| 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. |
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| GDP | NA |
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| GDP - real growth rate | 4.9% (2005 est.) |
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| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 25.8%
services: 70.7% (2001) |
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| Population below poverty line | NA% |
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Household income or consumption
by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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| Labor force | 18,170 (June 1995) |
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| Unemployment rate | 4.5% (1997) |
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| Budget | revenues: $89.7 million
expenditures: $128.2 million; including capital expenditures of $19.5 million (2003 est.) |
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| Industries | tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages |
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| Industrial production growth rate | NA% |
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Electricity -
production | 125 million kWh (2004) |
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Electricity -
production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001) |
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Electricity -
consumption | 116.3 million kWh (2004) |
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Electricity -
exports | 0 kWh (2004) |
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Electricity -
imports | 0 kWh (2004) |
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| Oil - production | 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
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| Oil - consumption | 800 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
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| Oil - exports | NA bbl/day |
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| Oil - imports | NA bbl/day |
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| Agriculture - products | sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish |
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| Exports | $70 million (2004 est.) |
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| Exports - commodities | machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco |
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| Exports - partners | US 61.3%, Canada 8.1%, UK 5.6% (2005) |
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| Imports | $405 million (2004 est.) |
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| Imports - commodities | machinery, manufactures, food, fuels |
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| Imports - partners | US 46.9%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.7%, UK 5.4%, France 4.5%, Japan 4.2% (2005) |
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| Debt - external | $314 million (2004) |
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| Economic aid - recipient | $NA |
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| Currency code | XCD |
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| Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002) |
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| Fiscal year | calendar year |
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