Map of Jamaica | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | 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. Subsequent governments have been open market oriented. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s.


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Location: Caribbean island in the Caribbean Sea south of Cuba

Geographic coordinates: 18 15 N 77 30 W

Map reference: Central America and the Caribbean

Area
Total: 10,990 km²
Land: 10,830 km²
Water: 160 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1022 km

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 24 NM
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
Extremes lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m

Natural resources: bauxite gypsum limestone

Land use
Arable land: 14%
Permanent crops: 6%
Permanent pastures: 24%
Forests and woodland: 17%
Other: 39% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 350 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: hurricanes (especially July to November)

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


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Population: 2,665,636 (July 2001 est.)
Growth rate: 0.51% (2001 est.)
Below poverty line: 34.2% (1992 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Jamaican
Adjective: Jamaican

Ethnic groups: black 90.9% East Indian 1.3% white 0.2% Chinese 0.2% mixed 7.3% other 0.1%

Languages: English Creole

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%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 29.7% (male 405,189; female 386,555)
15-64 years: 63.52% (male 845,226; female 847,944)
65 years and over: 6.78% (male 80,667; female 100,055) (2001 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.51% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 18.12 births/1000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 5.48 deaths/1000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: -7.52 migrant(s)/1000 population (2001 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

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
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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male/female
15-64 years: 1 male/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male/female
Total population: 1 male/female (2001 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 14.16 deaths/1000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.42 years
Male: 73.45 years
Female: 77.49 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.08 children born/woman (2001 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.71% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: 9,900 (1999 est.)
Deaths: 650 (1999 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
Total population: 85%
Male: 80.8%
Female: 89.1% (1995 est.)

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: 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

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 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
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]

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 (pending member) ILO IMF IMO Intelsat Interpol IOC IOM (observer) ISO ITU LAES NAM OAS OPANAL OPCW UN UN Security Council (temporary) UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UPU WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO

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 Stanley Louis MCLELLAND
From the us embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us telephone: [1] (876) 929-4,850 through 4,859
From the us fax: [1] (876) 926-6,743

Flag description: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer 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. Since assuming office in 1992 Prime Minister PATTERSON has eliminated most price controls streamlined tax schedules and privatized government enterprises. Continued tight monetary and fiscal policies have helped slow inflation - although inflationary pressures are mounting - and stabilize the exchange rate but have resulted in the slowdown of economic growth (moving from 1.5% in 1992 to 0.5% in 1995). In 1996 GDP showed negative growth (-1.4%) and remained negative through 1999. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; the weak financial condition of business in general resulting in receiverships or closures and downsizings of companies; the shift in investment portfolios to non-productive short-term high yield instruments; a pressured sometimes sliding exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt for government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy particularly the financial sector. Depressed economic conditions in 1999-2000 led to increased civil unrest including a mounting crime rate. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment in the productive sectors maintaining a competitive exchange rate stabilizing the labor environment selling off reacquired firms and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 0.2% (2000 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2000 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 7.4%
Industry: 35.2%
Services: 57.4% (1999 est.)

Agriculture products: sugarcane bananas coffee citrus potatoes vegetables; poultry goats milk

Industries: tourism bauxite textiles food processing light manufactures rum cement metal paper chemical products

Industrial production growth rate: -2% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 1.13 million (1998)
By occupation services: 60%
By occupation agriculture: 21%
By occupation industry: 19% (1998)

Unemployment rate: 16% (2000 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 34.2% (1992 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.9%
Highest 10: 28.9% (1996)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $2.23 billion
Expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million (FY99/00 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: 8.8% (2000 est.)

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: $1.7 billion (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: alumina bauxite; sugar bananas rum
Partners: US 35.7% EU (excluding UK) 15.8% UK 13% Canada 10.5% (1999)

Imports: $3 billion (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment construction materials fuel food chemicals fertilizers
Partners: US 47.8% Caricom countries 12.4% Latin America 7.2% EU (excluding UK) 4.7% (1999)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $4.7 billion (2000 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 45.557 (January 2001) 42.701 (2000) 39.044 (1999) 36.550 (1998) 35.404 (1997) 37.120 (1996)


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Electricity
Production: 6.53 billion kWh (1999)
Production by source fossil fuel: 92.28%
Production by source hydro: 1.36%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 6.36% (1999)
Consumption: 6.073 billion kWh (1999)
Exports: 0 kWh (1999)
Imports: 0 kWh (1999)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 353,000 (1996)
Mobile cellular: 54,640 (1996)

Telephone system
General assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network
Domestic: NA
International: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .jm
Service providers isps: 21 (2000)
Users: 60,000 (2000)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $30 million (FY95/96 est.)
Percent of gdp: NA%

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: 35 (2000 est.)
With paved runways total: 11
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: 5 (2000 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 24
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 2
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 22 (2000 est.)

Heliports

Pipelines: petroleum products 10 km

Railways
Total: 370 km
Standard gauge: 370 km 1.435-m gauge; note - 207 km belong to the Jamaica Railway Corporation in common carrier service, but are no longer operational; the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite

Roadways

Waterways: none

Merchant marine
Total: 1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,930 GRT/3,065 DWT
Ships by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2000 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs