Jamaica




                                 Geography


Location:
     Caribbean, in the northern Caribbean Sea, about 160 km south of Cuba
Map references:
     Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Standard Time Zones
     of the World
Area:
total area:
     10,990 sq km
land area:
     10,830 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly smaller than Connecticut
Land boundaries:
     0 km
Coastline:
     1,022 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone:
     200 nm
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International disputes:
     none
Climate:
     tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
Terrain:
     mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Natural resources:
     bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Land use:
arable land:
     19%
permanent crops:
     6%
meadows and pastures:
     18%
forest and woodland:
     28%
other:
     29%
Irrigated land:
     350 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
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




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


                                  People


Population:
     2,555,064 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     1.02% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     21.69 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     5.62 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -5.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     16.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     74.36 years
male:
     72.16 years
female:
     76.68 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     2.41 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Jamaican(s)
adjective:
     Jamaican
Ethnic divisions:
     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%
Religions:
     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)
Languages:
     English, Creole
Literacy:
     age 15 and over having ever attended school (1990 est.)
total population:
     98%
male:
     98%
female:
     99%
Labor force:
     1,062,100
by occupation:
     services 41%, agriculture 22.5%, industry 19%, unemployed 17.5% (1989)




                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     none
conventional short form:
Digraph:
     JM
Type:
     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
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 (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
Legislative branch:
     bicameral Parliament
Senate:
     consists of a 21-member body appointed by the governor general
House of Representatives:
     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
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
     People's National Party (PNP) P. J. PATTERSON; Jamaica Labor Party
     (JLP), Edward SEAGA
Other political or pressure groups:
     Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists); New
     Beginnings Movement (NBM)




Member of:
     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
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Richard Leighton BERNAL
chancery:
     Suite 355, 1850 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006
telephone:
     (202) 452-0660
FAX:
     (202) 452-0081
consulate(s) general:
     Miami and New York
US diplomatic representation:
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
FAX:
     (809) 926-6743
Flag:
     diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green
     (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and fly side)


                                  Economy


Overview:
     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.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $8 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     1.2% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
     $3,200 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     30% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     15.4% (1992)




Budget:
revenues:
     $600 million
expenditures:
     $736 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY91 est.)
Exports:
     $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
     alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum
partners:
     US 40%, UK 14%, Germany 10%, Canada 10%, Norway 7%
Imports:
     $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%
External debt:
     $4.5 billion (1992 est.)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 2% (1990); accounts for almost 25% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
     1,127,000 kW
production:
     2.736 trillion kWh
consumption per capita:
     1,090 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     tourism, bauxite mining, textiles, food processing, light manufactures
Agriculture:
     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
Illicit drugs:
     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
Economic aid:
recipient:
     US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.2 billion; other
     countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.6 billion
Currency:
     1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates:
     Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1 -32.758 (31 December 1993), 22.960
     (1992), 12.116 (1991), 7.184 (1990), 5.7446 (1989)
Fiscal year:
     1 April - 31 March


                              Communications




Railroads:
     370 km, all 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track
Highways:
total:
     18,200 km
paved:
     12,600 km
unpaved:
     gravel 3,200 km; improved earth 2,400 km
Pipelines:
     petroleum products 10 km
Ports:
     Kingston, Montego Bay, Port Antonio
Merchant marine:
     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
Airports:
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
Telecommunications:
     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


Branches:
     Jamaica Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast Guard and Air
     Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 664,122; fit for military service 469,982; reach
     military age (18) annually 26,103 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $19.3 million, 1% of GDP (FY91/92)