Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean, comprising the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis separated by a channel called The Narrows, with a total territory of 261 square kilometers, the smallest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere by both area and population. Basseterre, on Saint Kitts, is the capital and main port for cruise passengers and cargo, and the population numbers roughly 48,000. Saint Kitts was home to the first British and French colonies in the Caribbean, earning the islands the title the Mother Colony of the West Indies; the federation became an associated state of the United Kingdom with full internal self-government in 1964 before achieving independence on 19 September 1983, the most recent British Caribbean territory to do so. Saint Kitts and Nevis is a Commonwealth realm and constitutional monarchy, with King Charles III as head of state, represented locally by a governor-general.