Airports [time series]

41 total, 25 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

6 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

18,200 km total; 12,600 km paved, 3,200 km gravel, 2,400 km improved earth

Merchant marine [time series]

5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 13,048 GRT/21,412 DWT; includes 1 cargo, 1 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 bulk

Pipelines [time series]

refined products, 10 km

Ports [time series]

Kingston, Montego Bay

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

370 km, all 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

fully automatic domestic telephone network; 127,000 telephones; stations--10 AM, 17 FM, 8 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; 3 coaxial submarine cables

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Jamaica Defense Force (includes Coast Guard and Air Wing)

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

1.1% of GDP (1987)

Military manpower [time series]

males 15-49, 620,400; 440,967 fit for military service; no conscription; 27,014 reach minimum volunteer age (18) annually

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for about 9% of GDP, one-third of work force, and 17% of exports; commercial crops--sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, and vegetables; livestock and livestock products include poultry, goats, milk; not self-sufficient in grain, meat, and dairy products

Aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.1 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $27 million; Communist countries (1974-88), $349 million

Budget [time series]

revenues $1.1 billion; expenditures $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY88 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

Jamaican dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents

Electricity [time series]

1,437,000 kW capacity; 2,390 million kWh produced, 960 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates [time series]

Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1--6.5013 (January 1990), 5.7446 (1989), 5.4886 (1988), 5.4867 (1987), 5.4778 (1986), 5.5586 (1985)

Exports [time series]

$948 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--bauxite, alumina, sugar, bananas; partners--US 40%, UK, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Norway

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$4.4 billion (1989 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

1 April-31 March

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

$3.8 billion, per capita $1,529; real growth rate 3.0% (1989 est.)

Illicit drugs [time series]

illicit cultivation of cannabis has decreased, with production shifting from large to small plots and nurseries to evade aerial detection and eradication

Imports [time series]

$1.6 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.); commodities--petroleum, machinery, food, consumer goods, construction goods; partners--US 46%, UK, Venezuela, Canada, Japan, Trinidad and Tobago

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 3% (1989 est.)

Industries [time series]

tourism, bauxite mining, textiles, food processing, light manufactures

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

15% (1989)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

The economy is based on sugar, bauxite, and tourism. In 1985 it suffered a setback with the closure of some facilities in the bauxite and alumina industry, a major source of hard currency earnings. Since 1986 an economic recovery has been under way. In 1987 conditions began to improve for the bauxite and alumina industry because of increases in world metal prices. The recovery has also been supported by growth in the manufacturing and tourism sectors. In September 1988, Hurricane Gilbert inflicted severe damage on crops and the electric power system, a sharp but temporary setback to the economy. By October 1989 the economic recovery from the hurricane was largely complete and real growth was up about 3% for 1989.

Unemployment rate [time series]

18.7% (1988)

Climate [time series]

tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

Coastline [time series]

1,022 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly smaller than Connecticut

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

subject to hurricanes (especially July to November); deforestation; water pollution

Land boundaries [time series]

none

Land use [time series]

19% arable land; 6% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures; 28% forest and woodland; 29% other; includes 3% irrigated

Natural resources [time series]

bauxite, gypsum, limestone

Note [time series]

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

Terrain [time series]

mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

Maritime claims (Territorial sea) [time series]

12 nm

Area (Total area) [time series]

10,990 km2; land area: 10,830 km2

Administrative divisions [time series]

14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland

Capital [time series]

Kingston

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

Workers' Party of Jamaica (Marxist-Leninist) Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)

Constitution [time series]

6 August 1962

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Keith JOHNSON; Chancery at Suite 355, 1850 K Street NW, Washington DC 20006; telephone (202) 452-0660; there are Jamaican Consulates General in Miami and New York; US--Ambassador Glen HOLDEN; Embassy at 3rd Floor, Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, Kingston; telephone [809] 929-4850

Executive branch [time series]

British monarch, governor general, prime minister, Cabinet

Flag [time series]

diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles--green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and fly side)

Independence [time series]

6 August 1962 (from UK)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Florizel A. GLASSPOLE (since 2 March 1973); Head of Government--Prime Minister Michael MANLEY (since 9 February 1989)

Legal system [time series]

based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch [time series]

bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

none

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ACP, CARICOM, CCC, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day (first Monday in August), 6 August 1990

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

People's National Party (PNP), Michael Manley; Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), Edward Seaga; Workers' Party of Jamaica (WPJ), Trevor Munroe

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18 House of Representatives--last held 9 February 1989 (next to be held by February 1994); results--PNP 57%, JLP 43%; seats--(60 total) PNP 45, JLP 15

Government type (Type) [time series]

parliamentary democracy

Birth rate [time series]

21 births/1,000 population (1990)

Death rate [time series]

5 deaths/1,000 population (1990)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

76.3% African, 15.1% Afro-European, 3.4% East Indian and Afro-East Indian, 3.2% white, 1.2% Chinese and Afro-Chinese, 0.8% other

Infant mortality rate [time series]

16 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force [time series]

728,700; 32% agriculture, 28% industry and commerce, 27% services, 13% government; shortage of technical and managerial personnel (1984)

Languages (Language) [time series]

English, Creole

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

75 years male, 79 years female (1990)

Literacy [time series]

74%

Nationality [time series]

noun--Jamaican(s); adjective--Jamaican

Net migration rate [time series]

- 10 migrants/1,000 population (1990)

Organized labor [time series]

25% of labor force (1989)

Population [time series]

2,441,396 (July 1990), growth rate 0.6% (1990)

Religions (Religion) [time series]

predominantly Protestant (including Anglican and Baptist), some Roman Catholic, some spiritualist cults

Total fertility rate [time series]

2.3 children born/woman (1990)