St. Kitts & Nevis Economy Puts Robust Numbers on the Board, Officials Say

Director of Economic Affairs and Public Sector Investment Planning in the St. Kitts & Nevis’ Ministry of Sustainable Development, Howard Richardson, said economic growth performance on the islands in 2005 was driven by robust growth in communications (14.8 percent), hotels and restaurants (7.5 percent), banking and insurance (7.5 percent), wholesale and retail trade (6.3 percent) and construction (5.7 percent).

The construction industry in St. Kitts and Nevis contributed an average of 16.7 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) between 2001 and 2005, while the hotels and restaurants sectors in 2003 and 2004, averaged 30.6 percent over this two year period.

Mr. Richardson said that real economic growth in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis averaged 2.3 percent during 2001-2005. This average rate of growth was 2.8 percentage points below the average rate of 5.1 percent for the previous five-year period.

The growth rate during the period under review was uneven, falling from 1.7 percent in 2001 to 1.3 percent in 2003, and then increasing significantly to 7.3 percent in 2004 before falling to 4.1 percent in 2005.