Country Profile Jamaica

 

  • Capital: Kingston
  • Population: 2,825,928 (July 2009 est.)
  • Currency: Jamaican dollars (JMD)         
  • Language: English, English patois
  • Time zone: UTC-5
  • Government: Constitutional parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm
  • Chief of State:  Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
  • Represented by Governor General Dr. Patrick L. ALLEN (since 26 February 2009)

  • GDP real growth rate :

    • 0.6% (2008 est.)
    • 1.5% (2007 est.) 
    • 2.4% (2006 est.)
  • Exports:  $2.569 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

  • Main Export Partners(2007):

    • US 37.2%
    • Canada 15%
    • UK 9.7%
    • Netherlands 9.1%
  • Imports: $7.191 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

  • Main Import partners(2007):

    • US 37.2%
    • Trinidad and Tobago 14.5%
    • Grenada 9.7%
    • Venezuela 8.3%
    • Brazil 4.2%
  • Dialing Country code: +1-876
  • National Airline: Air Jamaica
  • Voltage: 110V

 

Detailed country profile

ECONOMY

GDP real growth rate:

  • -0.6% (2008 est.)
  • 1.5% (2007 est.) 
  • 2.4% (2006 est.)

GDP-Composition by sector(2008)

  • Agriculture: 5.2%
  • Industry: 32.9%
  • Services: 61.8%

Labor force by occupation(2006):

  • Agriculture: 17%
  • Industry: 19%
  • Services: 64%

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

Exports:$2.569 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Export Commodities

  • Alumina
  • Bauxite
  • Sugar
  • Rum
  • Coffee
  • Yams
  • Beverages
  • Chemicals
  • Wearing apparel
  • Mineral fuels

Main Export Partners(2007):

  • US 37.2%
  • Canada 15%
  • UK 9.7%
  • Netherlands 9.1%

Imports:$7.191 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.)

Import commodities:

  • Food and other consumer goods
  • Industrial supplies
  • Fuel
  • Parts and accessories of capital goods
  • Machinery and transport equipment
  • Construction materials

Import partners(2007):

Ports and Terminal:

  • Kingston
  • Port Esquivel
  • Port Kaiser
  • Port Rhoades
  • Rocky Point

Unemployment rate: 10.1% (2008 est.)

GOVERNMENT

Government Type: Constitutional parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

Executive Branch:

Chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Dr. Patrick L. ALLEN (since 26 February 2009)
Head of government: Prime Minister Bruce GOLDING (since 11 September 2007)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister
Elections: 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

Legal system: Based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

GEOGRAPHY

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

Environment and international agreement:

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

Signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Environment and 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

PEOPLE

Ethnic groups(2001):

  • Black 91.2%
  • Mixed 6.2%
  • Other or unknown 2.6%

Languages:

  • English
  • Patois

Religion(2001):

  • 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%,

HISTORY

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 Jamaica for centuries, were gradually exterminated and replaced by African slaves. England seized the island in 1655 and established a plantation economy based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of whom became small farmers. Jamaica gradually obtained increasing independence from Britain, and in 1958 it joined other British Caribbean colonies in forming the Federation of the West Indies. Jamaica gained full independence when it withdrew from the Federation in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs affiliated with the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. Violent crime, drug trafficking, and poverty pose significant challenges to the government today. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy.

Source: The world factbook www.cia.gov

See also:

Jamaica Trade Agreement

Embassies and Consulates in Jamaica