1985 Edition

Agriculture

commercial — coffee, cocoa, wood, bananas, pineapples, palm oil; food crops — corn, millet, yams, rice; other commodities— cotton, rubber, tobacco, fish

main crops— sugarcane, citrus fruits, bananas, pimento, coconuts, coffee, cocoa, tobacco

Aid

economic commitments — Western (non-US) ODA and OOF (1970-82), $2.7 billion; US authorizations, including Ex-Im (FY70-82), $340 million

Airfields

49 total, 45 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways; 3 with runways 2,4403,659 m; 13 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

48 total, 34 usable; 15 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,4403,659 m, 5 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, paramilitary Gendarmerie

Cabinet headed by Prime Minister; bicameral legislature — 21-member Senate (13 nominated by the Prime Minister, eight by opposition leader, if any; currently no official opposition because of People's National Party boycott of December 1983 election; eight non-Jamaica Labor Party members appointed to current Senate by Prime Minister Seaga), 60-member elected House of Representatives; judiciary follows British tradition under a Chief Justice

Jamaica Defense Force (includes Coast Guard and Air Wing)

Budget

(1982), revenues, $2.1 billion; current expenditures, $1.9 billion; capital expenditures and net lending, $0.8 billion

revenues, $1.0 billion; expenditures, $1.6 billion (1982)

Capital

Kingston

Civil air

25 major transport aircraft, including multinationally owned Air Afrique fleet

6 major transport aircraft

Coastline

1,022 km People

Communists

Workers' Party of Jamaica (Marxist-Leninist)

Elections

at discretion of Governor General upon advice of Prime Minister but within five years; last held 15 December 1983 Political parties and leaders: Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), Edward Seaga; People's National Party (PNP), Michael Manley; Workers' Party of Jamaica (WPJ), Trevor Munroe; Communist Party of Jamaica

Electric power

974,000 kW capacity (1984); 2. 133 billion kWh produced (1984), 220 kWh per capita

1,030,000 kW capacity (1984); 1.8 billion kWh produced (1984), 754 kWh per capita

Ethnic diwsions

76.3% African, 15.1% AfroEuropean, 3.4% East Indian and Afro-East Indian, 3.2% white, 1.2% Chinese and AfroChinese, 0.9% other

Exports

$2.45 billion (f.o.b., 1982 est); cocoa (30%), coffee (20%), tropical woods (11%), cotton, bananas, pineapples, palm oil, cotton

$713 million (f.o.b., 1983); alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, citrus fruits and fruit products, rum, cocoa

Fiscal year

calendar year Communications

1 April-31 March Communications

Fishing

catch 92,469 metric tons (1982); exports $44.7 million (1979), imports $71.9 million (1979)

GDP

$7.6 billion (1982), $871 per capita; real average annual growth rate, 1.8% (1982)

GNP

$3.0 billion (1982), $1,360 per capita; real growth rate 1984, -1.0% est.

Government leaders

Edward Philip George SEAGA, Prime Minister (since November 1980); Sir Florizel A. GLASSPOLE, Governor General (since 1973)

Highways

46,600 km total; 3,600 km bituminous and bituminous-treated surface; 32,000 km gravel, crushed stone, laterite, and improved earth; 11,000 km unimproved

18,200 km total; 12,600 km paved, 3,200 km gravel, 2,400 km improved earth

Imports

$1.85 billion (f.o.b., 1982 est); manufactured goods and semifinished products (50%), consumer goods (40%), raw materials and fuels (10%)

$1.5 billion (c.i.f., 1983); fuels, machinery, transportation and electrical equipment, food, fertilizer

Inland waterways

740 km navigable rivers and numerous coastal lagoons

Labor force

703,000 (1980); 36.4% agriculture, 32.7% services, 16% government, 14.9% industry and commerce; shortage of technical and managerial personnel; significant unemployment

Language

English, Creole

Legal system

based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

12 nm

Literacy

76%

Major ground units

2 active infantry battalions, 1 reserve battalion

Major industries

food and lumber processing, oil refinery, automobile assembly plant, textiles, soap, flour mill, matches, three small shipyards, fertilizer plant, and battery factory

tourism, bauxite mining, textiles, food processing, light manufactures

Major trade partners

(1979) France and other EC countries about 65%, US 10%, Communist countries about 3%

exports — US 45%, UK 19%, Canada 6%, Norway 5%; imports — US 32%, Venezuela 18%, Netherlands Antilles 12%, UK 10% (1979)

Member of

Af DB, CEAO, KAMA, ECA, ECOWAS, EIB (associate), Entente, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, ITU, Niger River Commission, NAM, OAU, OCAM, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Economy

CARICOM, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDB— Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Economy

Military budget

for fiscal year ending 31 March 1985, $22.6 million; about 2.8% of central government budget

Military manpower

males 15-49, 2,424,000; 1,245,000 fit for military service; 94,000 males reach military age (18) annually Caribbean Sea Caribbean Sea Land 10,991 km2; slightly smaller than Connecticut; 23% meadow and pasture; 21% arable; 19% forest; 37% waste, urban, or other Water

males 15-49, 579,000; 428,000 fit for military service; no conscription; 34,000 reach minimum volunteer age (18) annually

Monetary conversion rate

397.45 Communaute Financiere Africaine (CFA) francs=US$l (October 1983)

4.97 Jamaican dollars=US$l (January 1985)

National holiday

Independence Day, first Monday in August

Nationality

noun — Jamaican(s); adjective — Jamaican

Official name

Jamaica

Organized labor

about 33% of labor force (1980)

Other political or pressure groups

Ne»w World Group (Caribbean regionalists, nationalists, and leftist intellectual fraternity); Rastafarians (Negro religious/racial cultists, pan-Af ricanists); New Creation International Peacemakers Tabernacle (leftist group); Workers Liberation League (a Marxist coalition of students/labor)

Personnel

2,974 total

Pipelines

refined products, 10 km

Political subdivisions

12 parishes and the Kingston-St. Andrew corporate area

Population

2,428,000 (July 1985), average annual growth rate 1.6%

Ports

2 major (Abidjan, San Pedro), 2 minor

2 major (Kingston, Montego Bay), 10 minor

Railroads

657 km of the 1,175 km Abidjan to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, line, all single track 1.000-meter gauge; only diesel locomotives in use

370 km, all 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track

Religion

predominantly Protestant (including Anglican and Baptist), some Roman Catholic, some spiritualist cults

Suffrage

universal adult at age 18

Telecommunications

system above African average; consists of open-wire lines and radio-relay links; 87,700 telephones (1.3 per 100 popl.); 3 AM, 17 FM, 11 TV stations; 2 Atlantic Ocean satellite stations; 2 coaxial submarine cables Defense Forces

fully automatic domestic telephone network with 124,300 telephones (6.0 per 100 pop].); 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT stations; 9 AM, 13 FM, 8 TV stations; 3 coaxial submarine cables Defense Forces

Type

independent state within Commonwealth, recognizing Elizabeth II as head of state

Voting strength

in the 1983 general elections 54 seats were uncontested; in 6 contested seats the JLP won overwhelmingly against several fringe parties; the PNP and WPJ boycotted the election; in 1980 general elections approx. 58.8% JLP (51 seats in House), 41.2% PNP (9 seats)