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Introduction | Jamaica

Background: | The island - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino Indians, who had inhabited Jamaica for centuries, were gradually exterminated and replaced by African slaves. England seized the island in 1655 and established a plantation economy based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of whom became small farmers. Jamaica gradually obtained increasing independence from Britain, and in 1958 it joined other British Caribbean colonies in forming the Federation of the West Indies. Jamaica gained full independence when it withdrew from the Federation in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs affiliated with the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. Violent crime, drug trafficking, and poverty pose significant challenges to the government today. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy.

Geography | Jamaica

Location: | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
Geographic coordinates: | 18 15 N, 77 30 W
Map references: | Central America and the Caribbean
Area: | total: 10,991 sq km land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than Connecticut
Land boundaries: | 0 km
Coastline: | 1,022 km
Maritime claims: | measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
Climate: | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
Terrain: | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m
Natural resources: | bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Land use: | arable land: 15.83% permanent crops: 10.01% other: 74.16% (2005)
Irrigated land: | 250 sq km (2002)
Total renewable water resources: | 9.4 cu km (2000)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): | total: 0.41 cu km/yr (34%/17%/49%) per capita: 155 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards: | hurricanes (especially July to November)
Environment - current issues: | heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal

People | Jamaica

Population: | 2,804,332 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 32% (male 455,871/female 440,928) 15-64 years: 60.6% (male 837,241/female 861,906) 65 years and over: 7.4% (male 93,415/female 114,971) (2008 est.)
Median age: | total: 23.4 years male: 22.9 years female: 24 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate: | 0.779% (2008 est.)
Birth rate: | 20.04 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate: | 6.37 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate: | -5.88 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 15.57 deaths/1,000 live births male: 16.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 73.59 years male: 71.88 years female: 75.38 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 2.3 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 1.2% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 22,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 900 (2003 est.)
Nationality: | noun: Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican
Ethnic groups: | black 91.2%, mixed 6.2%, other or unknown 2.6% (2001 census)
Religions: | Protestant 62.5% (Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, Pentecostal 9.5%, Other Church of God 8.3%, Baptist 7.2%, New Testament Church of God 6.3%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.3%, Anglican 3.6%, other Christian 7.7%), Roman Catholic 2.6%, other or unspecified 14.2%, none 20.9%, (2001 census)
Languages: | English, English patois
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.)

Government | Jamaica

Country name: | conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jamaica
Government type: | constitutional parliamentary democracy
Capital: | name: Kingston geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Administrative divisions: | 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation
Independence: | 6 August 1962 (from UK)
National holiday: | Independence Day, 6 August (1962)
Constitution: | 6 August 1962
Legal system: | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Kenneth O. HALL (since 15 February 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Bruce GOLDING (since 11 September 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister
Legislative branch: | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated 8 seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 3 September 2007 (next to be held no later than October 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - JLP 50.1%, PNP 49.8%; seats by party - JLP 33, PNP 27
Judicial branch: | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders: | Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Portia SIMPSON-MILLER]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Michael WILLIAMS]
Political pressure groups and leaders: | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)
International organization participation: | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Anthony JOHNSON chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON embassy: 142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6 mailing address: P.O. Box 541, Kingston 5 telephone: [1] (876) 702-6000 FAX: [1] (876) 702-6348
Flag description: | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)

Economy | Jamaica

Economy - overview: | The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for more than 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Remittances account for nearly 20% of GDP and are equivalent to tourism revenues. Jamaica's economy, already saddled with a record of sluggish growth, will suffer an economic setback from damages caused by Hurricane Dean in August 2007. The economy faces serious long-term problems: high but declining interest rates, increased foreign competition, exchange rate instability, a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a debt-to-GDP ratio of 135%. Jamaica's onerous debt burden - the fourth highest per capita - is the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-to-late 1990s. Inflation also has declined, standing at about 7% at the end of 2007. High unemployment exacerbates the serious crime problem, including gang violence that is fueled by the drug trade. The GOLDING administration faces the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem that is hampering economic growth.
GDP (purchasing power parity): | $20.67 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): | $11.21 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 1.4% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP): | $7,700 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 5.1% industry: 32.7% services: 62.2% (2007 est.)
Labor force: | 1.255 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 17% industry: 19% services: 64% (2006)
Unemployment rate: | 9.9% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line: | 14.8% (2003 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 2.1% highest 10%: 35.8% (2004)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 45.5 (2004)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 9.3% (2007 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): | 34.2% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $3.707 billion expenditures: $4.251 billion (2007 est.)
Public debt: | 127.2% of GDP (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products: | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks
Industries: | tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications
Industrial production growth rate: | 1.2% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production: | 6.985 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 96.8% hydro: 1.8% nuclear: 0% other: 1.4% (2001)
Electricity - consumption: | 6.131 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports: | 0 kWh (2005)
Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 72,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports: | 1,531 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports: | 71,420 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves: | 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports: | 0 cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves: | 0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Current account balance: | -$1.623 billion (2007 est.)
Exports: | $2.331 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities: | alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels
Exports - partners: | US 30.2%, Canada 15.6%, China 15.2%, UK 10.3%, Netherlands 7%, Norway 4.6% (2006)
Imports: | $5.784 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities: | food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials
Imports - partners: | US 39.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.6%, Venezuela 9.5% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient: | $35.74 million (2005)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $1.905 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external: | $9.657 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares: | $12.28 billion (2006)
Currency (code): | Jamaican dollar (JMD)
Currency code: | JMD
Exchange rates: | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 69.034 (2007), 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003)
Fiscal year: | 1 April - 31 March

Communications | Jamaica

Telephones - main lines in use: | 319,000 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 2.804 million (2005)
Telephone system: | general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network domestic: the 1999 agreement to open the market for telecommunications services resulted in rapid growth in mobile-cellular telephone usage; mobile-cellular teledensity now exceeds 100 per 100 persons; the number of fixed-lines in use has been declining international: country code - 1-876; the Fibralink submarine cable network provides enhanced delivery of business and broadband traffic and is linked to the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) submarine cable in the Dominican Republic; the link to ARCOS-1 provides seamless connectivity to US, parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: | 1.215 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: | 7 (1997)
Televisions: | 460,000 (1997)
Internet country code: | .jm
Internet hosts: | 1,213 (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 21 (2000)
Internet users: | 1.232 million (2005)

Transportation | Jamaica

Airports: | 34 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 21 (2007)
Roadways: | total: 21,552 km paved: 15,937 km (includes 33 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,615 km (2005)
Merchant marine: | total: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 161,700 GRT/241,663 DWT by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 2, carrier 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 12 (Denmark 1, Germany 1, Greece 8, Latvia 2) registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007)
Ports and terminals: | Kingston, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Port Rhoades, Rocky Point

Military | Jamaica

Military branches: | Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing (2007)
Military service age and obligation: | 18 years of age for voluntary military service; younger recruits may be conscripted with parental consent (2001)
Manpower available for military service: | males age 16-49: 688,480 females age 16-49: 709,548 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: | males age 16-49: 566,477 females age 16-49: 583,075 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually: | males age 16-49: 32,000 females age 16-49: 31,428 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 0.6% (2006 est.)

Transnational Issues | Jamaica

Disputes - international: | none
Illicit drugs: | transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation and consumption of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions

This page was last updated on 19 June, 2008