from
CIA World Factbook 2006
Jamaica
Introduction
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, replaced by
African slaves. England siezed the island in 1655 and a
plantation economy - based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee
- was established. The abolition of slavery in 1834
freed a quarter million slaves, many of which became
small farmers. Jamaica gradually obtained increasing
independence from Britain, and 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 created by the major political
parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks
involved in international drug smuggling and money
laundering. The cycle of violence, drugs, and poverty
has served to impoverish large sectors of the populace.
Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain
relatively safe and contribute substantially to the
economy.
Geography
Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
Geographic 18 15 N, 77 30 W
coordinates:
Map Central America and the Caribbean
references:
Area: total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km
water: 160 sq km
Area - slightly smaller than Connecticut
comparative:
Land 0 km
boundaries:
Coastline: 1,022 km
Maritime measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental
margin
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
Terrain: mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal
plain
Elevation lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
extremes: highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m
Natural bauxite, gypsum, limestone
resources:
Land use: arable land: 15.83%
permanent crops: 10.01%
other: 74.16% (2005)
Irrigated 250 sq km (2002)
land:
Natural hurricanes (especially July to November)
hazards:
Environment - heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted
current by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to
issues: coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from
vehicle emissions
Environment - party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
international Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
agreements: 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
Geography - strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica
note: Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal
People
Population: 2,758,124 (July 2006 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 33.1% (male 464,297/female 449,181)
15-64 years: 59.6% (male 808,718/female 835,394)
65 years and over: 7.3% (male 90,100/female 110,434)
(2006 est.)
Median age: total: 23 years
male: 22.4 years
female: 23.5 years (2006 est.)
Population 0.8% (2006 est.)
growth rate:
Birth rate: 20.82 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 6.52 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration -6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
rate:
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: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant total: 15.98 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 16.66 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 15.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 73.24 years
expectancy at male: 71.54 years
birth: female: 75.03 years (2006 est.)
Total 2.41 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 1.2% (2003 est.)
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 22,000 (2003 est.)
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - 900 (2003 est.)
deaths:
Nationality: noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican
Ethnic groups: black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese
0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1%
Religions: Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Seventh-Day
Adventist 9%, Baptist 8.8%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Anglican
5.5%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Jehovah's
Witness 1.6%, Brethren 1.1%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman
Catholic 4%, other including some spiritual cults 34.7%
Languages: English, patois English
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 87.9%
male: 84.1%
female: 91.6% (2003 est.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica
Government constitutional parliamentary democracy
type:
Capital: name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W
time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC
during Standard Time)
Administrative 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester,
divisions: 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
Independence: 6 August 1962 (from UK)
National Independence Day, 6 August (1962)
holiday:
Constitution: 6 August 1962
Legal system: based on English common law; has not accepted
compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February
branch: 1952), represented by Governor General Kenneth O. HALL
(since 15 February 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Portia
SIMPSON-MILLER (since 30 March 2006)
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; 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
Legislative bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a
branch: 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)
elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held
no later than October 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%,
JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26
Judicial Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general
branch: on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal
Political Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; National
parties and Democratic Movement or NDM [Hyacinth BENNETT]; People's
leaders: National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON]
Political New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black
pressure religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)
groups and
leaders:
International ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA,
organization IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC,
participation: IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO,
ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
WTO
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Gordon SHIRLEY
representation chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC
in the US: 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660
FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081
consulate(s) general: Miami, New York
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON
representation embassy: Mutual Life Building, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd
from the US: floor, Kingston 5
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859
FAX: [1] (876) 935-6001
Flag diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four
description: triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist
side and outer side)
Economy
Economy - The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services,
overview: which now account for 60% of GDP. The country continues
to derive most of its foreign exchange from
remittances, tourism, and bauxite/alumina. The global
economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist
attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted
economic growth; the economy rebounded moderately in
2003-04, with brisk tourist seasons. But the economy
faces serious long-term problems: high interest rates,
increased foreign competition, exchange rate
instability, a sizable merchandise trade deficit,
large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a
growing stock of internal debt - the result of
government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy,
most notably the financial sector in the mid-1990s. The
ratio of debt to GDP is 135%. Inflation, previously a
bright spot, is expected to remain in the double
digits. Uncertain economic conditions have led to
increased civil unrest, including gang violence fueled
by the drug trade. In 2004, the government faced 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. Attempts at
deficit control were derailed by Hurricane Ivan in
September 2004, which required substantial government
spending to repair the damage. Despite the hurricane,
tourism looks set to enjoy solid growth for the
foreseeable future.
GDP $12.18 billion (2005 est.)
(purchasing
power parity):
GDP (official $9.127 billion (2005 est.)
exchange
rate):
GDP - real 1.8% (2005 est.)
growth rate:
GDP - per $4,500 (2005 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: 4.9%
composition by industry: 33.7%
sector: services: 61.5% (2005 est.)
Labor force: 1.2 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - agriculture: 19.3%
by occupation: industry: 16.6%
services: 64.1% (2004)
Unemployment 11.5% (2005 est.)
rate:
Population 19.1% (2003 est.)
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: 2.7%
income or highest 10%: 30.3% (2000)
consumption by
percentage
share:
Distribution 37.9 (2003)
of family
income - Gini
index:
Inflation rate 15.3% (2005 est.)
(consumer
prices):
Investment 32.4% of GDP (2005 est.)
(gross fixed):
Budget: revenues: $2.8 billion
expenditures: $3.21 billion; including capital
expenditures of $180.4 million (2005 est.)
Public debt: 128.7% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees,
products: vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks
Industries: tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light
manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical
products, telecommunications
Industrial -2% (2000 est.)
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 3.717 billion kWh (2004)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 96.8%
production by hydro: 1.8%
source: nuclear: 0%
other: 1.4% (2001)
Electricity - 2.974 billion kWh (2004)
consumption:
Electricity - 0 kWh (2004)
exports:
Electricity - 0 kWh (2004)
imports:
Oil - 0 bbl/day (2003 est.)
production:
Oil - 69,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
consumption:
Oil - exports: NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: NA bbl/day
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2003 est.)
production:
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2003 est.)
consumption:
Current $-974 million (2005 est.)
account
balance:
Exports: $1.608 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams,
commodities: beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels
Exports - US 25.8%, Canada 19.3%, UK 10.7%, Netherlands 8.6%,
partners: China 7%, Norway 6.4%, Germany 5.6% (2005)
Imports: $4.093 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies,
commodities: fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery
and transport equipment, construction materials
Imports - US 41.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 14%, Venezuela 5.5%,
partners: Japan 4.6% (2005)
Reserves of $2.17 billion (2005 est.)
foreign
exchange and
gold:
Debt - $7.162 billion (2005 est.)
external:
Economic aid - $18.5 million; note - US aid only (2004)
recipient:
Currency Jamaican dollar (JMD)
(code):
Currency code: JMD
Exchange Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 62.51 (2005), 61.197
rates: (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002), 45.996 (2001)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Communications
Telephones - 342,000 (2005)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 2.7 million (2005)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone
system: network
domestic: NA
international: country code - 1-876; satellite earth
stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial
submarine cables
Radio AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
broadcast
stations:
Radios: 1.215 million (1997)
Television 7 (1997)
broadcast
stations:
Televisions: 460,000 (1997)
Internet .jm
country code:
Internet 1,402 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 21 (2000)
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 1.067 million (2005)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 35 (2006)
Airports - total: 11
with paved 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
runways: 914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 5 (2006)
Airports - total: 24
with unpaved 914 to 1,523 m: 2
runways: under 914 m: 22 (2006)
Railways: total: 272 km
standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge
note: 207 of these km belonging to the Jamaica Railway
Corporation had been in common carrier service until
1992 but are no longer operational; 57 km of the
remaining track is privately owned and used by ALCAN to
transport bauxite (2003)
Roadways: total: 18,700 km
paved: 13,009 km
unpaved: 5,610 km (1999)
Merchant total: 10 ships (1000 GRT or over) 124,323 GRT/184,247
marine: DWT
by type: bulk carrier 5, cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1,
roll on/roll off 2
foreign-owned: 10 (Germany 3, Greece 6, Italy 1) (2006)
Ports and Kingston, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Port Rhoades,
terminals: Rocky Point
Military
Military Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air
branches: Wing
Military 18 years of age for voluntary military service; younger
service age recruits may be conscripted with parental consent
and (2001)
obligation:
Manpower males age 18-49: 592,018
available for females age 18-49: 616,500 (2005 est.)
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 18-49: 478,761
for military females age 18-49: 504,541 (2005 est.)
service:
Manpower males age 18-49: 27,923
reaching females age 18-49: 27,889 (2005 est.)
military
service age
annually:
Military $31.17 million (2003 est.)
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military 0.4% (2003 est.)
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - none
international:
Trafficking in current situation: Jamaica is a source country for men,
persons: women, and children trafficked for the purposes of
sexual exploitation and labor; information suggests
that women from the Dominican Republic and Eastern
Europe are also trafficked to Jamaica for sexual
exploitation; women and children are trafficked
internally from rural to urban and tourist areas for
sexual exploitation; there may also be trafficking for
domestic servitude and forced labor
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Jamaica is placed on
the Tier 2 Watch List based on the determination that
it is making significant efforts to undertake future
action
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine from South America to
North America and Europe; illicit cultivation 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