Jamaica

§1. Jamaica Introduction

Background:
  Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962.
  Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent
  violence and a drop off in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic
  socialists voted out of office. Political violence marred elections during
  the 1990s.

§2. Jamaica Geography

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 km²
  land: 10,831 km²
  water: 160 km²

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

Irrigated land:
  250 km² (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

§3. Jamaica 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 growth rate:
  0.8% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  20.82 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  6.52 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  -6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

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 mortality rate:
  total: 15.98 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 16.66 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 15.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 73.24 years
  male: 71.54 years
  female: 75.03 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  2.41 children born/woman (2006 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%, 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.)

§4. Jamaica Government

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, 6 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 Kenneth O. HALL (since 15 February 2006)
  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 [Bruce GOLDING]; 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, ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
  UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO

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, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON
  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)

§5. Jamaica Economy

Economy - overview:
  The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, 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 (purchasing power parity):
  $11.56 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $9.127 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  1.5% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $4,200 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 4.9%
  industry: 33.8%
  services: 61.3% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
  1.2 million (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture 19.3%, industry 16.6%, services 64.1% (2004)

Unemployment rate:
  11.5% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:
  19.1% (2003 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 (2003)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  12.9% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
  32.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $2.8 billion
  expenditures: $3.21 billion; including capital expenditures of $180.4
    million (2005 est.)

Public debt:
  135% of GDP (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products:
  sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry,
  goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks

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

Industrial production growth rate:
  -2% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production:
  3.717 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - consumption:
  2.974 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
  0 kWh (2004)

Oil - production:
  0 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - consumption:
  69,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
  NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Current account balance:
  $-509 million (2005 est.)

Exports:
  $1.608 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals,
  wearing apparel, mineral fuels

Exports - partners:
  US 17.4%, Canada 14.8%, France 13%, China 10.5%, UK 8.7%, Netherlands 7.5%,
  Norway 6%, Germany 5.9% (2004)

Imports:
  $4.093 billion f.o.b. (2004 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 38.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.2%, France 5.6%, Japan 4.7% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
  $1.9 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
  $6.792 billion (2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $18.5 million; note - US aid only (2004)

Currency (code):
  Jamaican dollar (JMD)

Exchange rates:
  Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741
  (2003), 48.416 (2002), 45.996 (2001)

Fiscal year:
  1 April - 31 March

§6. Jamaica Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  390,700 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  2.2 million (2004)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network
  domestic: NA
  international: country code - 1-876; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat
    (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)

Television broadcast stations:
  7 (1997)

Internet country code:
  .jm

Internet hosts:
  1,271 (2005)

Internet users:
  1.067 million (2005)

§7. Jamaica Transportation

Airports:
  35 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 11
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
  914 to 1,523 m: 4
  under 914 m: 5 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 24
  914 to 1,523 m: 2
  under 914 m: 22 (2005)

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 marine:
  total: 10 ships (1000 GRT or over) 117,805 GRT/166,922 DWT
  by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 1, chemical tanker 1, petroleum tanker 1,
    roll on/roll off 3
  foreign-owned: 10 (Germany 2, Greece 5, UAE 3) (2005)

Ports and terminals:
  Kingston, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Port Rhoades, Rocky Point

§8. Jamaica Military

Military branches:
  Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing

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

Manpower available for military service:
  males age 18-49: 696,900 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 18-49: 587,006 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
  males: 26,080 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $31.17 million (2003 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  0.4% (2003 est.)

§9. Jamaica Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  none

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


<Factbook 2006>
