Background
Christopher Columbus reached the islands on his second voyage to the New World in 1493. He named the larger of the two St. Christopher. Whether he chose the name to commemorate himself or the patron saint of travelers is uncertain. He is sometimes but not definitively credited with naming Nevis as well. The name is a shortened form of "Nuestra Senora de las Nieves," meaning "Our Lady of the Snows" in an apparent reference to the frequent cloud cover hovering over Nevis' central peak, which resembles or was mistaken for snow. If Columbus did not bestow the name, it came from other Spanish navigators sailing in the area in the 16th century. English sailors in the 17th century shortened the name of this tiny two-island group, properly known as St. Christopher and Nevis, to St. Kitts and Nevis.
This small country maintains stretches of undisturbed volcanic-sand beaches and fairly extensive tropical forests. The impressively mountainous landscape is sometimes compared to vistas in the South Pacific. Legislation has been passed mandating that new construction must not exceed the height of surrounding trees. The two main cities-actually picturesque small towns-of Basseterre on St. Kitts and Charlestown on Nevis feature various examples of colonial architecture set alongside scenic harbors.
History and Economy
Although the islands are now experiencing accelerating tourist-related development, travel and tourism have not yet become as substantial a component of their economic base as is typical across much of the Caribbean. St. Kitts and Nevis are still largely agriculturally oriented; even more anachronistically, sugar remains a principal crop. Sugar was the historic motivation for European colonists to establish plantations across the West Indies, worked by the forced labor of African slaves whose descendants are now the area's dominant ethnic group. But nearly everywhere else in the region, other farm products have now superseded the importance of sugar.
Cultural Demography
The total population of St. Kitts and Nevis numbers about 50,000. The people of the larger island (68 square miles in area) are known as Kittitians and those of the smaller island (36 square miles) Nevisians.
The population of St. Kitts and Nevis is predominantly of African ancestry, with a small minority of people with mixed, European or Middle Eastern ancestries. The official language is English and Christianity, most prevalently Anglicanism, is the major religion. Evangelical Protestantism and Roman Catholicism also claim adherents on the islands. English is the official language.
Health and Welfare
Education in St. Kitts and Nevis is provided by the government on a compulsory basis up to age nine, and without cost up to age 16. The country's literacy rate is a very high 97 percent, although advanced education is rare: only about a third of adults have completed secondary education and only a minuscule fraction of this group have undertaken any post-secondary study.
The infant mortality rate is 13.74 deaths for every 1,000 live births. The average life expectancy in St. Kitts and Nevis is 73 years of age, according to recent estimates, although males have a slightly lower life expectancy than females. The population growth rate is 0.623 percent.
About 9.6 percent of GDP is spent on education in this country; about six percent of GDP is spent on health expenditures. Access to water and sanitation is regarded as very good.
Human Development
Another quality-of-life indicator that reflects on St. Kitts and Nevis is the Human Development Index (HDI), compiled annually since 1990 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The HDI is a composite of several indicators, which measure a country's achievements in three main arenas of human development: longevity, knowledge and education, as well as economic standard of living. In a recent ranking of 177 countries, the HDI placed the country in the high human development category, at 54th place. In a subsequent HDI ranking, St. Kitts and Nevis was omitted.
Note: Although the concept of human development is complicated and cannot be properly captured by values and indices, the HDI, which is calculated and updated annually, offers a wide-ranging assessment of human development in certain countries, not based solely upon traditional economic and financial indicators.