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 Jamaica
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Find important informations
about Jamaica
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Jamaica was inhabited by Arawak Indians when Columbus explored it in 1494 and named it St. Iago. It remained under Spanish rule until 1655, when it became a British possession. Buccaneers operated from Port Royal, also the capital, until it fell into the sea in an earthquake in 1692. Disease decimated the Arawaks, so black slaves were imported to work on the sugar plantations. During the 17th and 18th centuries the British were consistently harassed by the Maroons, armed bands of freed slaves roaming the countryside. Abolition of the slave trade (1807), emancipation of the slaves (1833), and a drop in sugar prices eventually led to a depression that resulted in an uprising in 1865. The following year Jamaica became a Crown colony, and conditions improved considerably. Introduction of bananas reduced dependence on sugar. Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a drop off in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s.
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Jamaica is an island in the West Indies, 90 mi (145 km) south of Cuba and 100 mi (161 km) west of Haiti. It is a little smaller than Connecticut. The island is made up of coastal lowlands, a limestone plateau, and the Blue Mountains, a group of volcanic hills, in the east.
Location: |
Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba |
Coordinates: |
18 15 N, 77 30 W |
Area: |
total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km
water: 160 sq km |
Area comparative: |
slightly smaller than Connecticut |
Land boundaries: |
0 km |
Coastline: |
1,022 km |
Maritime claims: |
measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to edge of the continental margin
contiguous zone: 24 NM |
Climate: |
tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior |
Terrain: |
mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
Natural resources: |
bauxite, gypsum, limestone |
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 Kingston results from vehicle emissions |
Geography - note: |
strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal |
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Population: |
2,758,124 (July 2006 est.) |
Age structure: |
0-14 years: 33.1% (male 464,297/female 449,181)
15-64 years: 59.6% (male 808,718/female 835,394)
65 years and over: 7.3% (male 90,100/female 110,434) |
Median age: |
23 years |
Growth rate: |
0.8% |
Infant mortality: |
15.98 deaths/1,000 live births |
Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 73.24 years
male: 71.54 years
female: 75.03 years |
Fertility rate: |
2.41 children born/woman |
Nationality: |
noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
Ethnic groups: |
black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% |
Religions: |
Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other including some spiritual cults 34.7% |
Languages: |
English, patois English |
Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 87.9%
male: 84.1%
female: 91.6% |
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Government type: |
constitutional parliamentary democracy |
Capital: |
Kingston |
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
note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation |
Independence: |
6 August 1962 (from UK) |
National holiday: |
Independence Day, first Monday in 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, represented by Governor General Kenneth O. HALL
head of government: Prime Minister Portia SIMPSON-MILLER
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister. |
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 eight 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 |
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The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from remittances, tourism, and bauxite/alumina. The global economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted economic growth; the economy rebounded moderately in 2003-04, with brisk tourist seasons. But the economy faces serious long-term problems: high interest rates, increased foreign competition, exchange rate instability, a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a growing stock of internal debt - the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-1990s.
GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $11.56 billion; per capita $4,200. Real growth rate: 1.5%. Inflation: 12.9%. Unemployment: 11.5%. Arable land: 16%. Agriculture: sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks. Labor force: 1.2 million; agriculture 19.3%, industry 16.6%, services 64.1% (2004). Industries: tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications. Natural resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone. Exports: $1.608 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.): alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels. Imports: $4.093 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.): food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials. Major trading partners: U.S., Canada, France, China, UK, Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan (2004).
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