Map of Jamaica | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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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. 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.


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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: 10,991 km²
Rank: 168
Land: 10,831 km²
Water: 160 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries: 0 km

Coastline: 1022 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
Extremes 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 km² (2008)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 9.4 km³ (2000)

Natural hazards: hurricanes (especially July to November)

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


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Population: 2,868,380 (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 139
Growth rate: 0.733% (2011 est.)
Growth rate rank: 137
Below poverty line: 16.5% (2009 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Jamaican
Adjective: Jamaican

Ethnic groups: black 91.2% mixed 6.2% other or unknown 2.6% (2001 census)

Languages: English English patois

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)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 30.1%
15-64 years: 62.3% (male 882,548/female 904,242)
65 years and over: 7.6% (male 97,717/female 120,602) (2011 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 24.2 years
Male: 23.7 years
Female: 24.7 years (2011 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.733% (2011 est.)
Rank: 137

Birth rate: 19.2 births/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 99

Death rate: 6.54 deaths/1000 population (July 2011 est.)
Rank: 149

Net migration rate: -5.34 migrant(s)/1000 population (2011 est.)
Rank: 195

Population distribution

Urbanization
Urban population: 52% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0.6% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

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 Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Marine Dumping Marine Life Conservation 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: 1.03 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 (2011 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 14.6 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 123
Male: 15.18 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 14 deaths/1000 live births (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.45 years
Rank: 116
Male: 71.79 years
Female: 75.19 years (2011 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.17 children born/woman (2011 est.)
Rank: 109

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 0.85 physicians/1000 population (2003)
Rank: 109

Hospital bed density: 1.7 beds/1000 population (2009)
Rank: 114

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 1.7% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 33
People living with hivaids: 32,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 68
Deaths: 1200 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 65

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 2.2% (2007)
Rank: 109

Education expenditures: 5.8% of GDP (2009)
Rank: 35

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
Total population: 87.9%
Male: 84.1%
Female: 91.6% (2003 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 14 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 15 years (2008)

Youth unemployment


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

Government type: constitutional parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

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

Dependent areas

Independence: 6 August 1962 (from the UK)

National holiday: Independence Day 6 August (1962)

Constitution: 6 August 1962

Legal system: common law system based on the English model

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II ; represented by Governor General Dr. Patrick L. ALLEN (since 26 February 2009)
Head of government: Prime Minister Andrew HOLNESS (since 23 October 2011)
Cabinet: Cabinet is appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
Elections: the monarchy 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

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 elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Elections: last held on 3 September 2007 (next to be held no later than December 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; Privy Council in UK; member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)

Political parties and leaders: Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Andrew HOLNESS]; People's National Party or PNP [Portia SIMPSON-MILLER]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Michael WILLIAMS]

International organization participation: ACP AOSIS C Caricom CDB FAO G-15 G-77 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICRM IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM ISO ITSO ITU LAES MIGA NAM OAS OPANAL OPCW PetroCaribe RG UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNITAR UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Audrey P. MARKS
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 consulate general: Miami New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela BRIDGEWATER
From the us embassy: 142 Old Hope Road Kingston 6
From the us mailing address: P.O. Box 541 Kingston 5
From the us telephone: [1] (876) 702-6,000
From the us fax: [1] (876) 702-6,001

Flag description: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side); green represents hope vegetation and agriculture black reflects hardships overcome and to be faced and yellow recalls golden sunshine and the island's natural resources

National symbols: green-and-black streamertail (bird)

National anthem
Name: 'Jamaica Land We Love'
Lyricsmusic: Hugh Braham SHERLOCK/Robert Charles LIGHTBOURNE
Note: adopted 1962

National heritage


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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 15% of GDP and exports of bauxite and alumina make up about 10%. The bauxite/alumina sector was most affected by the global downturn while the tourism industry was resilient experiencing an increase of 4% in tourist arrivals. Tourism revenues account for roughly 10% of GDP and both arrivals and revenues grew in 2010 up 4% and 6% respectively. The Economic growth faces many challenges: high crime and corruption large-scale unemployment and underemployment and a debt-to-GDP ratio of more than 120%. Jamaica's onerous public debt burden - the fourth highest in the world on a per capita basis - is the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy most notably to the financial sector in the mid-to-late 1990s. In early 2010 the Jamaican government created the Jamaica Debt Exchange (JDX) in order to retire high-priced domestic bonds and significantly reduce annual debt servicing. The Government of Jamaica signed a $1.27 billion 27-month Standby Agreement with the International Monetary Fund for balance of payment support in February 2010. Other multilaterals have also provided millions of dollars in loans and grants. Despite the improvement debt servicing costs still hinder the government's ability to spend on infrastructure and social programs particularly as job losses rise in a shrinking economy. The GOLDING administration faces the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious crime problem that is hampering economic growth. High unemployment exacerbates the crime problem including gang violence

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 117
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 199

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 119
Note: data are in 2010 US dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 5.8%
Industry: 30%
Services: 64.3% (2010 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: -2% (2010 est.)
Rank: 155

Labor force: 1.317 million (2010 est.)
Rank: 135
By occupation agriculture: 17%
By occupation industry: 19%
By occupation services: 64% (2006)

Unemployment rate: 11.4% (2009 est.)
Rank: 130

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 16.5% (2009 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.1%
Highest 10: 35.8% (2004)

Distribution of family income gini index: 37.9 (2000)
Rank: 38

Budget
Revenues: $3.607 billion
Expenditures: $4.458 billion (2010 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -6.2% of GDP (2010 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 165

Taxes and other revenues: 26.3% of GDP (2010 est.)
Rank: 114

Public debt: 129.7% of GDP (2009 est.)
Rank: 7

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 9.6% (2009 est.)
Rank: 208

Central bank discount rate:

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 16.43% (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 37

Stock of narrow money: $1.349 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 127

Stock of broad money: $5.384 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 117

Stock of domestic credit: $7.165 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 104

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 76

Current account balance: -$1.126 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 133

Exports: $1.388 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 146
Commodities: alumina bauxite sugar rum coffee yams beverages chemicals wearing apparel mineral fuels
Partners: US 34% Canada 15.8% Norway 9.4% UK 6.6% Netherlands 6.1% (2010)

Imports: $4.476 billion (2009 est.)
Rank: 121
Commodities: food and other consumer goods industrial supplies fuel parts and accessories of capital goods machinery and transport equipment construction materials
Partners: US 32.6% Venezuela 15% Trinidad and Tobago 14.5% China 4.6% (2010)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $2.076 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 109

Debt external: $10.77 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
Rank: 88

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 7.323 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Production rank: 101
Consumption: 6.4 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 105
Exports: 0 kWh (2009 est.)
Imports: 0 kWh (2009 est.)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2009 est.)
Production rank: 198
Consumption: 0 m³ (2009 est.)
Consumption rank: 190
Exports: 0 m³ (2009 est.)
Exports rank: 120
Imports: 0 m³ (2009 est.)
Imports rank: 138
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2011 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 150

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 263,100 (2010)
Main lines in use rank: 121
Mobile cellular: 3.103 million (2010)
Mobile cellular rank: 120

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 while the number of fixed-lines in use has declined; combined mobile-cellular teledensity exceeded 110 per 100 persons in 2009
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) (2008)

Broadcast media: privately-owned Radio Jamaica Limited and its subsidiaries operate multiple television stations subscription cable services and radio stations; 2 other privately-owned television stations broadcast; roughly 70 radio stations (2007)

Internet
Country code: .jm
Hosts: 3,099 (2010)
Hosts rank: 143
Users: 1.581 million (2009)
Users rank: 80

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 0.6% of GDP (2006 est.)
Rank: 158

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; younger recruits may be conscripted with parental consent (2001)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 27 (2010)
Rank: 122
With paved runways total: 12
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With paved runways under 914 m: 7 (2010)
With unpaved runways total: 15
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 15 (2010)

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways
Total: 22,121 km (2008)
Rank: 107

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 19
Rank: 100
By type: bulk carrier 9 cargo 5 container 4 roll on/roll off 1
Foreign owned: 19 (Denmark 1 Germany 10 Greece 8) (2010)

Ports and terminals: Discovery Bay (Port Rhoades) Kingston Montego Bay Port Antonio Port Esquivel Port Kaiser Rocky Point


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

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 fav