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About
Jamaica
| 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. |
| 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: 10,990 sq km
land: 10,830 sq km
water: 160 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly smaller than Connecticut |
| Maritime
claims: |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
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
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 sq km (1993 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: 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
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements |
| Geography
- note: |
strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel,
the main sea lanes for Panama Canal |
| Population: |
2,665,636 (July 2001 est.) |
| 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.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
0.51% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
18.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-7.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
14.16 deaths/1,000 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.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.71% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
9,900 (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
650 (1999 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
| 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, Creole |
| Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended
school
total population: 85%
male: 80.8%
female: 89.1% (1995 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
| Government
type: |
constitutional parliamentary democracy |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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: |
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: 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] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial
cultists, pan-Africanists) |
| 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
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660
FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081
consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
|
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of mission: Ambassador Sue McCourt
COBB
embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford
Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859
FAX: [1] (876) 926-6743 |
| Flag
description: |
diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles
- green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer
side) |
| 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. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $9.7 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
0.2% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 7.4%
industry: 35.2%
services: 57.4% (1999 est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
34.2% (1992 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 28.9% (1996) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
8.8% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
1.13 million (1998) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
16% (2000 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $2.23 billion
expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital
expenditures of $232.5 million (FY99/00 est.) |
| Industries: |
tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures,
rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
-2% (2000 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
6.53 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel: 92.28%
hydro: 1.36%
nuclear: 0%
other: 6.36% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
6.073 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables;
poultry, goats, milk |
| Exports: |
$1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum |
| Exports
- partners: |
US 35.7%, EU (excluding UK) 15.8%, UK 13%, Canada 10.5%
(1999) |
| Imports: |
$3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery and transport equipment, construction materials,
fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers |
| Imports
- partners: |
US 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%, Latin America 7.2%,
EU (excluding UK) 4.7% (1999) |
| Debt
- external: |
$4.7 billion (2000 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$102.7 million (1995) |
| Currency: |
Jamaican dollar (JMD) |
| 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) |
| Fiscal
year: |
1 April - 31 March |
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
353,000 (1996) |
| Telephones
- 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
|
| 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
Service Providers (ISPs): |
21 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
60,000 (2000) |
| Railways: |
total: 272 km
standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge; note
- 207 km, belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation,
were in common carrier service but are no longer operational;
the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport
bauxite (2000) |
| Highways: |
total: 19,000 km
paved: 13,433 km
unpaved: 5,567 km (1997) |
| Pipelines: |
petroleum products 10 km |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay,
Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf)
|
| 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.)
|
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 22 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Jamaica Defense Force (includes Ground Forces, Coast Guard,
and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
18 years of age |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age 15-49: 736,627 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 15-49: 517,077 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males: 27,729 (2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$30 million (FY95/96 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
NA% |
| 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 |
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