2000 Edition

Background

Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a dropoff in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office, and a more conservative government installed. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s.

Area

land

10,830 sq km

total

10,990 sq km

water

160 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than Connecticut

Climate

tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

Coastline

1,022 km

Elevation extremes

highest point

Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m

lowest point

Caribbean Sea 0 m

Environment - current issues

heavy rates of 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, 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%

forests and woodland

17%

other

39% (1993 est.)

permanent crops

6%

permanent pastures

24%

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 30% (male 411,448; female 392,559) 15-64 years: 63% (male 832,314; female 837,133) 65 years and over: 7% (male 80,059; female 99,176) (2000 est.)

Birth rate

18.51 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate

5.51 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Ethnic groups

black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1%

Infant mortality rate

14.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Languages

English, Creole

Life expectancy at birth

female

77.26 years (2000 est.)

male

73.26 years

total population

75.21 years

Literacy

definition

age 15 and over has ever attended school

female

89.1% (1995 est.)

male

80.8%

total population

85%

Nationality

adjective

Jamaican

noun

Jamaican(s)

Net migration rate

-8.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Population

2,652,689 (July 2000 est.)

Population growth rate

0.46% (2000 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: 0.81 male(s)/female

total population

1 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.11 children born/woman (2000 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

Country name

conventional long form

none

conventional short form

Jamaica

Data code

JM

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

telephone

(809) 929-4850 through 4859

Diplomatic representation in the US

chancery

1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

chief of mission

Ambassador Richard Leighton BERNAL

telephone

(202) 452-0660

Executive branch

cabinet

Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister

chief of state

Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991)

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

head of government

Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Seymour MULLINGS (since NA 1993)

FAX

(202) 452-0081

(809) 926-6743

consulate(s) general

Miami and New York

Flag description

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

Government type

constitutional 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, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister; Court of Appeal

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 is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)

election results

percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PNP 50, JLP 10

elections

last held 18 December 1997 (next to be held by March 2002)

National holiday

Independence Day (first Monday in August) (1962)

Political parties and leaders

Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM ; People's National Party or PNP

Political pressure groups and leaders

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

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Agriculture - products

sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk

Budget

expenditures

$3.66 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.265 billion (FY98/99 est.)

revenues

$2.27 billion

Currency

1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents

Debt - external

$3.8 billion (1998 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 1999. 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. Depressed economic conditions in 1999 led to increased civil unrest, including a mounting crime rate. 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

5.939 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - production

6.386 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel

92.7%

hydro

2.21%

nuclear

0%

other

5.09% (1998)

Exchange rates

Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1 - 41.139 (December 1999), 9.044 (1999), 36.550 (1998), 35.404 (1997), 37.120 (1996), 35.142 (1995)

Exports

$1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Exports - commodities

alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum

Exports - partners

US 39.5%, EU (excluding UK) 15.6%, UK 12.1%, Canada 11.5% (1998)

Fiscal year

1 April - 31 March

GDP

purchasing power parity - $8.8 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture

7.4%

industry

42.1%

services

50.5% (1997 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $3,350 (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

-0.5% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 31.9% (1991)

Imports

$2.7 billion (f.o.b., 1999 est.)

Imports - commodities

machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers

Imports - partners

US 50.9%, EU (excluding UK) 9.5%, Caricom countries 10.4%, Latin America 6% (1998)

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

Industries

tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

9.4% (1999 est.)

Labor force

1.13 million (1998)

Labor force - by occupation

services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998)

Population below poverty line

34.2% (1992 est.)

Unemployment rate

15.5% (1998)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

6 (1999)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios

1.215 million (1997)

Telephone system

fully automatic domestic telephone network

domestic

NA

international

satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables

Telephones - main lines in use

292,000 (1995)

Telephones - mobile cellular

45,178 (1995)

Television broadcast stations

7 (1997)

Televisions

460,000 (1997)

Airports

36 (1999 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 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total

25 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 23 (1999 est.)

Highways

paved

13,100 km

total

18,700 km

unpaved

5,600 km (1997 est.)

Merchant marine

ships by type

petroleum tanker 1 (1999 est.)

total

1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,930 GRT/3,065 DWT

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

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

total

370 km

Military branches

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

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$30 million (FY95/96 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

NA%

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 725,975 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males age 15-49: 510,419 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - military age

18 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males

27,202 (2000 est.)

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

JAN MAYEN