The islands of St. Kitts and Nevis are said to be shaped like a baseball and bat.  The islands where first settled by the British in 1623, and became an associated state with full autonomy in 1967.  Saint Kitts and Nevis achieved independence on September 19^th, 1983, however, residents of Nevis tried unsuccessfully to separate from Saint Kitts in 1998, but fell short of the two-thirds majority vote needed.

 The two islands are about 1.5 times the size of Washington D.C. They are volcanic islands with a mountainous interior.  The weather is tropical with a constant sea breeze, there is little seasonal temperature variation.  Rainy season is from May to November. The two islands have a coastline in the shape of a baseball bat and ball; they are volcanic islands separated by a three kilometer wide channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of the long, baseball bat shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the center of its almost circular namesake island and its ball shape complements that of its sister island.

 The population of the islands is 40,000.  It is predominantly black; some British, Portuguese, and Lebanese.  The official language is English.  The official name is Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.

 The islands are a parliamentary democracy.  Queen Elizabeth II is the chief of state; Prime Minister Denzil Douglas is the head of government.  There are 14 Parishes within the islands and the official voting age is 18.  They celebrate their independence day on September 19^th.  The capital Basseterre.

 Sugar was the traditional mainstay of the Saint Kitts economy until the 1970’s.  The government closed the sugar industry following the 2005 harvest after decades of losses at the state-run sugar company.  The government has tried to compensate by diversifying the agricultural sector.  Today, the islands main agricultural products are sugarcane, rice, yams, bananas, and fish.  Activities such as tourism and offshore banking have assumed larger roles in the economy.  Tourism revenues are now the chief source of the islands’ foreign exchange; about 341,000 tourists visited Nevis in 2005.

 The budget for the islands is 128 million.  They export 70 million in machinery, food, electronics, beverages, and tobacco.  Their export partners are the U.S., Canada, and the UK.  They import 405 million dollars in machinery, manufactures, food, and fuels.  Their import partners are the US, Trinidad & Tobago, the UK, and France.  Their currency is the Eastern Caribbean Dollar; the exchange rate is 2.5 ECDs to every US Dollar.