Jamaica
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Geography
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation
Military
Transnational Issues

Jamaica
Geography
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
Areacomparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 1,022 km
Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
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.)
note: irrigated land3% (350 sq km)(1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 350 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: hurricanes (especially July to November)
Environmentcurrent issues: deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage,
and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from
vehicle emissions
Environmentinternational agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geographynote: strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main
sea lanes for Panama Canal
People
Population: 2,634,678 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 32% (male 425,233; female 406,529)
15-64 years: 62% (male 806,846; female 817,145)
65 years and over: 6% (male 79,125; female 99,800) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.7% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 20.91 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 5.45 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: -8.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 14.47 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 75.37 years
male: 73.01 years
female: 77.84 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.33 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican
Ethnic groups: black 90.4%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%,
other 0.6%
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.)
Government
Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica
Data code: JM
Government type: parliamentary democracy
National 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
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 of the UK (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 queen is a hereditary monarch; governor general appointed
by the queen 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 13 seats, opposition 8 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 partyNA; seats by partyPNP 50, JLP 10
Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges appointed by the governor general on advice of
the prime minister
Political parties and leaders: People's National Party (PNP), P. J. PATTERSON; Jamaica Labor Party
(JLP), Edward SEAGA; National Democratic Movement (NDM), Bruce GOLDING
Political pressure groups and leaders: Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists); New
Beginnings Movement (NBM)
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, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCL, 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 Stanley Louis MCLELLAND
embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: 1 (809) 929-4850 through 4859
FAX: 1 (809) 926-6743
Flag description: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four trianglesgreen (top
and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)
Economy
Economyoverview: 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 and stabilize the exchange
rate, but have resulted in the slow-down of economic growth (moving from 1.5%
in 1992 to 0.5% in 1995. In 1996, GDP was in negative growth (-1.4%) and remained
so in 1997. 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. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging
investment in the productive sectors, maintaining a competitive exchange rate,
stabilizing the labor environment, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary
policies.
GDP: purchasing power parity$9.5 billion (1996 est.)
GDPreal growth rate: -1.4% (1996 est.)
GDPper capita: purchasing power parity$3,660 (1996 est.)
GDPcomposition by sector:
agriculture: 8%
industry: 37%
services: 55% (1996 est.)
Inflation rateconsumer price index: 17% (1996 est.)
Labor force:
total: 1.14 million (1996)
by occupation: services 41%, agriculture 22.5%, industry 19%, unemployed 17.5% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 16% (1996 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $3 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.163 billion (FY97/98
est.)
Industries: tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricitycapacity: 1.182 million kW (1995)
Electricityproduction: 3.87 billion kWh (1995)
Electricityconsumption per capita: 1,503 kWh (1995)
Agricultureproducts: sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats,
milk
Exports:
total value: $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum
partners: US 37%, UK 13%, Canada 12%, Netherlands 9%, Norway 7%
Imports:
total value: $2.9 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food,
chemicals
partners: US 52%, Trinidad and Tobago 8%, Japan 6%, UK 4%, Canada 3%
Debtexternal: $3.2 billion (1997 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $306 million (1996)
Currency: 1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$136.051 (November 1997), 37.120 (1996),
35.142 (1995), 33.086 (1994), 24.949 (1993)
Fiscal year: 1 April31 March
Communications
Telephones: 350,000 (1997 est.)
Telephone system: fully automatic domestic telephone network
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth stations2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine
cables
Radio broadcast stations: AM 1, FM 7, shortwave 0 (1997)
Radios: 1.973 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 8
Televisions: 330,000 (1992 est.)
Transportation
Railways:
total: 370 km
standard gauge: 370 km 1.435-m gauge; note207 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
Highways:
total: 18,700 km
paved: 13,100 km
unpaved: 5,600 km (gravel 3,200 km; improved earth 2,400 km) (1997 est.)
Pipelines: petroleum products 10 km
Ports and harbors: Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port
Antonio, Rocky Point, Longswharf
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 (1997 est.)
Airports: 36 (1997 est.)
Airportswith 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 (1997 est.)
Airportswith unpaved runways:
total: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 23 (1997 est.)
Military
Military branches: Jamaica Defense Force (includes Ground Forces, Coast Guard and Air Wing),
Jamaica Constabulary Force
Military manpowermilitary age: 18 years of age
Military manpoweravailability:
males age 15-49: 703,697 (1998 est.)
Military manpowerfit for military service:
males: 496,276 (1998 est.)
Military manpowerreaching military age annually:
males: 25,525 (1998 est.)
Military expendituresdollar figure: $47.9 million (FY97/98 est.)
Military expenditurespercent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues
Disputesinternational: none
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine from Central and South America to North
America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active
manual cannabis eradication program
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