Jamaica

parliamentary democracy (Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm

name: Kingston geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC, during Standard Time) etymology: the name is a blend of the words "king's" and "town;" named after the English king at the time of the city's founding in 1692, WILLIAM III

chief of state: King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General Sir Patrick L. ALLEN (since 26 February 2009) head of government: Prime Minister Andrew HOLNESS (since 3 March 2016) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister election/appointment process: the monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the governor general appoints the leader of the majority party or majority coalition in the House of Representatives as prime minister

legislature name: Parliament legislative structure: bicameral

highest court(s): Court of Appeal (consists of president of the court and a minimum of 4 judges); Supreme Court (40 judges organized in specialized divisions) judge selection and term of office: chief justice of the Supreme Court and president of the Court of Appeal appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister; other judges of both courts appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission; judges of both courts serve till age 70 subordinate courts: resident magistrate courts, district courts, and petty sessions courts note: appeals beyond Jamaica's highest courts are referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) rather than to the Caribbean Court of Justice (the appellate court for member states of the Caribbean Community)

history: several previous (pre-independence); latest drafted 1961-62, submitted to British Parliament 24 July 1962, entered into force 6 August 1962 (at independence) amendment process: proposed by Parliament; passage of amendments to "non-entrenched" constitutional sections, such as lowering the voting age, requires majority vote by the Parliament membership; passage of amendments to "entrenched" sections, such as fundamental rights and freedoms, requires two-thirds majority vote of Parliament; passage of amendments to "specially entrenched" sections such as the dissolution of Parliament or the executive authority of the monarch requires two-thirds approval by Parliament and approval in a referendum

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

1.4% of GDP (2024 est.) 1.2% of GDP (2023 est.) 1.3% of GDP (2022 est.) 1.4% of GDP (2021 est.) 1.7% of GDP (2020 est.)

Jamaica Defense Force (JDF): Jamaica Regiment (Land Force), Maritime, Air, and Cyber Command (MACC), Support Brigade, Caribbean Military Academy, Jamaica National Reserve (2025) note: the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is the country s police force; it has primary responsibility for internal security and has units for community policing, special response, intelligence gathering, and internal affairs; both it and the JDF are under the Ministry of National Security

18-23 for voluntary military service (17 with parental consent) for men and women; 18-28 for the reserves; no conscription; since 2017, the JDF's standard mode of recruitment is to enroll recruits ages 18-23 through the Jamaica National Service Corps (JNSC), which has a service requirement of 12 months (2025) note 1: the Jamaica Combined Cadet Force (JCCF), a youth organization under the Ministry of Security, also provides a recruitment pool for the JDF, as well as other government agencies note 2: as of 2022, women made up about 20% of the JDF's uniformed personnel

in addition to its responsibility of defending against external aggression, the Jamaican Defense Force's (JDF) primary missions are border, cyber, internal, and maritime security; other missions include search and rescue, disaster response, humanitarian assistance, and peacekeeping; it has arrest authority and partners with the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF), particularly in support of combating crime and violence; both the JDF and JCF are under the Ministry of National Security, which directs policy for the security forces; the JDF participates in bilateral and multinational training exercises, including with the armed forces of Canada, the UK, the US, and other Caribbean nations while Jamaica had a militia force as early as the 1660s, the JDF was constituted in 1962 from the West India Regiment (WIR), a British colonial regiment which dates back to 1795 (2025)

$29.13 billion (2024 est.) $29.341 billion (2023 est.) $28.596 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

$10,300 (2024 est.) $10,300 (2023 est.) $10,100 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars

-0.7% (2024 est.) 2.6% (2023 est.) 5.2% (2022 est.) note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

5.4% (2024 est.) 6.5% (2023 est.) 10.3% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices

106.3% of GDP (2020 est.) note: central government debt as a % of GDP

$7.124 billion (2024 est.) $7.275 billion (2023 est.) $6.424 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

$9.524 billion (2024 est.) $9.866 billion (2023 est.) $9.726 billion (2022 est.) note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

4.9% (2024 est.) 4.4% (2023 est.) 4.1% (2022 est.) note: % of labor force seeking employment

revenues: $4.041 billion (2020 est.) expenditures: $4.466 billion (2020 est.) note: central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated

agriculture, mining, manufacture, construction, financial and insurance services, tourism, telecommunications

sugarcane, goat milk, yams, chicken, oranges, coconuts, bananas, plantains, pumpkins/squash, pineapples (2023) note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage

total: 2,938,503 (2025 est.) male: 1,453,759 female: 1,484,744

0.25% (2025 est.)

0-14 years: 23.8% (male 342,691/female 329,773) 15-64 years: 65.7% (male 914,364/female 941,816) 65 years and over: 10.4% (2024 est.) (male 140,440/female 154,629)

16.08 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

7.37 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-6.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

total population: 76.3 years (2024 est.) male: 74.5 years female: 78.1 years

urban population: 57.4% of total population (2023) rate of urbanization: 0.79% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Black 92.1%, mixed 6.1%, East Indian 0.8%, other 0.4%, unspecified 0.7% (2011 est.)

English, Jamaican patois

Protestant 64.8% (includes Seventh Day Adventist 12.0%, Pentecostal 11.0%, Other Church of God 9.2%, New Testament Church of God 7.2%, Baptist 6.7%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.5%, Anglican 2.8%, United Church 2.1%, Methodist 1.6%, Revived 1.4%, Brethren 0.9%, and Moravian 0.7%), Roman Catholic 2.2%, Jehovah's Witness 1.9%, Rastafarian 1.1%, other 6.5%, none 21.3%, unspecified 2.3% (2011 est.)

female: 90.8% (2022 est.)

bauxite, alumina, gypsum, limestone

USG identification: major illicit drug-producing and/or drug-transit country (2025)

20 (2025)

total: 40 (2023) by type: bulk carrier 1, general cargo 11, oil tanker 1, other 27

total subscriptions: 3.34 million (2024 est.) subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 118 (2024 est.)

percent of population: 83% (2023 est.)