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The World Factbook | ||
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Introduction |
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Background: |
The island - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino Indians, who had inhabited |
Geography |
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Location: |
Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of |
Geographic coordinates: |
18 15 N, 77 30 W |
Map references: |
Central America and the |
Area: |
total: 10,991 sq km |
Area - comparative: |
slightly smaller than |
Land boundaries: |
0 km |
Coastline: |
1,022 km |
Maritime claims: |
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines |
Climate: |
tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior |
Terrain: |
mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: |
Natural resources: |
bauxite, gypsum, limestone |
Land use: |
arable land: 15.83% |
Irrigated land: |
250 sq km (2002) |
Total renewable water resources: |
9.4 cu km (2000) |
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural): |
total: 0.41 cu km/yr (34%/17%/49%) |
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 |
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 |
Geography - note: |
strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the |
People |
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Population: |
2,825,928 (July 2009 est.) |
Age structure: |
0-14 years: 31.4% (male 451,310/female 436,466) |
Median age: |
total: 23.7 years |
Population growth rate: |
0.755% (2009 est.) |
Birth rate: |
19.68 births/1,000 population (2009 est.) |
Death rate: |
6.37 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.) |
Net migration rate: |
-5.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.) |
Urbanization: |
urban population: 53% of total population (2008) |
Sex ratio: |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female |
Infant mortality rate: |
total: 15.22 deaths/1,000 live births |
Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 73.53 years |
Total fertility rate: |
2.25 children born/woman (2009 est.) |
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
1.6% (2007 est.) |
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
27,000 (2007 est.) |
HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
1,500 (2007 est.) |
Nationality: |
noun: Jamaican(s) |
Ethnic groups: |
black 91.2%, mixed 6.2%, other or unknown 2.6% (2001 census) |
Religions: |
Protestant 62.5% (Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, Pentecostal 9.5%, Other Church of God 8.3%, Baptist 7.2%, New Testament Church of God 6.3%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.3%, Anglican 3.6%, other Christian 7.7%), Roman Catholic 2.6%, other or unspecified 14.2%, none 20.9%, (2001 census) |
Languages: |
English, English patois |
Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school |
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education): |
total: 12 years |
Education expenditures: |
5.3% of GDP (2005) |
Government |
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Country name: |
conventional long form: none |
Government type: |
constitutional parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm |
Capital: |
name: |
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 |
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6 August 1962 (from the |
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 Dr. Patrick L. ALLEN (since 26 February 2009) |
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 8 seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) |
Judicial branch: |
Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal; Privy Council in UK; member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) |
Political parties and leaders: |
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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), ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Diplomatic representation in the |
chief of mission: Ambassador Anthony JOHNSON |
Diplomatic representation from the |
chief of mission: Ambassador Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON |
Flag description: |
diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) |
Economy |
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Economy - overview: |
The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for more than 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Remittances account for nearly 20% of GDP and are equivalent to tourism revenues. |
GDP (purchasing power parity): |
$20.88 billion (2008 est.) |
GDP (official exchange rate): |
$13.47 billion (2008 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate: |
-0.6% (2008 est.) |
GDP - per capita (PPP): |
$7,400 (2008 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 5.2% |
Labor force: |
1.261 million (2008 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture: 17% |
Unemployment rate: |
10.1% (2008 est.) |
Population below poverty line: |
14.8% (2003 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: 2.1% |
Distribution of family income - Gini index: |
45.5 (2004) |
Investment (gross fixed): |
34.9% of GDP (2008 est.) |
Budget: |
revenues: $4.166 billion |
Fiscal year: |
1 April - 31 March |
Public debt: |
124.1% of GDP (2008 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
22.5% (2008 est.) |
Central bank discount rate: |
NA |
Commercial bank prime lending rate: |
17.2% (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money: |
$1.369 billion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of quasi money: |
$4.54 billion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of domestic credit: |
$6.609 billion (31 December 2007) |
Market value of publicly traded shares: |
$12.33 billion (31 December 2007) |
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: |
1.5% (2008 est.) |
Electricity - production: |
7.04 billion kWh (2006 est.) |
Electricity - consumption: |
6.1 billion kWh (2006 est.) |
Electricity - exports: |
0 kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - imports: |
0 kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 96.8% |
Oil - production: |
0 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
Oil - consumption: |
73,370 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
Oil - exports: |
1,535 bbl/day (2005) |
Oil - imports: |
71,280 bbl/day (2005) |
Oil - proved reserves: |
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.) |
Natural gas - production: |
0 cu m (2007 est.) |
Natural gas - consumption: |
0 cu m (2007 est.) |
Natural gas - exports: |
0 cu m (2007 est.) |
Natural gas - imports: |
0 cu m (2007 est.) |
Natural gas - proved reserves: |
0 cu m (1 January 2006 est.) |
Current account balance: |
-$2.448 billion (2008 est.) |
Exports: |
$2.569 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.) |
Exports - commodities: |
alumina, bauxite, sugar, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels |
Exports - partners: |
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Imports: |
$7.191 billion f.o.b. (2008 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 37.2%, Trinidad and Tobago 14.5%, Grenada 9.7%, Venezuela 8.3%, Brazil 4.2% (2007) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$2.05 billion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Debt - external: |
$10.38 billion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Currency (code): |
Jamaican dollar (JMD) |
Currency code: |
JMD |
Exchange rates: |
Jamaican dollars (JMD) per US dollar - 72.236 (2008 est.), 69.034 (2007), 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004) |
Communications |
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Telephones - main lines in use: |
342,000 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular: |
2.495 million (2006) |
Telephone system: |
general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network |
Radio broadcast stations: |
AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios: |
1.215 million (1997) |
Television broadcast stations: |
7 (1997) |
Televisions: |
460,000 (1997) |
Internet country code: |
.jm |
Internet hosts: |
1,292 (2008) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): |
21 (2000) |
Internet users: |
1.5 million (2007) |
Transportation |
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Airports: |
27 (2008) |
Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 12 |
Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 15 |
Roadways: |
total: 21,552 km |
Merchant marine: |
total: 20 |
Ports and terminals: |
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Military |
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Military branches: |
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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 16-49: 688,480 |
Manpower fit for military service: |
males age 16-49: 573,520 |
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually: |
male: 31,833 |
Military expenditures: |
0.6% of GDP (2006 est.) |
Transnational Issues |
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Disputes - international: |
none |
Illicit drugs: |
transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation and consumption of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor |
This page was last updated on 14 May, 2009 |
POSTED MY THE SHIELDS AMIN.