Economy - overviewSugar was the traditional mainstay of the Saint Kitts economy until the 1970s. Following the 2005 harvest, the government closed the sugar industry after decades of losses of 3-4% of GDP annually. To compensate for employment losses, 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 and have contributed to the recent robust growth. Tourism revenues are now the chief source of the islands' foreign exchange; about 341,800 tourists visited Nevis in 2005. The current government is constrained by a high debt burden, public debt reached 190% of GDP by the end of 2005, largely attributable to public enterprise losses. GDP (purchasing power parity)$726 million (2006 est.) GDP (official exchange rate)$520 million (2007 est.) GDP - real growth rate6% (2007 est.) GDP - per capita (PPP)$8,200 (2005 est.) GDP - composition by sectoragriculture: 3.5% Population below poverty lineNA% Household income or consumption by percentage sharelowest 10%: NA% Inflation rate (consumer prices)8.7% (2005 est.) Labor force18,170 (June 1995) Unemployment rate4.5% (1997) Budgetrevenues: $89.7 million Industriestourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear, beverages Industrial production growth rateNA% Electricity - production125 million kWh (2005) Electricity - consumption116.3 million kWh (2005) Electricity - exports0 kWh (2005) Electricity - imports0 kWh (2005) Oil - production0 bbl/day (2005 est.) Oil - consumption900 bbl/day (2005 est.) Oil - imports871.6 bbl/day (2004) Oil - exports0 bbl/day (2004) Oil - proved reserves0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.) Natural gas - production0 cu m (2005 est.) Natural gas - consumption0 cu m (2005 est.) Natural gas - exports0 cu m (2005 est.) Natural gas - imports0 cu m (2005) Natural gas - proved reserves0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.) Agriculture - productssugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish Exports$84 million (2006) Exports - commoditiesmachinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco Exports - partnersUS 62%, Canada 9.4%, Netherlands 6.6%, Azerbaijan 5% (2006) Imports$383 million (2006) Imports - commoditiesmachinery, manufactures, food, fuels Imports - partnersUS 48.9%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.1%, Spain 4.6%, UK 4.5% (2006) Debt - external$314 million (2004) Economic aid - recipient$3.52 million (2005) Currency (code)East Caribbean dollar (XCD) Exchange ratesEast Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2007), 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003) Fiscal yearcalendar year |
|
|
Source: CIA World Factbook | |