 Definition  Field Listing  Rank
Order
|
Location: |
Caribbean,
island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba |
|
Geographic coordinates: |
18 15 N, 77
30 W |
|
Map references: |
Central
America and the Caribbean |
|
Area: |
total:
10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km
water: 160 sq
km |
|
Area - comparative: |
slightly
smaller than Connecticut |
|
Land boundaries: |
0 km |
|
Coastline: |
1,022 km
|
|
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 |
|
Climate: |
tropical;
hot, humid; temperate interior |
|
Terrain: |
mostly
mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
|
Elevation extremes: |
lowest
point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain
Peak 2,256 m |
|
Natural resources: |
bauxite,
gypsum, limestone |
|
Land use: |
arable
land: 16.07%
permanent crops: 10.16%
other: 73.77% (2001) |
|
Irrigated land: |
250 sq km
(1998 est.) |
|
Natural hazards: |
hurricanes
(especially July to November) |
|
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 |
|
Geography - note: |
strategic
location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea
lanes for the Panama Canal Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
|
|
Population: |
2,713,130
(July 2004 est.) |
|
Age structure: |
0-14
years: 28.2% (male 390,966; female 372,961)
15-64
years: 65% (male 883,053; female 880,296)
65 years and
over: 6.9% (male 82,788; female 103,066) (2004 est.) |
|
Median age: |
total: 26.8 years
male: 26.2 years
female: 27.6 years (2004 est.) |
|
Population growth rate: |
0.66% (2004
est.) |
|
Birth rate: |
16.94
births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
|
Death rate: |
5.4
deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
|
Net migration rate: |
-4.92
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
|
Sex ratio: |
at
birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05
male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65
years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
total population:
1 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
|
Infant mortality rate: |
total:
12.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.82 deaths/1,000
live births
female: 11.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2004
est.) |
|
Life expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 76.07 years
male: 74.04 years
female: 78.21 years (2004 est.) |
|
Total fertility rate: |
1.98 children
born/woman (2004 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
1.2% (2003
est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
22,000 (2003
est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
900 (2003
est.) |
|
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%, 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% |
|
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.) Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
|
|
Country name: |
conventional long form: none
conventional short
form: Jamaica |
|
Government type: |
constitutional parliamentary democracy |
|
Capital: |
Kingston
|
|
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 |
|
Independence: |
6 August
1962 (from UK) |
|
National holiday: |
Independence
Day, first Monday in August (1962) |
|
Constitution: |
6 August
1962 |
|
Legal system: |
based on
English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
|
|
Suffrage: |
18 years of
age; universal |
|
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)
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 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)
elections: last held 16 October
2002 (next to be held in October 2007)
election results:
percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP
34, JLP 26 |
|
Judicial branch: |
Supreme
Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the
prime minister); Court of Appeal |
|
Political parties and leaders: |
Jamaica
Labor Party or JLP [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or
NDM [Hyacinth BENNETT]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival
James PATTERSON] |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders: |
New
Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial
cultists, pan-Africanists) |
|
International organization participation: |
ACP, C,
Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt
(signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO,
Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL,
OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Gordon SHIRLEY
chancery: 1520 New
Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1]
(202) 452-0660
FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081
consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Sue McCourt COBB
embassy: Jamaica
Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859
FAX: [1] (876) 935-6001 |
|
Flag description: |
diagonal
yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and
bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
|
|
Economy - overview: |
The Jamaican
economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for 70%
of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange
from tourism, remittances, 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, with one of the best tourist seasons on record.
But the economy faces serious long-term problems: high interest
rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes
sliding, exchange rate; a sizable merchandise trade deficit;
large-scale unemployment; and a growing internal debt, the result of
government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy. The ratio of
debt to GDP is close to 150%. Inflation, previously a bright spot,
is expected to remain in the double digits. Depressed economic
conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including gang
violence fueled by the drug trade. In 2004, the government 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. |
|
GDP: |
purchasing
power parity - $10.61 billion (2003 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate: |
1.9% (2003
est.) |
|
GDP - per capita: |
purchasing
power parity - $3,900 (2003 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 6.7%
industry: 37.2%
services: 56.2% (2003 est.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed): |
31.6% of GDP
(2003) |
|
Population below poverty line: |
19.7% (2002
est.) |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage
share: |
lowest
10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 30.3% (2000) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini
index: |
37.9 (2000)
|
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
10.3% (2003
est.) |
|
Labor force: |
1.13 million
(2003) |
|
Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture
21%, industry 19%, services 60% (1998) |
|
Unemployment rate: |
15.9% (2003
est.) |
|
Budget: |
revenues: $2.596 billion
expenditures: $3.111
billion, including capital expenditures of $236 million (2003 est.)
|
|
Public debt: |
145.6% of GDP
(2003) |
|
Agriculture - products: |
sugarcane,
bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, vegetables, poultry, goats, milk,
crustaceans, and mollusks |
|
Industries: |
tourism,
bauxite/alumina, textiles, agro processing, wearing apparel, light
manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products,
telecommunications |
|
Industrial production growth rate: |
-2% (2000
est.) |
|
Electricity - production: |
6.272 billion
kWh (2001) |
|
Electricity - consumption: |
5.833 billion
kWh (2001) |
|
Electricity - exports: |
0 kWh (2001)
|
|
Electricity - imports: |
0 kWh (2001)
|
|
Oil - production: |
0 bbl/day
(2001 est.) |
|
Oil - consumption: |
66,000
bbl/day (2001 est.) |
|
Oil - exports: |
NA (2001)
|
|
Oil - imports: |
NA (2001)
|
|
Current account balance: |
$-842 million
(2003) |
|
Exports: |
$1.355
billion f.o.b. (2003 est.) |
|
Exports - commodities: |
alumina,
bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals,
wearing apparel, mineral fuels |
|
Exports - partners: |
US 29.3%,
Canada 11.7%, UK 10.8%, France 7.8%, Norway 7%, Germany 6.2%, China
5.9%, Netherlands 4.4% (2003 est.) |
|
Imports: |
$3.265
billion f.o.b. (2003 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 39.3%,
Trinidad and Tobago 9.6%, Germany 5.5%, Venezuela 4.4%, France 4.4%,
Japan 4.1% (2003 est.) |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: |
$1.195
billion (2003) |
|
Debt - external: |
$4.962
billion (2003 est.) |
|
Economic aid - recipient: |
$16 million
(2003) |
|
Currency: |
Jamaican
dollar (JMD) |
|
Currency code: |
JMD |
|
Exchange rates: |
Jamaican
dollars per US dollar - 57.7409 (2003), 48.4159 (2002), 45.9962
(2001), 42.7011 (2000), 39.0435 (1999) |
|
Fiscal year: |
1 April - 31
March Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
|
|
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) |
|
Highways: |
total:
18,700 km
paved: 13,109 km
unpaved: 5,591 km
(1999 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) |
|
Merchant marine: |
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 74,881 GRT/100,682 DWT
by type: bulk 2, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo
2, short-sea/passenger 1
foreign-owned: Greece 2, Iceland
1, Latvia 1, United States 2 (2003 est.) |
|
Airports: |
35 (2003
est.) |
|
Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
914 to
1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 5 (2003 est.) |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914
m: 22 (2003 est.) Learn geography the easy way by playing ZL's Geographycards (www.geographycards.com)
|
Large portions of this information is from the US government open source publication "The World Factbook", other content copyright © Stratus-Pikpuk, Inc. You may use this information without permission for educational or other non-profit purposes if you refer to us as the source, contact us if you want to use this commercially.
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