2009 Edition

Background

The island - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino Indians, who had inhabited Jamaica for centuries, were gradually exterminated and replaced by African slaves. England seized the island in 1655 and established a plantation economy based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of whom became small farmers. Jamaica gradually obtained increasing independence from Britain. In 1958 it joined other British Caribbean colonies in forming the Federation of the West Indies. Jamaica gained full independence when it withdrew from the Federation in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs affiliated with the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. Violent crime, drug trafficking, and poverty pose significant challenges to the government today. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy.

Area

total: 10,991 sq km country comparison to the world: 167 land: 10,831 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

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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)

total: 0.41 cu km/yr (34%/17%/49%) per capita: 155 cu m/yr (2000)

Geographic coordinates

18 15 N, 77 30 W

Geography - note

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

Irrigated land

250 sq km (2002)

Land boundaries

0 km

Land use

arable land: 15.83% permanent crops: 10.01% other: 74.16% (2005)

Location

Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba

Map references

Central America and the Caribbean

Maritime claims

measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin

Natural hazards

hurricanes (especially July to November)

Natural resources

bauxite, gypsum, limestone

Terrain

mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

Total renewable water resources

9.4 cu km (2000)

Age structure

0-14 years: 31.4% (male 451,310/female 436,466) 15-64 years: 61.1% (male 851,372/female 875,132) 65 years and over: 7.5% (male 94,833/female 116,815) (2009 est.)

Birth rate

19.68 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 104

Death rate

6.43 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 149

Education expenditures

5.3% of GDP (2005) country comparison to the world: 56

Ethnic groups

black 91.2%, mixed 6.2%, other or unknown 2.6% (2001 census)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

1.6% (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 41

HIV/AIDS - deaths

1,500 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 67

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

27,000 (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 72

Infant mortality rate

total: 15.22 deaths/1,000 live births country comparison to the world: 126 male: 15.81 deaths/1,000 live births female: 14.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Languages

English, English patois

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 73.53 years country comparison to the world: 104 male: 71.83 years female: 75.3 years (2009 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.)

Median age

total: 23.7 years male: 23.1 years female: 24.2 years (2009 est.)

Nationality

noun: Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican

Net migration rate

-5.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 167

Population

2,825,928 (July 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 138

Population growth rate

0.755% (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 142

Religions

Protestant 62.5% (Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, Pentecostal 9.5%, Other Church of God 8.3%, Baptist 7.2%, New Testament Church of God 6.3%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.3%, Anglican 3.6%, other Christian 7.7%), Roman Catholic 2.6%, other or unspecified 14.2%, none 20.9%, (2001 census)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 12 years male: 11 years female: 12 years (2003)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.25 children born/woman (2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 111

Urbanization

urban population: 53% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 0.9% annual rate of change (2005-10 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 note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation

Capital

name: Kingston geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Constitution

6 August 1962

Country name

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jamaica

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON embassy: 142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6 mailing address: P.O. Box 541, Kingston 5 telephone: [1] (876) 702-6000

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Anthony JOHNSON 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 Dr. Patrick L. ALLEN (since 26 February 2009) head of government: Prime Minister Bruce GOLDING (since 11 September 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister

FAX

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

[1] (876) 702-6001

Flag description

diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side); green represents hope, vegetation, and agriculture, black reflects hardships overcome and to be faced, and yellow recalls golden sunshine and the island's natural resources

Government type

constitutional parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

Independence

6 August 1962 (from the UK)

International organization participation

ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal; Privy Council in UK; member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)

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 8 seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 3 September 2007 (next to be held no later than October 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - JLP 50.1%, PNP 49.8%; seats by party - JLP 33, PNP 27

National holiday

Independence Day, 6 August (1962)

Political parties and leaders

Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Portia SIMPSON-MILLER]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Michael WILLIAMS]

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, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks

Budget

revenues: $3.794 billion expenditures: $4.829 billion (2008 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate

16.83% (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 28 17.2% (31 December 2007)

Current account balance

-$2.745 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 144 -$1.744 billion (2007 est.)

Debt - external

$10.65 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 85 $9.657 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

45.5 (2004) country comparison to the world: 42 37.9 (2000)

Economy - overview

The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for more than 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Remittances account for nearly 20% of GDP and are equivalent to tourism revenues. Jamaica's economy, already saddled with the lowest economic growth in Latin America, will face increasing difficulties as the global economy slows. The economy faces serious long-term problems: a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a debt-to-GDP ratio of almost 130%. Jamaica's onerous debt burden - the fourth highest per capita - is the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-to-late 1990s. It hinders government spending on infrastructure and social programs as debt servicing accounts for nearly half of government expenditures. Inflation rose sharply in 2008 as a result of high prices for imported food and oil and should fall in 2009 with the decline in international oil prices. High unemployment exacerbates the serious crime problem, including gang violence that is fueled by the drug trade. The GOLDING administration faces the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem that is hampering economic growth.

Electricity - consumption

6.345 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 101

Electricity - exports

0 kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - imports

0 kWh (2008 est.)

Electricity - production

7.324 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 100

Exchange rates

Jamaican dollars (JMD) per US dollar - 72.236 (2008 est.), 69.034 (2007), 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004)

Exports

$2.602 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 126 $2.226 billion (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

alumina, bauxite, sugar, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels

Exports - partners

US 40.3%, Canada 10.6%, UK 9.2%, Netherlands 7.9%, France 5.4%, Russia 5.2% (2008)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 5.2% industry: 32.6% services: 62.2% (2008 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$8,600 (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 115 $8,700 (2007 est.) $8,600 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars

GDP - real growth rate

-0.6% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 203 1.4% (2007 est.) 2.7% (2006 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate)

$14.03 billion (2008 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$24.04 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 113 $24.19 billion (2007 est.) $23.85 billion (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.1% highest 10%: 35.8% (2004)

Imports

$7.185 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 102 $5.789 billion (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities

food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials

Imports - partners

US 39.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 17.5%, Venezuela 11.6% (2008)

Industrial production growth rate

-0.5% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 136

Industries

tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

22% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 207 9.5% (2007 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

26.5% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 41

Labor force

1.304 million (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 134

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 17% industry: 19% services: 64% (2006)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$7.513 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 72 $12.33 billion (31 December 2007) $12.28 billion (31 December 2006)

Natural gas - consumption

0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 171

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2008) country comparison to the world: 165

Natural gas - imports

0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 159

Natural gas - production

0 cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 175

Natural gas - proved reserves

0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 165

Oil - consumption

78,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 84

Oil - exports

0 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 177

Oil - imports

77,720 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 76

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 171

Oil - proved reserves

0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 194

Population below poverty line

14.8% (2003 est.)

Public debt

116.3% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 4 146.1% of GDP (2004 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$1.767 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 113 $1.879 billion (31 December 2007 est.)

Stock of domestic credit

$7.175 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 78 $6.609 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of money

$1.253 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 83 $1.369 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of quasi money

$4.244 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 74 $4.54 billion (31 December 2007)

Unemployment rate

11% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 129 9.9% (2007 est.)

Internet country code

.jm

Internet hosts

3,961 (2009) country comparison to the world: 137

Internet users

1.54 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 73

Radio broadcast stations

AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)

Telephone system

general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network domestic: the 1999 agreement to open the market for telecommunications services resulted in rapid growth in mobile-cellular telephone usage while the number of fixed-lines in use has declined; combined mobile-cellular teledensity now roughly 100 per 100 persons international: country code - 1-876; the Fibralink submarine cable network provides enhanced delivery of business and broadband traffic and is linked to the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) submarine cable in the Dominican Republic; the link to ARCOS-1 provides seamless connectivity to US, parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2008)

Telephones - main lines in use

316,600 (2008) country comparison to the world: 112

Telephones - mobile cellular

2.723 million (2008) country comparison to the world: 112

Television broadcast stations

7 (1997)

Airports

27 (2009) country comparison to the world: 123

Airports - with paved runways

total: 12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 7 (2009)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 15 under 914 m: 15 (2009)

Merchant marine

total: 20 country comparison to the world: 99 by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 6, carrier 1, container 4, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 17 (Denmark 2, Germany 4, Greece 6, Hong Kong 1, Latvia 1, Russia 3) (2008)

Ports and terminals

Kingston, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Port Rhoades, Rocky Point

Roadways

total: 21,552 km country comparison to the world: 108 paved: 15,937 km (includes 33 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,615 km (2005)

Jamaica Defense Force

Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing (2009)

Manpower available for military service

males age 16-49: 688,480 females age 16-49: 709,548 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 16-49: 573,520 females age 16-49: 586,426 (2009 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually

male: 31,833 female: 31,257 (2009 est.)

Military expenditures

0.6% of GDP (2006 est.) country comparison to the world: 155

Military service age and obligation

18 years of age for voluntary military service; younger recruits may be conscripted with parental consent (2001)

Disputes - international

none

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation and consumption of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions page last updated on November 11, 2009