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Grenadines Encyclopedia
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Saint Kitts and Nevis
Officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis (or the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis), located in the Leeward Islands, is a unitary island nation in the Caribbean and the smallest nation in the Americas in both area and population. The capital city and government for the federated state is mainly on the larger island of Saint Kitts (formerly named Saint Christopher). The smaller state of Nevis (formerly named: Nuestra Se?ora de las Nieves) lies about 3 km southeast of Saint Kitts. Historically the British dependency of Anguilla was also a part of this union, which was then known collectively as Saint Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla.Although Saint Kitts and Nevis are geographically within the Leeward Islands, they are relatively close to a cluster of several other islands. To the north-northwest lie the islands of Saint Eustatius, Saba, Saint Barth?lemy, and Saint Martin. To the northeast are Antigua and Barbuda, and to the south-east is Montserrat.
Both the names Saint Christopher and Saint Kitts are given in the Constitution of Saint Christopher and Nevis.
Saint Kitts and Nevis is the smallest (in population) member of the United Nations in the American continent. Owing to the United Nations 'one state, one vote' system, its vote has the same weight as countries such as Brazil and Mexico, which are roughly 3,000 times more populous.
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