1987 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1987 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
Coastline
1,022 km
Comparative area
slightly smaller than Connecticut
Environment
subject to hurricanes, especially (May to December); deforestation; water pollution
Land use
19% arable land; 6% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures; 28% forest and woodland; 29% other; includes 8% irrigated
Special notes
strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal
Terrain
mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
10,990 km?; land area: 10,830 km?
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
76.3% African, 15.1% Afro-European, 3.4% East Indian and Afro-East Indian, 3.2% white, 1.2% Chinese and Afro-Chinese, 0.8% other
Infant mortality rate
16.8/1,000 (1984)
Labor force
728,700 (1984); 32% agriculture, 28% industry and commerce, 27% services, 183% government; shortage of technical and managerial personnel; 30% unemployment
Language
English, Creole
Life expectancy
65
Literacy
76%
Nationality
noun—Jamaican(s); adjective—Jamaican
Organized labor
about 33% of labor force (1980)
Population
2,455,536 (July 1987), average annual growth rate 1.17%
Religion
predominantly Protestant (including Anglican and Baptist), some Roman Catholic, some spiritualist cults
Government
Administrative divisions
14 parishes and the Kingston-St. Andrew corporate area
Branches
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 nonJamaica 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
Capital
Kingston
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 Jamaica (continued) Political parties and leaders: Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), Edward Seaga; People’s National Party (PNP), Michael Manley; Workers’ Party of Jamaica (WPJ), Trevor Munroe
Government leaders
Edward Philip George SEAGA, Prime Minister (since November 1980); Sir Florizel A. GLASSPOLE, Governor General (since 1973)
Legal system
based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory [CJ jurisdiction
Member of
CARICOM, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, 1DB—Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Independence Day, first Monday in August
Official name
Jamaica
Other political or pressure groups
New World Group (Caribbean regionalists, nationalists, and leftist intellectual fraternity); Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists); New Creation International Peacemakers Tabernacle (leftist group); Workers Liberation League (a Marxist coalition of students/labor)
Suffrage
universal adult at age 18
Type
independent state within Commonwealth, recognizing Elizabeth II as head of state
Voting strength
in the 1983 general elections 54 seats were uncontested; in six contested seats the JLP won overwhelmingly against several small fringe parties; the PNP and WP] boycotted the election; in 1980 general elections about 58.8% JLP (51 seats in House), 41.2% PNP (9 seats)
Economy
Agriculture
sugarcane, citrus fruits, bananas, pimento, coconuts, coffee, cocoa, tobacco; an illegal producer of cannabis for the international drug trade
Budget
revenues, $545.0 million; expenditures, $818.0 million (1985)
Electric power
1,119,000 kW capacity; 1,520 million kWh produced, 660 kWh per capita (1986)
Exports
$568.6 million (f.0.b., 1985); alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, citrus fruits and fruit products, rum, cocoa
Fiscal year
1 April-81 March
GDP
$2.0 billion, $820 per capita; real growth rate 5.0% (1986 est.)
Imports
$998.8 million (f.0.b., 1985); fuels, machinery, transportation and electrical equipment, food, fertilizer
Major industries
tourism, bauxite mining, textiles, food processing, light manufactures
Major trade partners
exports—US 48%, Canada 14%, UK 13%, Norway 3%, imports—US 46%, Netherlands Antilles 13%, Venezuela 8%, UK 5% (1984)
Monetary conversion rate
5.48 Jamaican dollars=US$1 (November 1986)
Natural resources
bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Communications
Airfields
42 total, 27 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 2 with runways 1,220-2,489 m
Highways
18,200 km total; 12,600 km paved, 3,200 km gravel, 2,400 km improved earth
Pipelines
refined products, 10 km
Ports
2 major (Kingston, Montego Bay), 10 minor Civil] air: 6 major transport aircraft
Railroads
370 km, all 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track
Telecommunications
fully automatic domestic telephone network with 127,000 telephones (6.0 per 100 popl.); 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT stations; 9 AM, 16 FM, 8 TV stations; 3 coaxial submarine cables
Military and Security
Branches
Jamaica Defense Force (includes Coast Guard and Air Wing)
Military manpower
males 15-49, 590,000; 420,000 fit for military service; no conscription; 28,000 reach minimum volunteer age (18) annually Japan ite Hokkaido} » Rf Sapporo Occupied by D> Soviet Union ance 1945, claime: Sea of im