Saint Kitts and Nevis Economy Profile 2013

Economy - overview

The economy of Saint Kitts and Nevis depends on tourism; since the 1970s tourism has replaced sugar as the traditional mainstay of the economy. Following the 2005 harvest, the government closed the sugar industry, after several decades of losses. To compensate for lost jobs, the government has embarked on a program to diversify the agricultural sector and to stimulate other sectors of the economy, such as export-oriented manufacturing and offshore banking. Roughly 200,000 tourists visited the islands in 2009, but reduced tourism arrivals and foreign investment led to an economic contraction in 2009-2012, and the economy has not yet returned to growth. Like other tourist destinations in the Caribbean, St. Kitts and Nevis is vulnerable to damage from natural disasters and shifts in tourism demand. Furthermore, the government is constrained by one of the world's highest public debt burdens - equivalent to roughly 140% of GDP in 2012 - largely attributable to public enterprise losses.

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$890 million (2012 est.)
$889.2 million (2011 est.)
$908.2 million (2010 est.)
note: data are in 2012 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$738 million (2012 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

0% (2012 est.)
-2% (2011 est.)
-2.7% (2010 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$15,500 (2012 est.)
$15,800 (2011 est.)
$16,500 (2010 est.)
note: data are in 2012 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 1.5%
industry: 16.4%
services: 82.1% (2012 est.)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Labor force

18,170 (June 1995)

Unemployment rate

4.5% (1997)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Budget

revenues: $185.2 million
expenditures: $222.2 million (2012 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

25.1% of GDP (2012 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-5% of GDP (2012 est.)

Public debt

144% of GDP (2012 est.)
154% of GDP (2011 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

0.7% (2012 est.)
9.8% (2011 est.)

Central bank discount rate

6.5% (31 December 2009)
6.5% (31 December 2008)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

9% (31 December 2012 est.)
9.2% (31 December 2011 est.)

Stock of narrow money

$317.5 million (31 December 2011 est.)
$275.6 million (31 December 2010 est.)

Stock of money

$107.2 million (31 December 2008)
$97.31 million (31 December 2007)

Stock of broad money

$964.1 million (31 December 2011 est.)
$879.1 million (31 December 2010 est.)

Stock of quasi money

$680.6 million (31 December 2008)
$688.6 million (31 December 2007)

Stock of domestic credit

$963 million (31 December 2012 est.)
$860 million (31 December 2011 est.)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$598.4 million (31 December 2011)
$623.9 million (31 December 2010)
$648 million (31 December 2009)

Agriculture - products

sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish

Industries

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

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

Current Account Balance

-$133.8 million (2012 est.)
-$133.8 million (2011 est.)

Exports

$58.6 million (2012 est.)
$58.6 million (2011 est.)

Exports - commodities

machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco

Exports - partners

US 57.7%, Canada 9.8%, Russia 5.2%, Germany 4.2% (2011)

Imports

$315.7 million (2012 est.)
$315.7 million (2011 est.)

Imports - commodities

machinery, manufactures, food, fuels

Imports - partners

Algeria 60.4%, US 14.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 7.8% (2011)

Debt - external

$189.1 million (31 December 2012 est.)
$199.1 million (31 December 2011 est.)

Exchange rates

East Caribbean dollars (XCD) per US dollar -
2.7 (2012 est.)
2.7 (2011 est.)
2.7 (2010 est.)
2.7 (2009)

Fiscal year

calendar year