1995 Edition

Area

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

Climate

tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

Coastline

1,022 km

Environment

current issues: deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions natural hazards: hurricanes (especially July to November) international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

350 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

0 km

Land use

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

Location

Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean

Maritime claims

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources

bauxite, gypsum, limestone

Note

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

Terrain

mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

Age structure

0-14 years: 33% (female 412,565; male 431,043) 15-64 years: 60% (female 786,700; male 770,681) 65 years and over: 7% (female 96,348; male 76,954) (July 1995 est.)

Birth rate

22.03 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate

5.62 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

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%

Infant mortality rate

16.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Labor force

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

Languages

English, Creole

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 74.65 years male: 72.39 years female: 77.01 years (1995 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over has ever attended school (1987) total population: 82% male: 77% female: 86%

Nationality

noun: Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican

Net migration rate

-8.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Population

2,574,291 (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate

0.78% (1995 est.)

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)

Total fertility rate

2.42 children born/woman (1995 est.)

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

Capital

Kingston

Constitution

6 August 1962

Digraph

JM

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Leighton BERNAL chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660

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 1993) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister

FAX

[1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York

[1] (809) 926-6743

Flag

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

House of Representatives

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

Independence

6 August 1962 (from UK)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Legal system

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

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament

Member of

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

Names

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jamaica

National holiday

Independence Day (first Monday in August) (1962)

Other political or pressure groups

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

Political parties and leaders

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

Senate

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

parliamentary democracy

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador J. Gary COOPER (since October 1994) embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (809) 929-4850 through 4859

Agriculture

accounts for about 7% of GDP, 22% 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

Budget

revenues: $600 million expenditures: $736 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY90/91 est.)

Currency

1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents

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: 730,000 kW production: 2.6 billion kWh consumption per capita: 988 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates

Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1 - 33.195 (December 1994), 33.986 (1994), 24.949 (1993), 22.960 (1992), 12.116 (1991), 7.184 (1990)

Exports

$1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum partners: US 47%, UK 11%, Canada 9%, Norway 7%; France 4% (1993)

External debt

$3.6 billion (1994 est.)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

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

$2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.) commodities: machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals partners: US 54%, Japan 4.0%, Mexico 6%, UK 4%, Venezuela 3% (1993)

Industrial production

growth rate 0.4% (1992); accounts for almost 30% of GDP

Industries

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

26.7% (1994)

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $7.8 billion (1994 est.)

National product per capita

$3,050 (1994 est.)

National product real growth rate

2% (1994 est.)

Overview

Key sectors in this island economy are bauxite (alumina and bauxite account for more than half of exports) and tourism. The government's tight fiscal and monetary policies, which have been partially successful in curbing inflation, have held growth to 1.2% in 1993 and 2.0% in 1994.

Unemployment rate

15.7% (1992)

Radio

broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 0 radios: NA

Telephone system

127,000 telephones; fully automatic domestic telephone network local: NA intercity: NA international: 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations; 3 coaxial submarine cables

Television

broadcast stations: 8 televisions: NA

Airports

total: 41 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3 with paved runways under 914 m: 31 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4

Highways

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

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

Pipelines

petroleum products 10 km

Ports

Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Longs Wharf, Rocky Point

Railroads

total: 370 km standard gauge: 370 km 1.435-m gauge

Branches

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

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $19.3 million, 1% of GDP (FY91/92) ________________________________________________________________________ JAN MAYEN (territory of Norway)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 670,958; males fit for military service 475,235; males reach military age (18) annually 26,244 (1995 est.)