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Communications

Airports [time series]

36 total, 23 usable; 13 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

8 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]

4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 9,619 GRT/16,302 DWT; includes 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 petroleum tanker, 2 bulk

Pipelines [time series]

petroleum products 10 km

Ports [time series]

Kingston, Montego Bay

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

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

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

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

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

Jamaica Defense Force (including Coast Guard and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $20 million, less than 1% of GDP (FY91)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 640,058; 454,131 fit for military service; no conscription; 26,785 reach minimum volunteer age (18) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for about 9% of GDP, 22% of work force, and 17% of exports; commercial crops - sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, and vegetables; live-stock and livestock products include poultry, goats, milk; not self-sufficient in grain, meat, and dairy products

Budget [time series]

revenues $600 million; expenditures $736 million (FY91 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

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

Economic aid [time series]

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.2 billion; other countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.6 billion

Electricity [time series]

1,122,000 kW capacity; 2,520 million kWh produced, 1,012 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates [time series]

Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1 - 21.946 (January 1992), 12.116 (1991), 7.184 (1990), 5.7446 (1989), 5.4886 (1988), 5.4867 (1987), 5.4778 (1986)

Exports [time series]

$1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1991, projected) commodities: bauxite, alumina, sugar, bananas partners: US 36%, UK, Canada, Norway, Trinidad and Tobago

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$3.8 billion (1991 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

1 April - 31 March

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

exchange rate conversion - $3.6 billion, per capita $1,400; real growth rate 1.0% (1991 est.)

Illicit drugs [time series]

illicit cultivation of cannabis; transshipment point for cocaine from Central and South America to North America; government has an active cannabis eradication program

Imports [time series]

$1.8 billion (c.i.f., 1991 projected) commodities: petroleum, machinery, food, consumer goods, construction goods partners: US 48%, UK, Venezuela, Canada, Japan, Trinidad and Tobago

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

growth rate - 2.0% (1990); accounts for almost 25% of GDP

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

80% (1991 projected)

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. In 1991, however, growth dropped to 1.0% as a result of the US recession, lower world bauxite prices, and monetary instability.

Unemployment rate [time series]

15.1% (1991)

Geography

Climate [time series]

tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

Coastline [time series]

1,022 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly smaller than Connecticut

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

none

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

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

Area (Land area) [time series]

10,830 km2

Land boundaries [time series]

none

Land use [time series]

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

Maritime claims [time series]

Territorial sea: 12 nm

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

Area (Total area) [time series]

10,990 km2

Government

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

Constitution [time series]

6 August 1962

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

Ambassador Richard BERNAL; 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 A. HOLDEN; Embassy at 3rd Floor, Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, Kingston; telephone (809) 929-4850 through 4859, FAX (809) 926-6743

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

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

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

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

Chief of State: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Howard COOKE (since 1 August 1991) Head of Government: Prime Minister P. J. Patterson (since 30 March 1992)

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, C, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, GATT, G-15, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day (first Monday in August)

Political parties (Other political or pressure groups) [time series]

Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)

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

People's National Party (PNP) P. J. Patterson; Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), Edward SEAGA

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18

Government type (Type) [time series]

parliamentary democracy

People

Birth rate [time series]

23 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate [time series]

6 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

African 76.3%, Afro-European 15.1%, East Indian and Afro-East Indian 3.0%, white 3.2%, Chinese and Afro-Chinese 1.2%, other 1.2%

Infant mortality rate [time series]

18 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force [time series]

1,062,100; services 41%, agriculture 22.5%, industry 19%; unemployed 17.5% (1989)

Languages [time series]

English, Creole

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

72 years male, 76 years female (1992)

Literacy [time series]

98% (male 98%, female 99%) age 15 and over having ever attended school (1990 est.)

Nationality [time series]

noun - Jamaican(s); adjective - Jamaican

Net migration rate [time series]

-8 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor [time series]

24% of labor force (1989)

Population [time series]

2,506,701 (July 1992), growth rate 0.9% (1992)

Religions [time series]

predominantly Protestant 55.9% (Church of God 18.4%, Baptist 10%, Anglican 7.1%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6.9%, Pentecostal 5.2%, Methodist 3.1%, United Church 2.7%, other 2.5%), Roman Catholic 5%, other 39.1%, including some spiritualist cults (1982)

Total fertility rate [time series]

2.5 children born/woman (1992)