St Kitts and Nevis country profile

Saint Kitts and Nevis were among the first islands in the Caribbean to be colonised by Europeans.

St Kitts was settled by English and French colonists in the 1620s, who waged a three-year war of extermination against the native Caribs, before establishing sugar plantations worked by Africans who were transported to the islands as slaves.

The islands of St Kitts - also known as St Christopher - and Nevis have been in an uneasy federation since independence from Britain in 1983, with some politicians in Nevis saying the federal government in St Kitts - home to a majority of the population - had ignored the needs of Nevisians.

But a referendum on secession held in Nevis in 1998 failed to gain the two-thirds majority needed to break away.

Under the constitution, Nevis has considerable autonomy and has an island assembly, a premier, and a deputy governor-general.

Tourism, offshore finance and service industries are important sources of income - more so since a centuries-old but loss-making sugar industry was wound down in 2005 with the loss of hundreds of jobs.

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FEDERATION OF SAINT CHRISTOPHER AND NEVIS: FACTS

• Capital: Basseterre

• Area: 261 sq km

• Population: 47,600

• Languages: English, plus St Kitts Creole

• Life expectancy: 72 years (men) 77 years (women)

LEADERS

Head of state: King Charles III, represented by a governor-general

Prime Minister: Terrance Drew

Terrance Drew was elected as prime minister after his St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) won the August 2022 general election.

Mr Drew is the fifth prime minister since the country gained independence from Britain in 1983.

MEDIA

The government operates national television and radio networks. There are several private radio stations.

Freedom of expression is generally respected by the government, says Freedom House.

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TIMELINE

Thousands of Africans were taken as slaves across the Atlantic and forced to work on the islands' sugar plantations

Some key events in the history of St Kitts and Nevis

1493 - Christopher Columbus lands on the islands and names St Kitts after his patron saint, Christopher.

1623 - English establish their first Caribbean colony on St Kitts.

1625 - French settle on St Kitts in 1625, both countries agree to partition the island into French and English sectors.

1626 - Kalinago genocide: Following resistance to their colonisation by native Carib or Kalinago people, English and French settlers massacre 2,000 indigenous Caribs.

1628 - English establish a colony on Nevis.

English and French establish large sugar plantations and transport African slaves to work on them.

1629 - Spanish expedition destroys the English and French colonies and deports the settlers back to their respective countries.

1630 - With the end of the Anglo-Spanish War (1625-30), Spain agrees to the re-establishment of the English and French colonies.

1670 - Treaty of Madrid: Spain formally recognises English claims to St Kitts in return for English cooperation in the fight against piracy.

17th/18th Centuries - France and England struggle for control over St Kitts and Nevis, fighting wars in 1667, 1689-90  and 1701-13.

1690 - An earthquake destroys Jamestown, the capital of Nevis, a new capital is built at Charlestown;

1713 - Treaty of Utrecht: France relinquishes its claims on St Kitts.

1727 - Bassterre becomes the capital of St Kitts.

1782 - France temporarily re-capture St Kitts but returns it to Britain under the 1783 Treaty of Paris.

1807 - African slave trade halted within the British Empire.

1834 - Slavery abolished within the British Empire.

1882 - St Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla are federated as a British dependency.

1932 - Centre-Left Labour Party founded to campaign for independence.

1958-62 - The islands are briefly part of the West Indies Federation.

1967 - St Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla become an internally self-governing member of the West Indies Associated States. There is opposition in Nevis and Anguilla with St Kitts's domination of the federation.

1967-71 - Anguilla rejects the union and the dominance of St Kitts within it. It declares separation from St Kitts following a referendum in what is called the Anguillan Revolution. The aim is independence from Saint Kitts and Nevis and a return to being a British colony.

1969 - After talks fail, Anguilla unilaterally declares independence. UK sends in 300 troops and police to "restore order" but they encounter no resistance and the move is a public relations embarrassment for the UK.

1970 - Nevis Reformation Party founded, campaigns for independence.

1971 - Anguilla is placed under direct British rule following its rebellion.

1980 - Anguilla officially secedes from Saint Kitts and Nevis and becomes a separate British Crown colony - now a British overseas territory.

1983 - St Kitts and Nevis jointly attain independence within the British Commonwealth with Kennedy Simmonds as prime minister.

1993 - Anti-government demonstrations take place following an inconclusive general election.

1994 - A state of emergency is declared after anti-government riots by Labour Party supporters in the capital, Basseterre.

1995 - Prime Minister Kennedy Simmonds ousted in a general election following a scandal involving allegations of drug smuggling; Labour Party leader Denzil Douglas becomes prime minister.

1997 - Nevis legislators authorise a referendum on the issue of whether the island should secede from St Kitts.

1998 - St Kitts and Nevis carries out its first execution in 17 years despite international protests.

1998 - Referendum on Nevis independence fails to achieve the two-thirds majority required for the island to secede.

1998 - Hurricane George causes significant damage to the islands.

2000 - Denzil Douglas begins a second term as prime minister after his Labour Party wins a majority of seats in a general election.

2003 - Largest hotel complex in the eastern Caribbean opens on Frigate Bay, St Kitts.

2004 - Denzil Douglas begins a third consecutive term as prime minister.

2005 - Government decides to close the 300-year-old, loss-making sugar industry.

2008 - First execution in over a decade when Charles Elroy Laplace is hanged for murder. Government says it hopes this will serve as a deterrent against high levels of violent crime.

2010 - Denzil Douglas wins a fourth consecutive term as premier.

2012 - Paris Club of creditor governments agrees to restructure St Kitts and Nevis' public debt, cutting interest payments by 90%.

2014 - The US Treasury warns that "illicit actors" are abusing a scheme offering fast-track St Kitts and Nevis citizenship in return for investing in the country.

2015 - The Team Unity coalition wins elections, ending the former ruling Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party's 20-year reign.

2022 - Terrance Drew elected as prime minister after his St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) wins the general election.

Tourism, offshore finance and service industries are important sources of income for the islands