Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts and Nevis experienced declining poverty rates from 2001 to 2007, but poverty subsequently increased during the economic recession from 2008 to 2013. The latest national survey in 2007 (in East Caribbean dollars) estimated the poverty line at $7,329 on Saint Kitts and $9,788 on Nevis, and the indigence line at $2,595 per adult per year on Saint Kitts and $2,931 on Nevis. The vulnerability line was estimated at $9,161 for Saint Kitts and $12,235 for Nevis. ($1 equals roughly $2.70 East Caribbean dollars).

Nestled in the eastern Caribbean, the island nation has transitioned from a plantation economy in the 1970s to an international economy largely dependent on tourism and financial services. Such elevated dependence on the international economy has further exposed Saint Kitts and ...