1999 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1999 (Internet Archive)
Geography
Area
total: 10,990 sq km land: 10,830 sq km water: 160 sq km
Area--comparative
slightly smaller than Connecticut
Climate
tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
Coastline
1,022 km
Elevation extremes
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m
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
Environment--international agreements
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geographic coordinates
18 15 N, 77 30 W
Geography--note
strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal
Irrigated land
350 sq km (1993 est.)
Land boundaries
0 km
Land use
arable land: 14% permanent crops: 6% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 17% other: 39% (1993 est.)
Location
Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
Map references
Central America and the Caribbean
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
Natural hazards
hurricanes (especially July to November)
Natural resources
bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Terrain
mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
People and Society
Age structure
0-14 years: 31% (male 421,127; female 402,593) 15-64 years: 62% (male 819,956; female 828,176) 65 years and over: 7% (male 79,747; female 100,844) (1999 est.)
Birth rate
20.22 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Death rate
5.39 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Ethnic groups
black 90.4%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.6%
Infant mortality rate
13.93 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)
Languages
English, Creole
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 75.62 years male: 73.22 years female: 78.13 years (1999 est.)
Literacy
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 85% male: 80.8% female: 89.1% (1995 est.)
Nationality
noun: Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican
Net migration rate
-8.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)
Population
2,652,443 (July 1999 est.)
Population growth rate
0.64% (1999 est.)
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%
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 total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (1999 est.)
Total fertility rate
2.26 children born/woman (1999 est.)
Government
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
Country name
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jamaica
Data code
JM
Executive branch
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (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 monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general
Flag description
diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles--green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)
Government type
parliamentary democracy
Independence
6 August 1962 (from UK)
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, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, 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 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
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister) Political parties and leaders: People's National Party or PNP [P. Political pressure groups and leaders: Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists); New Beginnings Movement or NBM
Legal system
based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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 eight 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 party--NA; seats by party--PNP 50, JLP 10
National holiday
Independence Day (first Monday in August) (1962)
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Economy
Agriculture--products
sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk
Budget
revenues: $2.27 billion expenditures: $3.66 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.265 billion (FY98/99 est.)
Currency
1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents
Debt--external
$4.2 billion (1997 est.)
Economic aid--recipient
$102.7 million (1995)
Economy--overview
Key sectors in this island economy are bauxite (alumina and bauxite account for more than half of exports) and tourism. Since assuming office in 1992, Prime Minister PATTERSON has eliminated most price controls, streamlined tax schedules, and privatized government enterprises. Continued tight monetary and fiscal policies have helped slow inflation--although inflationary pressures are mounting--and stabilize the exchange rate, but have resulted in the slowdown of economic growth (moving from 1.5% in 1992 to 0.5% in 1995). In 1996, GDP showed negative growth (-1.4%) and remained negative through 1998. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; the weak financial condition of business in general resulting in receiverships or closures and downsizings of companies; the shift in investment portfolios to non-productive, short-term high yield instruments; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt for government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy, particularly the financial sector. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment in the productive sectors, maintaining a competitive exchange rate, stabilizing the labor environment, selling off reacquired firms, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies.
Electricity--consumption
6.125 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--exports
0 kWh (1996)
Electricity--imports
0 kWh (1996)
Electricity--production
6.125 billion kWh (1996)
Electricity--production by source
fossil fuel: 97.96% hydro: 2.04% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1996)
Exchange rates
Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1--35.57 (December 1998), 35.404 (1997), 37.120 (1996), 35.142 (1995), 33.086 (1994)
Exports
$1.7 billion (1997)
Exports--commodities
alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum
Exports--partners
US 33.3%, EU (excluding UK and Norway) 17.1%, Canada 14.1%, UK 13.4%, Norway 6.1%, Caricom 3.4%
Fiscal year
1 April--31 March
GDP
purchasing power parity--$8.8 billion (1998 est.)
GDP--composition by sector
agriculture: 7.4% industry: 42.1% services: 50.5% (1997 est.)
GDP--per capita
purchasing power parity?$3,300 (1998 est.)
GDP--real growth rate
-2% (1998 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 31.9% (1991)
Imports
$2.8 billion (1997)
Imports--commodities
machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals
Imports--partners
US 47.7%, EU (excluding UK) 12.8%, Caricom 10.2%, Latin America 6.7%, UK 3.7% (1997)
Industrial production growth rate
NA%
Industries
tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
9.9% (1998 est.)
Labor force
1.14 million (1996)
Labor force--by occupation
services 41%, agriculture 22.5%, industry 19% (1989)
Population below poverty line
34.2% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate
16.5% (1997 est.)
Communications
Radio broadcast stations
AM 1, FM 7, shortwave 0 (1997)
Radios
1.973 million (1997)
Telephone system
fully automatic domestic telephone network domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations--2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables
Telephones
350,000 (1997 est.)
Television broadcast stations
7 (1997)
Televisions
330,000 (1992 est.)
Transportation
Airports
36 (1998 est.) Airports--with 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 (1998 est.) Airports--with unpaved runways: total: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 23 (1998 est.)
Highways
total: 18,700 km paved: 13,100 km unpaved: 5,600 km (1997 est.)
Merchant marine
total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,478 GRT/5,878 DWT ships by type: oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1 (1998 est.)
Pipelines
petroleum products 10 km Ports and harbors: Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf)
Railways
total: 370 km standard gauge: 370 km 1.435-m gauge; note--207 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
Military and Security
Military branches
Jamaica Defense Force (includes Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force
Military expenditures--dollar figure
$47.9 million (FY97/98 est.)
Military expenditures--percent of GDP
NA%
Military manpower--availability
males age 15-49: 715,260 (1999 est.) Military manpower--fit for military service: males age 15-49: 503,667 (1999 est.)
Military manpower--military age
18 years of age
Military manpower--reaching military age annually
males: 26,108 (1999 est.)
Transnational Issues
Disputes--international
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