1994 Edition

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

Agriculture

accounts for about 7% of GDP, 23% of work force, and 17% of exports; commercial crops - sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; livestock and livestock products include poultry, goats, milk; not self-sufficient in grain, meat, and dairy products

Airports

total: 40 usable: 27 with permanent-surface runways: 10 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 1

Area

total area: 10,990 sq km land area: 10,830 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Birth rate

21.69 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Branches

Jamaica Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast Guard and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force

Budget

revenues: $600 million expenditures: $736 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY91 est.)

Capital

Kingston

Climate

tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

Coastline

1,022 km

Constitution

6 August 1962

Currency

1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents

Death rate

5.62 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $19.3 million, 1% of GDP (FY91/92)

Digraph

JM

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Leighton BERNAL chancery: Suite 355, 1850 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: (202) 452-0660

Economic aid

recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.2 billion; other countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.6 billion

Electricity

capacity: 1,127,000 kW production: 2.736 trillion kWh consumption per capita: 1,090 kWh (1992)

Environment

current issues: deforestation; water pollution natural hazards: subject to hurricanes (especially July to November) international agreements: party to - Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

Ethnic divisions

African 76.3%, Afro-European 15.1%, East Indian and Afro-East Indian 3%, white 3.2%, Chinese and Afro-Chinese 1.2%, other 1.2%

Exchange rates

Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1 -32.758 (31 December 1993), 22.960 (1992), 12.116 (1991), 7.184 (1990), 5.7446 (1989)

Executive branch

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard COOKE (since 1 August 1991) head of government: Prime Minister P. J. PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992); Deputy Prime Minister Seymour MULLINGS (since NA) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister

Exports

$1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum partners: US 40%, UK 14%, Germany 10%, Canada 10%, Norway 7%

External debt

$4.5 billion (1992 est.)

FAX

(202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York

(809) 926-6743

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

Flag

diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and fly side)

Highways

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

House of Representatives

elections last held 30 March 1993 (next to be held by February 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total) PNP 52, JLP 8

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for cocaine from Central and South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active cannabis eradication program

Imports

$1.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: fuel, other raw materials, construction materials, food, transport equipment, other machinery and equipment partners: US 53%, UK 5%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 5%, Japan 4.0%

Independence

6 August 1962 (from UK)

Industrial production

growth rate 2% (1990); accounts for almost 25% of GDP

Industries

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

Infant mortality rate

16.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

30% (1992 est.)

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

350 sq km (1989 est.)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Labor force

1,062,100 by occupation: services 41%, agriculture 22.5%, industry 19%, unemployed 17.5% (1989)

Land boundaries

0 km

Land use

arable land: 19% permanent crops: 6% meadows and pastures: 18% forest and woodland: 28% other: 29%

Languages

English, Creole

Legal system

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

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 74.36 years male: 72.16 years female: 76.68 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over having ever attended school (1990 est.) total population: 98% male: 98% female: 99%

Location

Caribbean, in the northern Caribbean Sea, about 160 km south of Cuba

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 664,122; fit for military service 469,982; reach military age (18) annually 26,103 (1994 est.)

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Member of

ACP, C, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-19, G-77, GATT, G-15, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Merchant marine

4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 9,618 GRT/16,215 DWT, bulk 2, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1

Names

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jamaica

National holiday

Independence Day (first Monday in August) (1962)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $8 billion (1992 est.)

National product per capita

$3,200 (1992 est.)

National product real growth rate

1.2% (1992 est.)

Nationality

noun: Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican

Natural resources

bauxite, gypsum, limestone

Net migration rate

-5.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Note

strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal

Other political or pressure groups

Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists); New Beginnings Movement (NBM)

Overview

The economy is based on sugar, bauxite, and tourism. In September 1988, Hurricane Gilbert inflicted severe damage on crops and the electric power system, a sharp but temporary setback to the economy. By October 1989 the economic recovery from the hurricane was largely complete, and real growth was up to about 3% for 1989. In 1991, however, growth dropped to 0.2% as a result of the US recession, lower world bauxite prices, and monetary instability. In 1992, growth was 1.2%, supported by a recovery in tourism and stabilization of the Jamaican dollar in the second half of 1992.

Pipelines

petroleum products 10 km

Political parties and leaders

People's National Party (PNP) P. J. PATTERSON; Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), Edward SEAGA

Population

2,555,064 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

1.02% (1994 est.)

Ports

Kingston, Montego Bay, Port Antonio

Railroads

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

Religions

Protestant 55.9% (Church of God 18.4%, Baptist 10%, Anglican 7.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.9%, Pentecostal 5.2%, Methodist 3.1%, United Church 2.7%, other 2.5%), Roman Catholic 5%, other, including some spiritual cults 39.1% (1982)

Senate

consists of a 21-member body appointed by the governor general

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Telecommunications

fully automatic domestic telephone network; 127,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 10 AM, 17 FM, 8 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; 3 coaxial submarine cables

Terrain

mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

Total fertility rate

2.41 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Type

parliamentary democracy

Unemployment rate

15.4% (1992)

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Lacy A. WRIGHT, Jr. embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston mailing address: use Embassy street address telephone: (809) 929-4850 through 4859