Saint Christopher, also known as Saint Kitts, and Nevis are two islands, some 200 miles south east of Puerto Rico, which together form the sovereign Caribbean paradise known as the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. Saint Kitts and Nevis are green, serene and beautiful, from the top of the volcanic peaks on both islands to the miles on end of sandy beaches lapped by the clear azure waters of the Caribbean Sea. Saint Kitts, the larger of the two islands, is approximately 65 square miles in size with a population of 40,000 whilst Nevis is 36 square miles with a population of 12,106. It is impossible not to recognize the islands as, to borrow imagery from the national sporting pastime, the game of Cricket, St. Kitts is shaped like a bat and Nevis is shaped like a ball. This underscores the rivalry between the island when it comes to our national sport, cricket.
Direct access to St. Kitts by air from North America and Europe is via the gateways of Miami - Florida, New York City – New York, Atlanta – Georgia and Charlotte – North Carolina in the United States of America, San Juan in Puerto Rico and London-Gatwick in the United Kingdom. There are also daily flights from Antigua and St. Maarten on the regional airline, LIAT. American Eagle flies directly to Nevis daily and so too does LIAT from Antigua and Winair from St. Maarten.
Until 2005, the economy was primarily agriculture based. Sugar was king on the Island of St. Kitts and one can still see sugar cane bowing, dancing and waving in the breeze as one travels around St. Kitts. Today, tourism, financial services and offshore tertiary educational institutions are the engines of the economies on St. Kitts and Nevis. It is anticipated that in the not too distant future, the generation of geothermal power on the island of Nevis will further spur the growth and development of the twin island Federation.
St. Kitts and Nevis has a long history of parliamentary democracy based on the British system of government. There are two major political parties on each Island which are involved in managing the public affairs of the respective islands. Nevis has the power under the constitution to make its own laws to govern and regulate all business activities. It has its own legislature and its own executive arm led by the Premier, the head of the Government.