Saint Kitts and Nevis (2007) | Congo, Democratic Republic of the (2001) | |
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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 | 10 provinces (provinces, singular - province) and one city* (ville); Bandundu, Bas-Congo, Equateur, Kasai-Occidental, Kasai-Oriental, Katanga, Kinshasa*, Maniema, Nord-Kivu, Orientale, Sud-Kivu |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 27.2% (male 5,472/female 5,218)
15-64 years: 64.9% (male 12,779/female 12,752) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 1,300/female 1,828) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
48.24% (male 12,988,488; female 12,878,232) 15-64 years: 49.21% (male 12,931,886; female 13,459,109) 65 years and over: 2.55% (male 575,113; female 791,890) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish | coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber, tea, quinine, cassava (tapioca), palm oil, bananas, root crops, corn, fruits; wood products |
Airports | 2 (2007) | 232 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
24 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
208 1,524 to 2,437 m: 20 914 to 1,523 m: 96 under 914 m: 92 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)
land: 261 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
2,345,410 sq km land: 2,267,600 sq km water: 77,810 sq km |
Area - comparative | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than one-fourth the size of the US |
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. | Since 1994 the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC; formerly called Zaire) has been rent by ethnic strife and civil war, touched off by a massive inflow of refugees from the fighting in Rwanda and Burundi. The government of former president MOBUTU Sese Seko was toppled by a rebellion led by Laurent KABILA in May 1997; his regime was subsequently challenged by a Rwanda- and Uganda-backed rebellion in August 1998. Troops from Zimbabwe, Angola, Namibia, Chad, and Sudan intervened to support the Kinshasa regime. A cease-fire was signed on 10 July 1999, but sporadic fighting continued. KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and his son Joseph KABILA was named head of state. The new president quickly began overtures to end the war. |
Birth rate | 17.89 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 46.02 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $89.7 million
expenditures: $128.2 million (2003 est.) |
revenues:
$269 million expenditures: $244 million, including capital expenditures of $24 million (1996 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) |
Kinshasa |
Climate | tropical, tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November) | tropical; hot and humid in equatorial river basin; cooler and drier in southern highlands; cooler and wetter in eastern highlands; north of Equator - wet season April to October, dry season December to February; south of Equator - wet season November to March, dry season April to October |
Coastline | 135 km | 37 km |
Constitution | 19 September 1983 | 24 June 1967, amended August 1974, revised 15 February 1978, amended April 1990; transitional constitution promulgated in April 1994; in November 1998, a draft constitution was approved by former President Laurent KABILA but it has not been ratified by a national referendum |
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:
Democratic Republic of the Congo conventional short form: none local long form: Republique Democratique du Congo local short form: none former: Congo Free State, Belgian Congo, Congo/Leopoldville, Congo/Kinshasa, Zaire abbreviation: DROC |
Currency | - | Congolese franc (CDF) |
Death rate | 8.16 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 15.15 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $314 million (2004) | $13 billion (1998 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 William Lacy SWING embassy: 310 Avenue des Aviateurs, Kinshasa mailing address: Unit 31550, APO AE 09828 telephone: [243] (12) 21804, 21807 FAX: [243] (88) 43805 |
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 Faida MITIFU chancery: 1800 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-7690, 7691 FAX: [1] (202) 234-2609 |
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 eastern Caribbean Sea | the Democratic Republic of the Congo is in the grip of a civil war that has drawn in military forces from neighboring states, with Uganda and Rwanda supporting the rebel movements that occupy much of the eastern portion of the state; most of the Congo river boundary with the Republic of the Congo is indefinite (no agreement has been reached on the division of the river or its islands, except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area) |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA (2005) | $195.3 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the Saint Kitts economy until the 1970s. The government closed the sugar industry following the 2005 harvest after decades of losses at the state-run sugar company. To compensate, the government has embarked on a program to diversify the agricultural sector and to stimulate other sectors of the economy. 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 341,800 tourists visited Nevis in 2005. Additional tourist facilities, including a second cruise ship pier, hotels, and golf courses are under construction. | The economy of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a nation endowed with vast potential wealth - has declined drastically since the mid-1980s. The new government instituted a tight fiscal policy that initially curbed inflation and currency depreciation, but these small gains were quickly reversed when the foreign-backed rebellion in the eastern part of the country began in August 1998. The war has dramatically reduced national output and government revenue and has increased external debt. Foreign businesses have curtailed operations due to uncertainty about the outcome of the conflict and because of increased government harassment and restrictions. The war has intensified the impact of such basic problems as an uncertain legal framework, corruption, raging inflation, and lack of openness in government economic policy and financial operations. A number of IMF and World Bank missions have met with the government to help it develop a coherent economic plan but associated reforms are on hold. |
Electricity - consumption | 116.3 million kWh (2005) | 4.55 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 404 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 55 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 125 million kWh (2005) | 5.268 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
2.05% hydro: 97.95% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Pic Marguerite on Mont Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) 5,110 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | poaching threatens wildlife populations; water pollution; deforestation; refugees who arrived in mid-1994 were responsible for significant deforestation, soil erosion, and wildlife poaching in the eastern part of the country (most of those refugees were repatriated in November and December 1996) |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | predominantly black; some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese | over 200 African ethnic groups of which the majority are Bantu; the four largest tribes - Mongo, Luba, Kongo (all Bantu), and the Mangbetu-Azande (Hamitic) make up about 45% of the population |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002) | Congolese francs per US dollar - 50 (January 2001), 4.5 (January 2000), 4.02 (1999), 1.61 (1998), 1.31 (1997), 0.50 (1996)
note: on 30 June 1998 the Congolese franc was introduced, replacing the new zaire |
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); 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:
Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - the president succeeded his father Laurent Desire KABILA after his assassination on 16 January 2001; as president he is both chief of state and head of government head of government: Joseph KABILA (since 26 January 2001); note - the president succeeded his father Laurent Desire KABILA after his assassination on 16 January 2001; as president he is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: National Executive Council, appointed by the president elections: before Laurent Desire KABILA seized power, the president was elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 29 July 1984 (next was scheduled to be held in May 1997); formerly, the prime minister was elected by the High Council of the Republic; note - elections were not held in 1991 as called for by the constitution election results: results of the last election were: MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga reelected president in 1984 without opposition note: Marshal MOBUTU Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga was president from 24 November 1965 until forced into exile on 16 May 1997 when his government was overthrown militarily by Laurent Desire KABILA, who immediately assumed governing authority; KABILA pledged to hold elections by April 1999, but in December 1998 announced that elections would be postponed until all foreign military forces attempting to topple the government had withdrawn from the country; KABILA was assassinated in January 2001 and was succeeded by his son Joseph KABILA |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $960 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco | diamonds, copper, coffee, cobalt, crude oil |
Exports - partners | US 61.9%, Canada 9.4%, Netherlands 6.6%, Azerbaijan 5% (2006) | Benelux 62%, US 18%, South Africa, Finland, Italy (1999) |
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 | light blue with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center and a columnar arrangement of six small yellow five-pointed stars along the hoist side |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $31 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 25.8% services: 70.7% (2001) |
agriculture:
58% industry: 17% services: 25% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2005 est.) | -15% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 17 20 N, 62 45 W | 0 00 N, 25 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 | straddles Equator; very narrow strip of land that controls the lower Congo river and is only outlet to South Atlantic Ocean; dense tropical rain forest in central river basin and eastern highlands |
Highways | - | total:
157,000 km (including 30 km of expressways)(1996) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
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 | illicit producer of cannabis, mostly for domestic consumption |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $660 million (c.i.f., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, manufactures, food, fuels | foodstuffs, mining and other machinery, transport equipment, fuels |
Imports - partners | US 49.5%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.3%, UK 4.5% (2006) | South Africa 28%, Benelux 14%, Nigeria 9%, Kenya 7%, China (1999) |
Independence | 19 September 1983 (from UK) | 30 June 1960 (from Belgium) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages | mining (diamonds, copper, zinc), mineral processing, consumer products (including textiles, footwear, cigarettes, processed foods and beverages), cement |
Infant mortality rate | total: 13.74 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.44 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
99.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.7% (2005 est.) | 540% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC, CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 100 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based on Saint Lucia; one judge of the Supreme Court resides in Saint Kitts and Nevis) | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme |
Labor force | 18,170 (June 1995) | 14.51 million (1993 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 65%, industry 16%, services 19% (1991 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
10,744 km border countries: Angola 2,511 km, Burundi 233 km, Central African Republic 1,577 km, Republic of the Congo 2,410 km, Rwanda 217 km, Sudan 628 km, Tanzania 473 km, Uganda 765 km, Zambia 1,930 km |
Land use | arable land: 19.44%
permanent crops: 2.78% other: 77.78% (2005) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 7% forests and woodland: 77% other: 13% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English | French (official), Lingala (a lingua franca trade language), Kingwana (a dialect of Kiswahili or Swahili), Kikongo, Tshiluba |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on Belgian civil law system and tribal law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 |
a 300-member Transitional Constituent Assembly established in August 2000
elections: NA; members of the Transitional Constituent Assembly were appointed by former President KABILA |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 72.66 years
male: 69.81 years female: 75.69 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
48.94 years male: 46.96 years female: 50.98 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97.8% male: NA% female: NA% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write French, Lingala, Kingwana, or Tshiluba total population: 77.3% male: 86.6% female: 67.7% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago | Central Africa, northeast of Angola |
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 |
exclusive economic zone:
boundaries with neighbors territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 104 ships (1000 GRT or over) 465,056 GRT/663,511 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 66, chemical tanker 8, container 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 15, refrigerated cargo 5, roll on/roll off 2, specialized tanker 2 foreign-owned: 76 (Belgium 1, Egypt 2, Estonia 1, Greece 2, India 1, Iran 1, Latvia 4, Monaco 1, Romania 1, Russia 14, Spain 1, Syria 5, Tanzania 1, Turkey 13, Ukraine 5, UAE 22, Yemen 1) (2007) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Saint Kitts and Nevis Defense Force (includes Coast Guard), Royal Saint Kitts and Nevis Police Force | Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Presidential Security Group |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $250 million (FY97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 4.6% (FY97) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
11,615,554 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
5,915,251 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 19 September (1983) | Independence Day, 30 June (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Kittitian(s), Nevisian(s)
adjective: Kittitian, Nevisian |
noun:
Congolese (singular and plural) adjective: Congolese or Congo |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (July to October) | periodic droughts in south; volcanic activity |
Natural resources | arable land | cobalt, copper, cadmium, petroleum, industrial and gem diamonds, gold, silver, zinc, manganese, tin, germanium, uranium, radium, bauxite, iron ore, coal, hydropower, timber |
Net migration rate | -3.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0.14 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: one million refugees fled into Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo or DROC) in 1994 to escape the fighting between the Hutus and the Tutsis; fighting in the DROC between rebels and government forces in October 1996 caused 875,000 refugees to return to Rwanda in late 1996 and early 1997; an additional 173,000 Rwandan refugees disappeared in early 1997 and are assumed to have been killed by Zairian forces; fighting between the Congolese government and Uganda- and Rwanda-backed Congolese rebels spawned a regional war in DROC in August 1998, which left 1.8 million Congolese displaced in DROC and caused 300,000 Congolese refugees to flee to surrounding countries |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 390 km |
Political parties and leaders | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Vance AMORY]; Nevis Reformation Party or NRP [Joseph PARRY]; People's Action Movement or PAM [Lindsay GRANT]; Saint Kitts and Nevis Labor Party or SKNLP [Dr. Denzil DOUGLAS] | Democratic Social Christian Party or PDSC [Andre BO-BOLIKO]; Popular Movement of the Revolution or MPR [leader NA]; Unified Lumumbast Party or PALU [Antoine GIZENGA]; Union for Democracy and Social Progress or UDPS [Etienne TSHISEKEDI wa Mulumba]; Union of Federalists and Independent Republicans or UFERI [Kouyoumba MUCHULI Mulembe] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 39,349 (July 2007 est.) | 53,624,718
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.623% (2007 est.) | 3.1% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Banana, Boma, Bukavu, Bumba, Goma, Kalemie, Kindu, Kinshasa, Kisangani, Matadi, Mbandaka |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 3, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2003) | AM 3, FM 12, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | - | 18.03 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 50 km
narrow gauge: 50 km 0.762-m gauge on Saint Kitts for tourists (2006) |
total:
5,138 km (1995) note: severely reduced route-distance in use because of damage to facilities by civil strife narrow gauge: 3,987 km 1.067-m gauge (858 km electrified); 125 km 1.000-m gauge; 1,026 km 0.600-m gauge (2000) |
Religions | Anglican, other Protestant, Roman Catholic | Roman Catholic 50%, Protestant 20%, Kimbanguist 10%, Muslim 10%, other syncretic sects and indigenous beliefs 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.049 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.002 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.711 male(s)/female total population: 0.988 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
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:
NA domestic: barely adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in and between urban areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 25,000 (2004) | 21,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 10,000 (2004) | 8,900 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 3 repeaters) (2003) | 20 (1999) |
Terrain | volcanic with mountainous interiors | vast central basin is a low-lying plateau; mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 2.29 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 6.84 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4.5% (1997) | NA% |
Waterways | - | 15,000 km (including the Congo and its tributaries, and unconnected lakes) |