Saint Kitts and NevisEconomy

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. The opening of a 470-room resort in February 2003 was expected to bring in much-needed revenue. GDP: purchasing power parity - $339 million (2002 est.) GDP - real growth rate: -1.9% (2002 est.) GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2002 est.) GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 25.8%
services: 70.7% (2001) Labor force: 18,170 (June 1995) Labor force - by occupation: NA Unemployment rate: 4.5% (1997) Population below poverty line: NA% Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (2001 est.) Budget: revenues: $89.7 million
expenditures: $128.2 million, including capital expenditures of $19.5 million (2003 est.) Agriculture - products: sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish Industries: sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages Industrial production growth rate: NA% Electricity - production: 105.8 million kWh (2002) Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001) Electricity - consumption: 98.44 million kWh (2002) Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002) Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002) Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) Oil - consumption: 710 bbl/day (2001 est.) Oil - exports: NA Oil - imports: NA Exports: $70 million (2002 est.) Exports - commodities: machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco Exports - partners: US 58%, Canada 9%, Portugal 8.3%, UK 6.9% (2004) Imports: $195 million (2002 est.) Imports - commodities: machinery, manufactures, food, fuels Imports - partners: US 33.1%, Italy 19.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 10.5%, UK 9.8%, Denmark 6% (2004) Debt - external: $171 million (2001) Economic aid - recipient: $8 million (2001) Currency (code): East Caribbean dollar (XCD) Currency code: XCD Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000) Fiscal year: calendar year More about Saint Kitts and Nevis: Introduction Geography People Government Communications Transportation Military Transnational Issues