Legend:
Definition
Field Listing
|
Background:
|
Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a dropoff in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Subsequent governments have been open market oriented. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s.
|
|
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 baselines
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to edge of the continental margin
contiguous zone: 24 NM
|
|
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: 16%
permanent crops: 9%
other: 75% (1998 est.)
|
|
Irrigated land:
|
250 sq km (1998 est.)
|
|
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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, 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
|
|
Population:
|
2,680,029 (July 2002 est.)
|
|
Age structure:
|
0-14 years: 29.1% (male 399,249; female 380,864)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 858,433; female 859,174)
65 years and over: 6.8% (male 81,321; female 100,988) (2002 est.)
|
|
Population growth rate:
|
0.56% (2002 est.)
|
|
Birth rate:
|
17.74 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
|
|
Death rate:
|
5.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
|
|
Net migration rate:
|
-6.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
|
|
Sex ratio:
|
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
|
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
13.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
|
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 75.64 years
female: 77.73 years (2002 est.)
male: 73.65 years
|
|
Total fertility rate:
|
2.05 children born/woman (2002 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
0.71% (1999 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|
9,900 (1999 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|
650 (1999 est.)
|
|
Nationality:
|
noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican
|
|
Ethnic groups:
|
black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1%
|
|
Religions:
|
Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other, including some spiritual cults 34.7%
|
|
Languages:
|
English, patois English
|
|
Literacy:
|
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 85%
male: 80.8%
female: 89.1% (1995 est.)
|
|
Country name:
|
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica
|
|
Government type:
|
constitutional parliamentary democracy
|
|
Capital:
|
Kingston
|
|
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
|
|
Independence:
|
6 August 1962 (from UK)
|
|
National holiday:
|
Independence Day, first Monday in 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 Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991)
head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Seymour MULLINGS (since NA 1993)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general
|
|
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 eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 18 December 1997 (next to be held by March 2002)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PNP 50, JLP 10
|
|
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 [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON]
|
|
Political pressure groups and leaders:
|
New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)
|
|
International organization participation:
|
ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
|
|
Diplomatic representation in the US:
|
chief of mission: Ambassador Seymour MULLINGS
consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081
telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
|
|
Diplomatic representation from the US:
|
chief of mission: Ambassador Sue McCourt COBB
embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859
FAX: [1] (876) 926-6743
|
|
Flag description:
|
diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)
|
|
Economy - overview:
|
The economy, which depends heavily on tourism and bauxite, has been stagnant since 1995. After five years of recession, the economy grew 0.8% in 2000 and 1.1% in 2001, but the global economic slowdown, particularly in the United States after the 11 September terrorist attacks, has stunted the economic recovery. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy, particularly the financial sector. Depressed economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including a mounting crime rate. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment, maintaining a competitive exchange rate, selling off reacquired firms, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies.
|
|
GDP:
|
purchasing power parity - $9.8 billion (2001 est.)
|
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
1.1% (2001 est.)
|
|
GDP - per capita:
|
purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2001 est.)
|
|
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 7%
industry: 28%
services: 65% (2000 est.)
|
|
Population below poverty line:
|
34.2% (1992 est.)
|
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 28.9% (1996)
|
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
36.4 (1996)
|
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
6.9% (2001 est.)
|
|
Labor force:
|
1.13 million (1998)
|
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998)
|
|
Unemployment rate:
|
16% (2000 est.)
|
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $2.23 billion
expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million (FY99/00 est.)
|
|
Industries:
|
tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products
|
|
Industrial production growth rate:
|
-2% (2000 est.)
|
|
Electricity - production:
|
6.74 billion kWh (2000)
|
|
Electricity - production by source:
|
fossil fuel: 89.44%
hydro: 3.22%
other: 7.34% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
|
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
6.27 billion kWh (2000)
|
|
Electricity - exports:
|
0 kWh (2000)
|
|
Electricity - imports:
|
0 kWh (2000)
|
|
Agriculture - products:
|
sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk
|
|
Exports:
|
$1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
|
|
Exports - commodities:
|
alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum
|
|
Exports - partners:
|
US 35.7%, EU (excluding UK) 15.9%, UK 13%, Canada 10.5% (1999)
|
|
Imports:
|
$3.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
|
|
Imports - commodities:
|
machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers
|
|
Imports - partners:
|
US 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%, Latin America 7.2%, EU (excluding UK) 4.7% (1999)
|
|
Debt - external:
|
$5.2 billion (2001 est.)
|
|
Economic aid - recipient:
|
$102.7 million (1995)
|
|
Currency:
|
Jamaican dollar (JMD)
|
|
Currency code:
|
JMD
|
|
Exchange rates:
|
Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 47.277 (December 2001), 45.996 (2001), 42.701 (2000), 39.044 (1999), 36.550 (1998), 35.404 (1997)
|
|
Fiscal year:
|
1 April - 31 March
|
|
Railways:
|
total: 272 km
standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge; note - 207 km, belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation, were in common carrier service but are no longer operational; the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite (2000)
|
|
Highways:
|
total: 19,000 km
paved: 13,433 km
unpaved: 5,567 km (1997)
|
|
Waterways:
|
none
|
|
Pipelines:
|
petroleum products 10 km
|
|
Ports and harbors:
|
Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf)
|
|
Merchant marine:
|
total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 21,954 GRT/25,250 DWT
ships by type: petroleum tanker 1, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Latvia 2, United States 2 (2002 est.)
|
|
Airports:
|
35 (2001)
|
|
Airports - with paved runways:
|
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 5 (2001)
|
|
Airports - with unpaved runways:
|
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 22 (2001)
|
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
|
