Description

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Tags: Countries, History, Lang:en

Summary

St. Kitts and Nevis History. St. Kitts and Nevis had a population of about 45,000 in 1986; population density was 167 per square kilometer. Despite a crude birth rate of 26 per 1,000 inhabitants, annual population change has been about zero or slightly negative since 1970 because of continued emigration; nearly 20 percent of the population left the island each year in search of employment. Most went to Canada, Britain, or the United States and its Caribbean territories.

The long trend of labor emigration from St. Kitts and Nevis was tied to its economic and social development. Both men and women emigrated with the understanding that remittances to family members at home were expected of them for the entire time they were abroad. Some researchers have suggested that these remittances accounted for a greater percentage of disposable income than wages and salaries earned at home