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Communications

Airports [time series]

total: 40 usable: 27 with permanent-surface runways: 10 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 1

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

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

Merchant marine [time series]

4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 9,618 GRT/16,215 DWT, bulk 2, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1

Pipelines [time series]

petroleum products 10 km

Ports [time series]

Kingston, Montego Bay, Port Antonio

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; broadcast stations - 10 AM, 17 FM, 8 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; 3 coaxial submarine cables

Defense Forces

Affiliation [time series]

(territory of Norway)

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

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

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $19.3 million, 1% of GDP (FY91/92)

Manpower availability [time series]

males age 15-49 664,122; fit for military service 469,982; reach military age (18) annually 26,103 (1994 est.)

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for about 7% of GDP, 23% of work force, and 17% of exports; commercial crops - sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; livestock 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, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY91 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents

Economic aid [time series]

recipient: 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]

capacity: 1,127,000 kW production: 2.736 trillion kWh consumption per capita: 1,090 kWh (1992)

Exchange rates [time series]

Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1 -32.758 (31 December 1993), 22.960 (1992), 12.116 (1991), 7.184 (1990), 5.7446 (1989)

Exports [time series]

$1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum partners: US 40%, UK 14%, Germany 10%, Canada 10%, Norway 7%

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$4.5 billion (1992 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

1 April - 31 March

Illicit drugs [time series]

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

Imports [time series]

$1.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: fuel, other raw materials, construction materials, food, transport equipment, other machinery and equipment partners: US 53%, UK 5%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 5%, Japan 4.0%

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

growth rate 2% (1990); accounts for almost 25% of GDP

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

30% (1992 est.)

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

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $8 billion (1992 est.)

Real GDP per capita (National product per capita) [time series]

$3,200 (1992 est.)

Real GDP growth rate (National product real growth rate) [time series]

1.2% (1992 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

The economy is based on sugar, bauxite, and tourism. 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 to about 3% for 1989. In 1991, however, growth dropped to 0.2% as a result of the US recession, lower world bauxite prices, and monetary instability. In 1992, growth was 1.2%, supported by a recovery in tourism and stabilization of the Jamaican dollar in the second half of 1992.

Unemployment rate [time series]

15.4% (1992)

Geography

Area [time series]

total area: 10,990 sq km land area: 10,830 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut

Climate [time series]

tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

Coastline [time series]

1,022 km

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

current issues: deforestation; water pollution natural hazards: subject to hurricanes (especially July to November) international agreements: party to - Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

Disputes - international (International disputes) [time series]

none

Irrigated land [time series]

350 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries [time series]

0 km

Land use [time series]

arable land: 19% permanent crops: 6% meadows and pastures: 18% forest and woodland: 28% other: 29%

Location [time series]

Caribbean, in the northern Caribbean Sea, about 160 km south of Cuba

Map references [time series]

Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims [time series]

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm 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

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

Digraph [time series]

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

chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Leighton BERNAL chancery: Suite 355, 1850 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: (202) 452-0660

Executive branch [time series]

chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard COOKE (since 1 August 1991) head of government: Prime Minister P. J. PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992); Deputy Prime Minister Seymour MULLINGS (since NA) cabinet: Cabinet; appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister

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

(202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York

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

(809) 926-6743

Flag [time series]

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

Legislative branch (House of Representatives) [time series]

elections last held 30 March 1993 (next to be held by February 1998); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (60 total) PNP 52, JLP 8

Independence [time series]

6 August 1962 (from UK)

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court

Legal system [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

bicameral Parliament

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ACP, C, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, 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

Country name (Names) [time series]

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jamaica

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day (first Monday in August) (1962)

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

Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists); New Beginnings Movement (NBM)

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

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

Legislative branch (Senate) [time series]

consists of a 21-member body appointed by the governor general

Suffrage [time series]

18 years of age; universal

Government type (Type) [time series]

parliamentary democracy

Diplomatic representation from the US (US diplomatic representation) [time series]

chief of mission: (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Lacy A. WRIGHT, Jr. embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston mailing address: use Embassy street address telephone: (809) 929-4850 through 4859

People

Birth rate [time series]

21.69 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate [time series]

5.62 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

African 76.3%, Afro-European 15.1%, East Indian and Afro-East Indian 3%, white 3.2%, Chinese and Afro-Chinese 1.2%, other 1.2%

Infant mortality rate [time series]

16.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Labor force [time series]

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

Languages [time series]

English, Creole

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

total population: 74.36 years male: 72.16 years female: 76.68 years (1994 est.)

Literacy [time series]

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

Nationality [time series]

noun: Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican

Net migration rate [time series]

-5.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Population [time series]

2,555,064 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate [time series]

1.02% (1994 est.)

Religions [time series]

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, including some spiritual cults 39.1% (1982)

Total fertility rate [time series]

2.41 children born/woman (1994 est.)