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 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 increased its 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
Land: 10,831 km²
Water: 160 km²
Rank: 167
Comparative: about half the size of New Jersey; 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
Mean elevation: 18 m
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m: highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m

Natural resources: bauxite gypsum limestone

Land use
Agricultural land: 41.4%
Forest: 31.1%
Other: 27.5%

Irrigated land: 250 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: hurricanes (especially July to November)

Geography
Note: third largest island in the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola); strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal


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Population
Distribution: population density is high throughout but increases in and around Kingston Montego Bay and Port Esquivel: 2,990,561 (July 2017 est.)
Rank: 138
Growth rate: 0.68% (2017 est.)
Growth rate rank: 145
Below poverty line: 16.5% (2009 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Jamaican
Adjective: Jamaican

Ethnic groups: black 92.1% mixed 6.1% East Indian 0.8% other 0.4% unspecified 0.7% (2011 est.)

Languages: English English patois

Religions: Protestant 64.8% (includes Seventh Day Adventist 12.0% Pentecostal 11.0% Other Church of God 9.2% New Testament Church of God 7.2% Baptist 6.7% Church of God in Jamaica 4.8% Church of God of Prophecy 4.5% Anglican 2.8% United Church 2.1% Methodist 1.6% Revived 1.4% Brethren 0.9% and Moravian 0.7%) Roman Catholic 2.2% Jehovah's Witness 1.9% Rastafarian 1.1% other 6.5% none 21.3% unspecified 2.3% (2011 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 27.17%
15-24 years: 20.79%
25-54 years: 38.17%
55-64 years: 5.85%
65 years and over: 8.02% (2017 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 48.7
Youth dependency ratio: 34.9
Elderly dependency ratio: 13.8
Potential support ratio: 7.2

Median age
Total: 26 years
Male: 25.5 years
Female: 26.5 years
Rank: 151

Population growth rate: 0.68% (2017 est.)
Rank: 145

Birth rate: 17.9 births/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 99

Death rate: 6.8 deaths/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 135

Net migration rate: -4.3 migrant(s)/1000 population (2017 est.)
Rank: 185

Population distribution: population density is high throughout but increases in and around Kingston Montego Bay and Port Esquivel

Urbanization
Urban population: 55.3% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0.93% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: KINGSTON (capital) 588,000 (2015)

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 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
0-14 years: 1.04 male/female
15-24 years: 1.01 male/female
25-54 years: 0.98 male/female
55-64 years: 0.93 male/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male/female
Total population: 0.98 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth: 21.2 years
Note: median age at first birth among women 25-29

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 12.8 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 13.4 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 12.3 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 111

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.7 years
Male: 72.1 years
Female: 75.4 years
Rank: 130

Total fertility rate: 1.96 children born/woman (2017 est.)
Rank: 126

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 72.5% (2008/09)

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 0.41 physicians/1000 population (2008)

Hospital bed density: 1.7 beds/1000 population (2012)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 1.7% (2016 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 30
People living with hivaids: 30,000 (2016 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 67
Deaths: 1300 (2016 est.)
Deaths rank: 60

Major infectious diseases
Note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country ; it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex via blood transfusion or during pregnancy in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus (2016)

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 24.7% (2016)
Rank: 55

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 2.5% (2012)
Rank: 112

Education expenditures: 5.4% of GDP (2015)
Rank: 40

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
Total population: 88.7%
Male: 84%
Female: 93.1%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Jamaica
Etymology: from the native Taino word 'haymaca' meaning 'Land of Wood and Water' or possibly 'Land of Springs'

Government type: parliamentary democracy (Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

Capital
Name: Kingston
Geographic coordinates: 18 00 N 76 48 W
Time difference: UTC-5

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: several previous (preindependence); latest drafted 1961-62 submitted to British Parliament 24 July 1962 entered into force 6 August 1962 (at independence); amended many times last in 2015 (2016)

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
Citizenship by birth: yes
Citizenship by descent: yes
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 4 out of the previous 5 years

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
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
Electionsappointments: 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 majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general

Legislative branch
Description: bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives (63 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)
Elections: last held on 25 February 2016
Election results: percent of vote by party - JLP 50.1% PNP 49.7% other 0.2%; seats by party - JLP 32 PNP 31

Judicial branch
Highest resident court: Court of Appeal ; note - appeals beyond Jamaica's highest courts are referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) rather than to the Caribbean Court of Justice (the appellate court implemented for member states of the Caribbean Community)
Judge selection and term of office: chief justice of the Supreme Court and president of the Court of Appeal appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister; other judges of both courts appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission; judges of both courts serve till age 70
Subordinate courts: resident magistrate courts district courts and petty sessions courts

Political parties and leaders:

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Audrey Patrice MARKS
In the us chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW Washington DC 20,036
In the us telephone: [1] 452-0660
In the us FAX: [1] 452-0036
In the us consulate general: Miami New York
In the us consulate: Atlanta Boston Chicago Concord Houston Los Angeles Philadelphia (PA) Richmond (VA) San Francisco Seattle
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador ; Charge d'Affaires Eric KHANT (since 30 June 2017)
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] 702-6,000
From the us FAX: [1] 702-6,348

Flag description: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and fly 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) Guaiacum officinale (Guaiacwood); national colors: green yellow black

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

National heritage


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Economy overview:

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2016 dollars
Rank: 139

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 153

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2016 dollars
Rank: 142

Gross national saving:
Rank: 87

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 81.3%
Government consumption: 13.7%
Investment in fixed capital: 21.1%
Investment in inventories: 0.1%
Exports of goods and services: 29.3%
Imports of goods and services: -45.5%

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 7.2%
Industry: 21.3%
Services: 71.4%

Agriculture products: sugarcane bananas coffee citrus yams ackees vegetables; poultry goats milk; shellfish

Industries: tourism bauxite/alumina agricultural-processing light manufactures rum cement metal paper chemical products telecommunications

Industrial production growth rate: 1.7% (2016 est.)
Rank: 119

Labor force: 1.321 million (2016 est.)
Rank: 135
By occupation agriculture: 17%
By occupation industry: 19%
By occupation services: 64%

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 161

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%

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 38

Budget
Revenues: $3.995 billion
Expenditures: $3.922 billion
Surplus or deficit: 0.5% of GDP (2016 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 34

Taxes and other revenues: 28.6% of GDP (2016 est.)
Rank: 90

Public debt:
Rank: 6

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 129

Central bank discount rate: 2% (31 December 2010)
Rank: 115

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 29

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 112

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 110

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 114

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 82

Current account balance:
Rank: 76

Exports:
Rank: 153
Commodities: alumina bauxite sugar rum coffee yams beverages chemicals apparel mineral fuels
Partners: US 40.8% Canada 11.9% Netherlands 10.2% Russia 5.8% UK 4.1% (2016)

Imports:
Rank: 129
Commodities: food and other consumer goods industrial supplies fuel parts and accessories of capital goods machinery and transport equipment construction materials
Partners: US 39% Trinidad and Tobago 7.2% China 6.4% Japan 6.2% Mexico 4.1% (2016)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 102

Debt external:
Rank: 101

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access population without electricity: 200,000
Access electrification total population: 93%
Access electrification urban areas: 98%
Access electrification rural areas: 87%
Production: 3.894 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Production rank: 126
Consumption: 2.757 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Consumption rank: 138
Exports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Exports rank: 153
Imports: 0 kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 164
Installed generating capacity: 988,000 kW (2015 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 128
Generation sources fossil fuels: 88.5% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 65
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 116
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 3% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 133
Generation sources other renewable sources: 13% of total installed capacity (2015 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 56

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 151
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 143
Crude oil imports: 19,160 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 64
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2017 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 150

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 19,760 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products production rank: 91
Products consumption: 54,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products consumption rank: 102
Products exports: 845.3 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products exports rank: 110
Products imports: 34,170 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products imports rank: 98

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Production rank: 151
Consumption: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Consumption rank: 195
Exports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 126
Imports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 142
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2014 es)
Proven reserves rank: 154

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 13 million Mt (2013 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 96

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 310,213
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 10
Fixed lines rank: 122
Mobile cellular total: 3,267,344
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 110
Mobile cellular rank: 140

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 fixed-line and mobile cellular teledensity exceeds 120 per 100 persons
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 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; the ALBA-1 fiber-optic submarine cable links Jamaica Cuba and Venezuela; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2016)

Broadcast media: 3 free-to-air TV stations subscription cable services and roughly 30 radio stations (2013)

Internet
Country code: .jm
Users total: 1,336,653
Users percent of population: 45.0%
Users rank: 109

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures:
Rank: 111

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 17 1/2 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 2
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 5
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 92,836
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 0 mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: 6Y (2016)

Airports: 28 (2013)
Rank: 123
With paved runways total: 11
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With paved runways under 914 m: 5
With unpaved runways total: 17
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 16

Heliports

Pipelines

Railways

Roadways
Total: 22,121 km
Paved: 16,148 km
Unpaved: 5,973 km
Rank: 104

Waterways

Merchant marine
Total: 14
By type: bulk carrier 4 cargo 5 container 4 roll on/roll off 1
Foreign owned: 14 (2010)
Rank: 103

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Discovery Bay Kingston Montego Bay Port Antonio Port Esquivel Port Kaiser Rocky Point
Container port: Kingston (1,724,928)


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Disputes international
Rank: li>a href='../rankorder/rankorderguide.html'>Guide to Country Comparisons: 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 favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions