An Overview of the Economy
St. Kitts and Nevis is a federation where tourism, agriculture
and small manufacturing industries dominate the economy. Many sugar
cane plantations take over a lot of the islands' land. The
government is developing its tourism, agriculture, manufacturing
and banking sectors which will in time improve economic growth.
The economy has suffered in the past from hurricanes in 1998 and
1999. After the September 11 disaster St. Kitts saw a drop in GDP
growth in 2001 and 2002 due to a lack of tourist activity,
reconstruction developments and few retail sales. Since 2003 the
island has finally seen a rise in economic activity, which can
be attributed mainly to growth in the tourism
sector.
| statistics |
|
| GDP (PPP) (IMF) (US$Billions) |
0.7 |
| GDP (PPP) (CIA) (US$Billions) |
0.7 |
| GDP Growth (IMF) (%) |
3.3% |
| GDP Growth (CIA) (%) |
3.3% |
| GDP Per Capita (PPP) (IMF) |
13,888 |
| GDP Per Capita (PPP) (CIA) |
13,900 |
| GDP by Sector (%) |
Agriculture: 3.5%
Services: 70.7%
Industry: 25.8 |
| Inflation (%) |
4.5% |
| Population Below the Poverty Line (%) |
- |
| Labour Force (Millions) |
0.18 |
| Unemployment (%) |
4.5% (1997) |
| Main Industries |
Tourism, cotton, salt, copra,
clothing, footwear, beverages. |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, IMF
GDP
| economic indicators |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
| GDP (US$Billions) |
0.36 |
0.40 |
0.44 |
0.50 |
0.53 |
| GDP Growth (%) |
0.6% |
4.0% |
3.5% |
3.6% |
3.3% |
| GDP Per Capita (US$) |
8,843 |
9,522 |
10,257 |
11,037 |
10,143 |
| GDP Per Capita (PPP) (US$) |
11,064 |
12,054 |
12,414 |
13,355 |
13,900 |
| Inflation (%) |
2.3% |
2.1% |
1.8% |
2.0% |
4.5% |
| Mobile Phone Users |
205 |
5,000 |
5,000 |
10,000 |
10,000 |
| Internet Users |
2,000 |
10,000 |
10,000 |
10,000 |
10,000 |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, IMF
Major Exports & Imports
The island is very small and with the growing number of tourists
visiting the island, more imports are needed to sustain the gradual
grow in numbers. It is estimated that St. Kitts imported $405
million worth of goods to $70 million worth of good exported.
Major exports 2007
Machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco.
major imports 2007
Machinery, manufactures, food, fuels.
| export partners |
% of total |
| US |
62.0% |
| Canada |
9.4% |
| Netherlands |
6.6% |
| Azerbaijan |
5.0% |
| import partners |
% of total |
| US |
48.9% |
| Trinidad & Tobago |
13.1% |
| Spain |
4.6% |
| UK |
4.5% |
Source: CIA World Factbook
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