World Factbook
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Area
land
261 sq km
water
0 sq km
total
261 sq km (Saint Kitts 168 sq km; Nevis 93 sq km)
Climate
tropical, tempered by constant sea breezes; little seasonal temperature variation; rainy season (May to November)
Terrain
volcanic with mountainous interiors
Land use
other
34.6% (2023 est.)
forest
42.3% (2023 est.)
agricultural land
23.1% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: arable land
arable land: 19.2% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent crops
permanent crops: 0.4% (2023 est.)
agricultural land: permanent pasture
permanent pasture: 3.5% (2023 est.)
Location
Caribbean, islands in the Caribbean Sea, about one-third of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago
Coastline
135 km
Elevation
lowest point
Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point
Mount Liamuiga 1,156 m
Irrigated land
8 sq km (2012)
Map references
Central America and the Caribbean
Land boundaries
total
0 km
Maritime claims
contiguous zone
24 nm
territorial sea
12 nm
continental shelf
200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin
exclusive economic zone
200 nm
Natural hazards
hurricanes (July to October) volcanism: Mount Liamuiga (1,156 m) on Saint Kitts and Nevis Peak (985 m) on Nevis are part of the volcanic-island arc of the Lesser Antilles, which extends from Saba in the north to Grenada in the south
Geography - note
smallest country in the Western Hemisphere in terms of both area and population; the two volcanic islands are separated by a 3-km-wide (9-mi-wide) channel called The Narrows; on the southern tip of baseball-bat-shaped Saint Kitts lies the Great Salt Pond; Nevis Peak sits in the center of its ball-shaped namesake island
Natural resources
arable land
Area - comparative
1.5 times the size of Washington, D.C.
Geographic coordinates
17 20 N, 62 45 W
Population distribution
population clusters are found in the small towns located on the periphery of both islands