Saint Kitts and Nevis Economy 2007

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.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
$726 million (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
$453 million (2005)

GDP - real growth rate:
4.9% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
$8,200 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 25.8%
services: 70.7% (2001)

Labor force:
18,170 (June 1995)

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):
8.7% (2005 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $89.7 million
expenditures: $128.2 million (2003 est.)

Agriculture - products:
sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish

Industries:
tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages

Industrial production growth rate:
NA%

Electricity - production:
125 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - consumption:
116.3 million kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2005)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - consumption:
800 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
NA bbl/day

Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (1 January 2006)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
0 cu m (2005 est.)

Exports:
$70 million (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco

Exports - partners:
US 61.9%, Canada 9.4%, Netherlands 6.6%, Azerbaijan 5% (2006)

Imports:
$405 million (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery, manufactures, food, fuels

Imports - partners:
US 49.5%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.3%, UK 4.5% (2006)

Economic aid - recipient:
$NA (2005)

Debt - external:
$314 million (2004)

Currency (code):
East Caribbean dollar (XCD)

Exchange rates:
East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002)