Map of Jamaica | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023 | More stats

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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 and a more conservative government installed. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s.


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Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba

Geographic coordinates

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total area total: 10,990 km²
Land: 10,830 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1,022 km

Maritime claims
Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

Elevation

Natural resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone

Land use
Arable land: 19%
Permanent crops: 6%
Meadows and pastures: 18%
Forest and woodland: 28%
Other: 29%

Irrigated land: 350 km² (1989 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography
Note: strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal


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Population: 2,574,291 (July 1995 est.)
Growth rate: 0.78% (1995 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Jamaican(s)
Adjective: Jamaican

Ethnic groups: African 76.3%, Afro-European 15.1%, East Indian and Afro-East Indian 3%, white 3.2%, Chinese and Afro-Chinese 1.2%, other 1.2%

Languages: English, Creole

Religions: Protestant 55.9% (Church of God 18.4%, Baptist 10%, Anglican 7.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.9%, Pentecostal 5.2%, Methodist 3.1%, United Church 2.7%, other 2.5%), Roman Catholic 5%, other, including some spiritual cults 39.1% (1982)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 33% (female 412,565; male 431,043)
15-64 years: 60% (female 786,700; male 770,681)
65 years and over: 7% (female 96,348; male 76,954) (July 1995 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.78% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 22.03 births/1000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 5.62 deaths/1000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: -8.65 migrant(s)/1000 population (1995 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions
Current issues natural hazards: hurricanes (especially July to November)
Current issues international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 16.1 deaths/1000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74.65 years
Male: 72.39 years
Female: 77.01 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.42 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: age 15 and over has ever attended school (1987)
Total population: 82%
Male: 77%
Female: 86%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Jamaica

Government type: 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

Dependent areas

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard COOKE (since 1 August 1991)
Head of government: Prime Minister P. J. PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992); Deputy Prime Minister Seymour MULLINGS (since NA 1993)
Cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament
Senate: consists of a 21-member body appointed by the governor general
House of Representatives: elections last held 30 March 1993 (next to be held by March 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total) PNP 52, JLP 8

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: ACP, C, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Leighton BERNAL
In the us chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,036
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081
In the us consulates general: Miami and New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador J. Gary COOPER (since October 1994)
From the us embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us telephone: [1] (809) 929-4,850 through 4,859
From the us FAX: [1] (809) 926-6,743

Flag description: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and fly side)

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Key sectors in this island economy are bauxite (alumina and bauxite account for more than half of exports) and tourism. The government's tight fiscal and monetary policies, which have been partially successful in curbing inflation, have held growth to 1.2% in 1993 and 2.0% in 1994.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 2% (1994 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for about 7% of GDP, 22% of work force, and 17% of exports; commercial crops - sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; livestock and livestock products include poultry, goats, milk; not self-sufficient in grain, meat, and dairy products

Industries: bauxite mining, tourism, textiles, food processing, light manufactures

Industrial production growth rate: 0.4% (1992; accounts for almost 30% of GDP

Labor force: 1,062,100
By occupation services: 41%
By occupation agriculture: 22.5%
By occupation industry: 19%
By occupation unemployed: 17.5% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 15.7% (1992)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $600 million
Expenditures: $736 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY90/91 est.)

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Current account balance

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
Commodoties: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum
Partners: US 47%, UK 11%, Canada 9%, Norway 7%; France 4% (1993)

Imports: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
Commodoties: machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals
Partners: US 54%, Japan 4.0%, Mexico 6%, UK 4%, Venezuela 3% (1993)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $3.6 billion (1994 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1 - 33.195 (December 1994), 33.986 (1994), 24.949 (1993), 22.960 (1992), 12.116 (1991), 7.184 (1990)


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 2.6 billion kWh
Consumption per capita: 988 kWh (1993)

Electricity consumption

Electricity exports

Electricity imports

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular

Telephone system: 127,000 telephones; fully automatic domestic telephone network
Local: NA
Intercity: NA
International: 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations; 3 coaxial submarine cables

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $19.3 million, 1% of GDP (FY91/92)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 41
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With paved runways under 914 m: 31
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4

Airports with paved runways
2438 to 3047 m: 2
15-24 to 2437 m: 1
914 to 1523 m: 3
Under 914 m: 31

Airports with unpaved runways
914 to 1523 m: 4

Heliports

Pipelines: petroleum products 10 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,931 GRT/10,545 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 1, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine from Central and South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active cannabis eradication program