ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in St. Kitts and Nevis. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities, life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in St. Kitts and Nevis. The St. Kitts and Nevis national government is composed of the prime minister, the cabinet, and the bicameral legislative assembly. Elected assembly members, eight from St. Kitts and three from Nevis, serve five-year terms. In the 1993 elections, the St. Kitts Labor Party and the People's Action Movement each won four seats, though the former won the popular vote. The March 6 elections were free and fair. In the run-up to the secession referendum, Prime Minister Denzil Douglas promised to give Nevis a bigger role in federation affairs.
