JAMAICA
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JAMAICA
@Jamaica:Geography
Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
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JAMAICA - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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KINGSTON 525,000 17.58N, 76.48W 809- GMT-5
Spanish Town 89,000 17.59N, 76.58W 809- GMT-5
Montego Bay 70,000 18.27N, 77.56W 809- GMT-5
May Pen 41,000 17.58N, 77.15W 809- GMT-5
Mandeville 35,000 18.02N, 77.31W 809- GMT-5
Savanna-la-Mar 14,000 18.13N, 78.08W 809- GMT-5
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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:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
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; coastal waters polluted by industrial
waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in
Kingston results from vehicle emissions
natural hazards: hurricanes (especially July to November)
international agreements: party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law
of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
Note: strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel,
the main sea lanes for Panama Canal
@Jamaica:People
Population: 2,574,291 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 33% (female 412,565; male 431,043)
15-64 years: 60% (female 786,700; male 770,681)
65 years and over: 7% (female 96,348; male 76,954) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.78% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 22.03 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 5.62 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: -8.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 16.1 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.65 years
male: 72.39 years
female: 77.01 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 2.42 children born/woman (1995 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 has ever attended school (1987)
total population: 82%
male: 77%
female: 86%
Labor force: 1,062,100
by occupation: services 41%, agriculture 22.5%, industry 19%,
unemployed 17.5% (1989)
@Jamaica:Government
Names:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica
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 1993)
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 March 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-15, G-19, G-77,
GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF,
IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Leighton BERNAL
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660
FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081
consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador J. Gary COOPER (since October 1994)
embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor,
Kingston
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [1] (809) 929-4850 through 4859
FAX: [1] (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: Key sectors in this island economy are bauxite (alumina and
bauxite account for more than half of exports) and tourism. The
government's tight fiscal and monetary policies, which have been
partially successful in curbing inflation, have held growth to 1.2% in
1993 and 2.0% in 1994.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $7.8 billion (1994
est.)
National product real growth rate: 2% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $3,050 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 26.7% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 15.7% (1992)
Budget:
revenues: $600 million
expenditures: $736 million, including capital expenditures of $NA
(FY90/91 est.)
Exports: $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum
partners: US 47%, UK 11%, Canada 9%, Norway 7%; France 4% (1993)
Imports: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994 est.)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment, construction
materials, fuel, food, chemicals
partners: US 54%, Japan 4.0%, Mexico 6%, UK 4%, Venezuela 3% (1993)
External debt: $3.6 billion (1994 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 0.4% (1992); accounts for almost
30% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity: 730,000 kW
production: 2.6 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 988 kWh (1993)
Industries: bauxite mining, tourism, textiles, food processing, light
manufactures
Agriculture: accounts for about 7% of GDP, 22% 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 - 33.195 (December
1994), 33.986 (1994), 24.949 (1993), 22.960 (1992), 12.116 (1991),
7.184 (1990)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
@Jamaica:Transportation
Railroads:
total: 370 km
standard gauge: 370 km 1.435-m gauge
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: Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho
Rios, Port Antonio, Longs Wharf, Rocky Point
Merchant marine:
total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,931 GRT/10,545 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, oil tanker 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 1
Airports:
total: 41
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 3
with paved runways under 914 m: 31
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 4
@Jamaica:Communications
Telephone system: 127,000 telephones; fully automatic domestic
telephone network
local: NA
intercity: NA
international: 2 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth stations; 3 coaxial
submarine cables
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 0
radios: NA
Television:
broadcast stations: 8
televisions: NA
@Jamaica:Defense Forces
Branches: Jamaica Defense Force (includes Ground Forces, Coast Guard
and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 670,958; males fit for military
service 475,235; males reach military age (18) annually 26,244 (1995
est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $19.3 million, 1% of
GDP (FY91/92)
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