Economy - overview:
Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the Saint Kitts economy until
the 1970s. Although the crop still dominates the agricultural
sector, activities such as tourism, export-oriented manufacturing,
and offshore banking have assumed larger roles in the economy. As
tourism revenues are now the chief source of the islands' foreign
exchange, a decline in stopover tourist arrivals following the
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks has eroded government finances.
The opening of a 1,000+ bed Marriott hotel in February 2003 is
expected to bring in much-needed revenue.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $339 million (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
-1.9% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.5%
industry: 25.8%
services: 70.7% (2001)
Population below poverty line:
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.7% (2001 est.)
Labor force:
18,172 (June 1995)
Labor force - by occupation:
NA
Unemployment rate:
4.5% (1997)
Budget:
revenues: $89.7 million
expenditures: $128.2 million, including capital expenditures of
$19.5 million (2003 est.)
Industries:
sugar processing, tourism, cotton, salt, copra, clothing, footwear,
beverages
Industrial production growth rate:
NA%
Electricity - production:
100.3 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
93.26 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
710 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Agriculture - products:
sugarcane, rice, yams, vegetables, bananas; fish
Exports:
$47 million (2001 est.)
Exports - commodities:
machinery, food, electronics, beverages, tobacco
Exports - partners:
US 66.5%, UK 7.6%, Canada 6.8%, Portugal 6% (2002)
Imports:
$152 million (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery, manufactures, food, fuels
Imports - partners:
US 41.6%, Trinidad and Tobago 16.2%, Canada 9.8%, UK 6.9%, Japan 4%
(2002)
Debt - external:
$171 million (2001)
Economic aid - recipient:
$8 million (2001)
Currency:
East Caribbean dollar (XCD)
Currency code:
XCD
Exchange rates:
East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7
(2000), 2.7 (1999), 2.7 (1998)
Fiscal year:
calendar year