Guide to Jamaica Introduction Background: Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a drop off in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s.
Geography 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
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 1,022 km
Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines territorial sea
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
Terrain: mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Elevation extremes: lowest point
Natural resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Land use: arable land
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
Geography - note: strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal
People Population: 2,731,832 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 0.71% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 16.56 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 5.37 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: -4.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 1.95 children born/woman (2005 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
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
Government Country name: conventional long form
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 note
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
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
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]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Hyacinth BENNETT]; 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, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
Flag description: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)
Economy Economy - overview: The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. The global economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted economic growth; the economy rebounded moderately in 2003-04, with brisk tourist seasons. But the economy faces serious long-term problems
GDP (purchasing power parity): $11.13 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.9% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $4,100 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 1.14 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 20.1%, industry 16.6%, services 63.4% (2003)
Unemployment rate: 15% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: 19.7% (2002 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 37.9 (2000)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12.4% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 32% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Public debt: 146.1% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, vegetables, poultry, goats, milk, crustaceans, and mollusks
Industries: tourism, bauxite/alumina, textiles, agro processing, wearing apparel, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications
Industrial production growth rate: -2% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production: 6.289 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 5.849 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: 66,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: NA
Oil - imports: NA
Current account balance: $-830.7 million (2004 est.)
Exports: $1.679 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels
Exports - partners: US 17.4%, Canada 14.8%, France 13%, China 10.5%, UK 8.7%, Netherlands 7.5%, Norway 6%, Germany 5.9% (2004)
Imports: $3.624 billion f.o.b. (2004 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 38.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.2%, France 5.6%, Japan 4.7% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $1.4 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external: $5.964 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $16 million (2003)
Currency (code): Jamaican dollar (JMD)
Currency code: JMD
Exchange rates: Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002), 45.996 (2001), 42.986 (2000)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 444,400 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.4 million (2002)
Telephone system: general assessment
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: 1,480 (2003)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 21 (2000)
Internet users: 600,000 (2002)
Transportation Railways: total
Highways: total
Ports and harbors: Kingston, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Port Rhoades, Rocky Point
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 35 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Military Military branches: Jamaica Defense Force
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 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $31.2 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 0.4% (2003)
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: none
Illicit drugs: major transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation 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
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
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