis on a referendum to separate from Saint Kitts fell short of the two-thirds majority needed. Nevis is once more trying to separate from the Saint Kitts. 
]" ^" Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago ^# 17 20 N, 62 45 W ^$ Central America and the Caribbean ^% `! 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km) `" 261 sq km `# 0 sq km ^& 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC ^' 0 km ^( 135 km ^) `$ 12 nm `H 24 nm `I 200 nm `J 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin ^* tropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) ^+ volcanic with mountainous interiors ^, `% Caribbean Sea 0 m `& Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m ^- arable land ^. `' 19.44% `( 2.78% `) 77.78% (2001) ^/ NA sq km ^0 hurricanes (July to October) ^1 NA _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling `L none of the selected agreements ^2 with coastlines in the shape of a baseball bat and ball, the two volcanic islands are separated by a three-km-wide channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of long, baseball bat-shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister island 
]# ^3 38,958 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 28% (male 5,586/female 5,330) `+ 63.7% (male 12,424/female 12,403) `, 8.3% (male 1,328/female 1,887) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 27.6 years `- 26.78 years `. 28.38 years (2005 est.) ^6 0.38% (2005 est.) ^7 18.12 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 8.47 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 -5.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.06 male(s)/female `0 1.05 male(s)/female `+ 1 male(s)/female `, 0.7 male(s)/female `1 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 14.49 deaths/1,000 live births `- 16.25 deaths/1,000 live births `. 12.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 72.15 years `- 69.31 years `. 75.16 years (2005 est.) ^= 2.33 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> NA ^? NA ^@ NA ^A `2 Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s) `3 Kittitian, Nevisian ^B predominantly black; some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese ^C Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic ^D English ^E `M age 15 and over has ever attended school `1 97% `- 97% `. 98% (1980 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis `5 Saint Kitts and Nevis `X Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis ^H constitutional monarchy with Westminster-style parliament ^I Basseterre ^J 14 parishes; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint John Capesterre, Saint John Figtree, Saint Mary Cayon, Saint Paul Capesterre, Saint Paul Charlestown, Saint Peter Basseterre, Saint Thomas Lowland, Saint Thomas Middle Island, Trinity Palmetto Point ^K 19 September 1983 (from UK) ^L Independence Day, 19 September (1983) ^M 19 September 1983 ^N based on English common law ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Cuthbert Montraville SEBASTIAN (since 1 January 1996) `7 Prime Minister Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS (since 6 July 1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Sam CONDOR (since 6 July 1995) `8 Cabinet appointed by the governor general in consultation with the prime minister `9 none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general ^Q unicameral National Assembly (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms) `9 last held 25 October 2004 (next to be held by 2009) `: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SKNLP 7, CCM 2, NRP 1, PAM 1 ^R Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis) ^S 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] ^T NA ^U 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 ^V `N Ambassador Dr. Izben Cordinal WILLIAMS `O 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 `P [1] (202) 686-2636 `Q [1] (202) 686-5740 `R New York ^W the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Kitts and Nevis ^X divided diagonally from the lower hoist side by a broad black band bearing two white, five-pointed stars; the black band is edged in yellow; the upper triangle is green, the lower triangle is red 
]% ^Y Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the Saint Kitts economy until the 1970s. Although the crop still dominates the agricultural sector, activities such as tourism, export-oriented manufacturing, and offshore banking have assumed larger roles in the economy. Tourism revenues are now the chief source of the islands' foreign exchange. The opening of a 470-room resort in February 2003 was expected to bring in much-needed revenue. ^Z $339 million (2002 est.) ^[ -1.9% (2002 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2002 est.) ^] `; 3.5% `< 25.8% `= 70.7% (2001) ^^ 18,170 (June 1995) ^_ NA ^` 4.5% (1997) ^a NA% _! `> NA `? NA _" 1.7% (2001 est.) _# `@ $89.7 million `A $128.2 million, including capital expenditures of $19.5 million (2003 est.) _$ sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish _% sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages _& NA% _' 105.8 million kWh (2002) _( 98.44 million kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 0 kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 710 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _/ $70 million (2002 est.) _0 machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco _1 US 57.5%, Canada 9%, Portugal 8.3%, UK 6.7% (2004) _2 $195 million (2002 est.) _3 machinery, manufactures, food, fuels _4 Ukraine 44.7%, US 22.1%, Trinidad and Tobago 8.8%, UK 6.2% (2004) _5 $171 million (2001) _6 $8 million (2001) _7 East Caribbean dollar (XCD) _8 East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 23,500 (2002) _; 5,000 (2002) _< `B good interisland and international connections `C inter-island links via Eastern Caribbean Fiber Optic cable; construction of enhanced wireless infrastructure launched in November 2004 `D country code - 1-869; international calls are carried by submarine cable or Intelsat _= AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2004) _> 1 (plus three repeaters) (2004) _? .kn _@ 51 (2003) _A 10,000 (2002) 
]' _e `! 50 km `c 50 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane plantations during harvest season (2003) _B `! 320 km `E 136 km `F 184 km (1999 est) _C Basseterre, Charlestown _D 2 (2004 est.) _E `! 2 `^ 1 `_ 1 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force (includes Coast Guard), Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force _M 18 years of age (est.) (2004) _N NA _O NA 
]) _H joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea _I transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; some money-laundering activity 