Libya (2001) | Saint Kitts and Nevis (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions | 14 parishes; Christ Church Nichola Town, Saint Anne Sandy Point, Saint George Basseterre, Saint George Gingerland, Saint James Windward, Saint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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
35.41% (male 947,645; female 907,854) 15-64 years: 60.64% (male 1,645,085; female 1,533,066) 65 years and over: 3.95% (male 101,701; female 105,248) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 29% (male 5,754; female 5,499)
15-64 years: 62.4% (male 12,098; female 12,105) 65 years and over: 8.5% (male 1,365; female 1,942) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle | sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish |
Airports | 136 (2000 est.) | 2 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
58 over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 22 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
78 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 40 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
- |
Area | total:
1,759,540 sq km land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)
land: 261 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Alaska | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Since he took power in a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI has espoused his own political system - a combination of socialism and Islam - which he calls the Third International Theory. Viewing himself as a revolutionary leader, he used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, even supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. Libyan military adventures failed, e.g., the prolonged foray of Libyan troops into the Aozou Strip in northern Chad was finally repulsed in 1987. Libyan support for terrorism decreased after UN sanctions were imposed in 1992. Those sanctions were suspended in April 1999. | 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. |
Birth rate | 27.67 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.45 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$6.85 billion expenditures: $4.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $89.7 million
expenditures: $128.2 million, including capital expenditures of $19.5 million (2003 est.) |
Capital | Tripoli | Basseterre |
Climate | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior | tropical tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) |
Coastline | 1,770 km | 135 km |
Constitution | 11 December 1969, amended 2 March 1977 | 19 September 1983 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
conventional long form: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis |
Currency | Libyan dinar (LYD) | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 3.51 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.85 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.1 billion (2000 est.) | $171 million (2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US suspended all embassy activities in Tripoli on 2 May 1980 | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Kitts and Nevis |
Diplomatic representation in the US | Libya does not have an embassy in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Izben Cordinal WILLIAMS
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 686-2636 FAX: [1] (202) 686-5740 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | Libya claims about 19,400 sq km in northern Niger and also a part of southeastern Algeria | protests Venezuela's claim to give full effect to Aves Island, which creates a Venezuelan EEZ/continental shelf extending over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $8.4 million (1995) | $8 million (2001) |
Economy - overview | The socialist-oriented economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contributes practically all export earnings and about one-quarter of GDP. These oil revenues and a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. In this statist society, import restrictions and inefficient resource allocations have led to periodic shortages of basic goods and foodstuffs. The nonoil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food requirements. Higher oil prices in 1999 and 2000 led to an increase in export revenues, which improved macroeconomic balances and helped to stimulate the economy. Following the suspension of UN sanctions in 1999, Libya has been trying to increase its attractiveness to foreign investors, and several foreign companies have visited in search of contracts. | 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. As tourism revenues are now the chief source of the islands' foreign exchange, a decline in stopover tourist arrivals following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks has eroded government finances. The opening of a 1,000+ bed Marriott hotel in February 2003 is expected to bring in much-needed revenue. |
Electricity - consumption | 17.577 billion kWh (1999) | 93.26 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 18.9 billion kWh (1999) | 100.3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m |
Environment - current issues | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Climate Change, Desertification, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians | predominantly black; some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese |
Exchange rates | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 0.5101 (January 2001), 0.5081 (2000), 0.4616 (1999), 0.3785 (1998), 0.3891 (1997), 0.3651 (1996)
note: Libya currently has two rates for foreign trade; one for government operations and foreign companies and one for Libyan individuals (0.45 dinars per US dollar in December 1998) |
East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999), 2.7 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Premier) Mubarak al-SHAMEKH (since 2 March 2000) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: Mubarak al-SHAMEKH elected premier; percent of General People's Congress vote - NA% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Cuthbert Montraville SEBASTIAN (since 1 January 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS (since 6 July 1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Sam CONDOR (since 6 July 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general in consultation with the prime minister elections: 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 |
Exports | $13.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil, refined petroleum products | machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco |
Exports - partners | Italy 33%, Germany 24%, Spain 10%, France 5%, Turkey 4%, Tunisia 4% (1999) | US 66.5%, UK 7.6%, Canada 6.8%, Portugal 6% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $45.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $339 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
7% industry: 47% services: 46% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 25.8% services: 70.7% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.5% (2000 est.) | -1.9% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 25 00 N, 17 00 E | 17 20 N, 62 45 W |
Geography - note | - | 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 |
Highways | total:
24,484 km paved: 6,800 km unpaved: 17,684 km (1996) |
total: 320 km
paved: 136 km unpaved: 184 km (1999 est) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; some money-laundering activity |
Imports | $7.6 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport equipment, food, manufactured goods | machinery, manufactures, food, fuels |
Imports - partners | Italy 24%, Germany 12%, Tunisia 9%, UK 7%, France 6%, South Korea 5% (1999) | US 41.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 16.2%, Canada 9.8%, UK 6.9%, Japan 4% (2002) |
Independence | 24 December 1951 (from Italy) | 19 September 1983 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | petroleum, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement | sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | 28.99 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 15.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.48 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 18.5% (2000 est.) | 1.7% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AL, AMF, AMU, CAEU, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAPEC, OAU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 16 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 4,700 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis) |
Labor force | 1.5 million (2000 est.) | 18,172 (June 1995) |
Labor force - by occupation | services and government 54%, industry 29%, agriculture 17% (1997 est.) | NA |
Land boundaries | total:
4,383 km border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,150 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
1% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 8% forests and woodland: 0% other: 91% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 16.67%
permanent crops: 2.78% other: 80.55% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities | English |
Legal system | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law |
Legislative branch | unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) | unicameral National Assembly (14 seats, 3 appointed and 11 popularly elected from single-member constituencies; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 6 March 2000 (next to be held by July 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SKNLP 8, CCM 2, NRP 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.65 years male: 73.53 years female: 77.88 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.57 years
male: 68.76 years female: 74.56 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.2% male: 87.9% female: 63% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1980 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia | Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
12 NM note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin territorial sea: 12 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
28 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 399,725 GRT/654,843 DWT ships by type: cargo 10, chemical tanker 1, liquefied gas 3, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 4 (2000 est.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Command | Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force (including Coast Guard), Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force (including Special Service Unit) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.3 billion (FY99/00) | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.9% (FY99/00) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,459,400 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
866,012 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
61,694 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) | Independence Day, 19 September (1983) |
Nationality | noun:
Libyan(s) adjective: Libyan |
noun: Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s)
adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms | hurricanes (July to October) |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum | arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -8.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 4,383 km; petroleum products 443 km (includes liquefied petroleum gas or LPG 256 km); natural gas 1,947 km | - |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements | NA |
Population | 5,240,599
note: includes 662,669 non-nationals, of which an estimated 500,000 or more are Africans living in Libya (July 2001 est.) |
38,763 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.42% (2001 est.) | 0.13% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Al Khums, Banghazi, Darnah, Marsa al Burayqah, Misratah, Ra's Lanuf, Tobruk, Tripoli, Zuwarah | Basseterre, Charlestown |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 17, FM 4, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 3, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 1.35 million (1997) | - |
Railways | note:
Libya has had no railroad in operation since 1965, all previous systems having been dismantled; current plans are to construct a 1.435-m standard gauge line from the Tunisian frontier to Tripoli and Misratah, then inland to Sabha, center of a mineral-rich area, but there has been little progress; other plans made jointly with Egypt would establish a rail line from As Sallum, Egypt, to Tobruk with completion originally set for mid-1994; Libya signed contracts with two private companies - Bahne of Egypt and Jez Sistemas Ferroviarios of Spain - in 1998 for the supply of crossings and pointwork (1001) |
total: 50 km
narrow gauge: 50 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane plantations during harvest season (2002) |
Religions | Sunni Muslim 97% | Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.06 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996 domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
general assessment: good interisland and international connections
domestic: inter island links to Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) are handled by VHF/UHF/SHF radiotelephone international: international calls are carried by radiotelephone to Antigua and Barbuda and switched there to submarine cable or to Intelsat; or carried to Saint Martin (Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) by radiotelephone and switched to Intelsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 380,000 (1996) | 17,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 205 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1998) | 1 (plus three repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions | volcanic with mountainous interiors |
Total fertility rate | 3.64 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.37 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 30% (2000 est.) | 4.5% (1997) |
Waterways | none | none |