Saint Kitts and Nevis (2006) | Eritrea (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 | 6 regions (regions, singular - region); Central, Anelba, Southern Red Sea, Northern Red Sea, Southern, Gash-Barka |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.5% (male 5,515/female 5,263)
15-64 years: 64.3% (male 12,605/female 12,572) 65 years and over: 8.1% (male 1,313/female 1,861) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.9% (male 958,564; female 955,625)
15-64 years: 53.9% (male 1,192,454; female 1,213,313) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 73,017; female 72,678) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish | sorghum, lentils, vegetables, corn, cotton, tobacco, coffee, sisal; livestock, goats; fish |
Airports | 2 (2006) | 21 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 4
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 2 (2002) |
Area | total: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)
land: 261 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 121,320 sq km
land: 121,320 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Pennsylvania |
Background | 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 continues in its efforts to try and separate from Saint Kitts. | Eritrea was awarded to Ethiopia in 1952 as part of a federation. Ethiopia's annexation of Eritrea as a province 10 years later sparked a 30-year struggle for independence that ended in 1991 with Eritrean rebels defeating governmental forces; independence was overwhelmingly approved in a 1993 referendum. A two and a half year border war with Ethiopia that erupted in 1998 ended under UN auspices on 12 December 2000. Eritrea currently hosts a UN peacekeeping operation that will monitor the border region until an international commission determines and demarcates the boundary between the two countries. |
Birth rate | 18.02 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 42.25 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $89.7 million
expenditures: $128.2 million; including capital expenditures of $19.5 million (2003 est.) |
revenues: $206.4 million
expenditures: $615.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | name: Basseterre
geographic coordinates: 17 18 N, 62 43 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Asmara (formerly Asmera) |
Climate | tropical, tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) | hot, dry desert strip along Red Sea coast; cooler and wetter in the central highlands (up to 61 cm of rainfall annually); semiarid in western hills and lowlands; rainfall heaviest during June-September except in coastal desert |
Coastline | 135 km | 2,234 km total; mainland on Red Sea 1,151 km, islands in Red Sea 1,083 km |
Constitution | 19 September 1983 | the transitional constitution, decreed on 19 May 1993, was replaced by a new constitution adopted on 23 May 1997, but not yet implemented |
Country name | conventional long form: Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
conventional short form: Saint Kitts and Nevis former: Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis |
conventional long form: State of Eritrea
conventional short form: Eritrea local long form: Hagere Ertra local short form: Ertra former: Eritrea Autonomous Region in Ethiopia |
Currency | - | nakfa (ERN) |
Death rate | 8.33 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 11.82 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $314 million (2004) | $281 million (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Kitts and Nevis; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Saint Kitts and Nevis | chief of mission: Ambassador Donald J. McCONNELL
embassy: Franklin D. Roosevelt Street, Asmara mailing address: P. O. Box 211, Asmara telephone: [291] (1) 120004 FAX: [291] (1) 127584 |
Diplomatic representation 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador GIRMA Asmerom
chancery: 1708 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 319-1991 FAX: [1] (202) 319-1304 consulate(s) general: Oakland (California) |
Disputes - international | 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 | Eritrea and Ethiopia have expressed general approval of the April 2002 arbitration commission ruling re-delimiting the boundary, the focus of their 1998-2000 war; United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) will monitor activities within the 25-km wide temporary security zone in Eritrea until demarcation and de-mining are complete; Yemen has asserted traditional fishing rights to islands ceded to Eritrea in ICJ ruling |
Economic aid - recipient | $-110,000 (2004) | $77 million (1999) (1999) |
Economy - overview | 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; about 40,000 tourist visited Nevis during the 2003-2004 season. Additional tourist facilities, including a second cruise ship pier, hotels, and golf courses are under construction. | Since independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993, Eritrea has faced the economic problems of a small, desperately poor country. Like the economies of many African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The Ethiopian-Eritrea war in 1998-2000 severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth in 1999 fell to less than 1%, and GDP decreased by 8.2% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into northern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%. Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war damaged roads and bridges. Eritrea's economic future remains mixed. The cessation of Ethiopian trade, which mainly used Eritrean ports before the war, leaves Eritrea with a large economic hole to fill. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master fundamental social problems like illiteracy, unemployment, and low skills, and to convert the diaspora's money and expertise into economic growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 103.9 million kWh (2003) | 195.3 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh NA kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh NA kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 111.7 million kWh (2003) | 210 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m |
lowest point: near Kulul within the Denakil depression -75 m
highest point: Soira 3,018 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | deforestation; desertification; soil erosion; overgrazing; loss of infrastructure from civil warfare |
Environment - international agreements | 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | predominantly black; some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese | ethnic Tigrinya 50%, Tigre and Kunama 40%, Afar 4%, Saho (Red Sea coast dwellers) 3%, other 3% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001) | nakfa (ERN) per US dollar - 9.5 (January 2000), 7.6 (January 1999), 7.2 (March 1998 est.) |
Executive branch | 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 |
chief of state: President Afworki ISAIAS (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly
head of government: President Afworki ISAIAS (since 8 June 1993); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government and is head of the State Council and National Assembly cabinet: State Council is the collective executive authority; members appointed by the president elections: president elected by the National Assembly; election last held 8 June 1993 (next election date uncertain as the National Assembly did not hold a presidential election in December 2001 as anticipated) election results: ISAIAS Afworki elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - ISAIAS Afworki 95% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $34.8 million f.o.b. (2000) |
Exports - commodities | machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco | livestock, sorghum, textiles, food, small manufactures |
Exports - partners | US 63.5%, Canada 8.4%, UK 5.8% (2005) | Sudan 27.2%, Ethiopia 26.5%, Japan 13.2%, UAE 7.3%, Italy 5.3% (1998) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | red isosceles triangle (based on the hoist side) dividing the flag into two right triangles; the upper triangle is green, the lower one is blue; a gold wreath encircling a gold olive branch is centered on the hoist side of the red triangle |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 25.8% services: 70.7% (2001) |
agriculture: 17%
industry: 29% services: 54% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $740 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2005 est.) | 7% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 20 N, 62 45 W | 15 00 N, 39 00 E |
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 | strategic geopolitical position along world's busiest shipping lanes; Eritrea retained the entire coastline of Ethiopia along the Red Sea upon de jure independence from Ethiopia on 24 May 1993 |
Highways | - | total: 3,850 km
paved: 810 km unpaved: 3,040 km (2000) |
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 | NA bbl/day | $470.5 million c.i.f. (2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, manufactures, food, fuels | machinery, petroleum products, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | US 46.9%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.7%, UK 5.4%, France 4.5%, Japan 4.2% (2005) | Italy 17.4%, UAE 16.2%, Germany 5.7%, UK 4.5%, Korea 4.4% (1998) |
Independence | 19 September 1983 (from UK) | 24 May 1993 (from Ethiopia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages | food processing, beverages, clothing and textiles |
Infant mortality rate | total: 14.12 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.85 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
73.62 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.7% (2005 est.) | 15% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), IGAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 5 (2001) |
Irrigated land | NA | 220 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis) | High court, regional, subregional, and village courts; also have military and special courts |
Labor force | 18,170 (June 1995) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,626 km
border countries: Djibouti 109 km, Ethiopia 912 km, Sudan 605 km |
Land use | arable land: 19.44%
permanent crops: 2.78% other: 77.78% (2005) |
arable land: 3.87%
permanent crops: 0.02% other: 96.11% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English | Afar, Amharic, Arabic, Tigre and Kunama, Tigrinya, other Cushitic languages |
Legal system | based on English common law | primary basis is the Ethiopian legal code of 1957, with revisions; new civil, commercial, and penal codes have not yet been promulgated; also relies on customary and post-independence-enacted laws and, for civil cases involving Muslims, Sharia law |
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 |
unicameral National Assembly (150 seats; term limits not established)
elections: in May 1997, following the adoption of the new constitution, 75 members of the PFDJ Central Committee (the old Central Committee of the EPLF), 60 members of the 527-member Constituent Assembly which had been established in 1997 to discuss and ratify the new constitution, and 15 representatives of Eritreans living abroad were formed into a Transitional National Assembly to serve as the country's legislative body until countrywide elections to a National Assembly were held; although only 75 of 150 members of the Transitional National Assembly were elected, the constitution stipulates that once past the transition stage, all members of the National Assembly will be elected by secret ballot of all eligible voters; National Assembly elections scheduled for December 2001 were postponed indefinately |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.4 years
male: 69.56 years female: 75.42 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 56.57 years
male: 54.09 years female: 59.13 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97.8% male: NA% female: NA% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 25% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago | Eastern Africa, bordering the Red Sea, between Djibouti and Sudan |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 50 ships (1000 GRT or over) 261,556 GRT/381,593 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 36, chemical tanker 5, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: 41 (Greece 1, Monaco 1, Russia 5, Spain 2, Syria 3, Tanzania 1, Turkey 6, UAE 19, Ukraine 3) (2006) |
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 19,100 GRT/23,399 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 2, liquefied gas 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force (includes Coast Guard), Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | NA | $138.3 million (FY01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 19.8% (FY01) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 19 September (1983) | Independence Day, 24 May (1993) |
Nationality | noun: Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s)
adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian |
noun: Eritrean(s)
adjective: Eritrean |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (July to October) | frequent droughts; locust swarms |
Natural resources | arable land | gold, potash, zinc, copper, salt, possibly oil and natural gas, fish |
Net migration rate | -4.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 7.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: UNHCR began repatriating about 150,000 Eritrean refugees from Sudan in 2001 following the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 2000 (2002 est.) |
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] | People's Front for Democracy and Justice or PFDJ, the only party recognized by the government [Afworki ISAIAS]; note - a National Assembly committee drafted a law on political parties in January 2001, but the full National Assembly had not yet debated or voted on it as of December 2001 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Eritrean Islamic Jihad or EIJ; Eritrean Liberation Front or ELF [ABDULLAH Muhammed]; Eritrean Liberation Front-Revolutionary Council or ELF-RC [Ahmed NASSER]; Eritrean Liberation Front-United Organization or ELF-UO [Mohammed Said NAWD]; Eritrean Public Forum or EPF [ARADOM Iyob] |
Population | 39,129 (July 2006 est.) | 4,465,651 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.5% (2006 est.) | 3.8% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Assab (Aseb), Massawa (Mits'iwa) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 2, FM NA, shortwave 2 (2000) |
Radios | - | 345,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 50 km
narrow gauge: 50 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts to serve sugarcane plantations during harvest season and for tourists (2005) |
total: 317 km
narrow gauge: 317 km 0.950-m gauge note: links Ak'ordat and Asmara with the port of Massawa; nonoperational since 1978 except for about a 5 km stretch that was reopened in Massawa in 1994; rehabilitation of the remainder and of the rolling stock is under way (2001 est.) |
Religions | Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic | Muslim, Coptic Christian, Roman Catholic, Protestant |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: good inter-island and international connections
domestic: inter-island links via Eastern Caribbean Fiber Optic cable; construction of enhanced wireless infrastructure launched in November 2004 international: country code - 1-869; international calls are carried by submarine cable or Intelsat |
general assessment: inadequate
domestic: very inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system (2002) international: NA; note - international connections exist |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (2004) | 30,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 10,000 (2004) | NA; note - mobile cellular service was introduced in May 2001 |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus three repeaters) (2004) | 1 (2000) |
Terrain | volcanic with mountainous interiors | dominated by extension of Ethiopian north-south trending highlands, descending on the east to a coastal desert plain, on the northwest to hilly terrain and on the southwest to flat-to-rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | 2.31 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 5.8 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.5% (1997) | NA% |
Waterways | - | none |