Access to THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993 provided courtesy of The Libraries of the University of Missouri-St. Louis Match 121 DB Rec# - 55,868 Dataset-WOFACT Source :CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Source key :CI Program :WORLD FACTBOOK Program key :CI WOFACT Update sched. :Annually ID number :CI WOFACT 120 Title :JAMAICA Data type :TEXT End year :1994 Date of record:02/16/1994 Keywords 3 : | JAMAICA Text : JAMAICA GEOGRAPHY Location: 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 km2 land area: 10,830 km2 comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut Land boundaries: 0 km Coastline: 1,022 km exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm 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 km2 (1989 est.) Environment: subject to hurricanes (especially July to November); deforestation; water pollution Note: strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal PEOPLE Population: 2,529,981 (July 1993 est.) Population growth rate: 0.96% (1993 est.) Birth rate: 22.24 births/1,000 population (1993 est.) Death rate: 5.72 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.) Net migration rate: -6.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.) Infant mortality rate: 17.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.09 years male: 71.92 years female: 76.36 years (1993 est.) Total fertility rate: 2.47 children born/woman (1993 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% 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) 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: 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) Constitution: 6 August 1962 Legal system: based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction National holiday: Independence Day (first Monday in August) 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) Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal Elections: House of Representatives: 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 Cabinet Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives Judicial branch: Supreme Court Leaders: 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) 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 BERNAL chancery: Suite 355, 1850 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: (202) 452-0660 consulates general: Miami and New York US diplomatic representation: chief of mission: Ambassador Glen A. HOLDEN embassy: Kingston mailing address: 3rd Floor, Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, Kingston 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 1985 it suffered a setback with the closure of some facilities in the bauxite and alumina industry, a major source of hard currency earnings. Since 1986 an economic recovery has been under way. In 1987 conditions began to improve for the bauxite and alumina industry because of increases in world metal prices. The recovery has also been supported by growth in the manufacturing and tourism sectors. 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 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 1.5%, supported by a recovery in National product: GDP - exchange rate conversion - $3.7 billion (1992 est.) National product real growth rate: 1.5% (1992 est.) National product per capita: $1,500 (1992 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 52% (1992 est.) Unemployment rate: 15.4% (1992) Budget: revenues $600 million; expenditures $736 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY91 est.) Exports: $1.2 billion (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum partners: US 39%, UK 14%, Canada 12%, Netherlands 8%, Norway 7% Imports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1991) commodities: fuel, other raw materials, construction materials, food, transport equipment, other machinery and equipment partners: US 51%, UK 6%, Venezuela 5%, Canada 5%, Japan 4.5% External debt: $4.4 billion (1991 est.) Industrial production: growth rate 2.0% (1990); accounts for almost 25% of GDP Electricity: 1,127,000 kW capacity; 2,736 million kWh produced, 1,090 kWh per capita (1992) Industries: tourism, bauxite mining, textiles, food processing, light manufactures Agriculture: accounts for about 9% 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: illicit cultivation of cannabis; transshipment point for cocaine from Central and South America to North America; government has an active cannabis eradication program Economic aid: 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 - 22.173 (September 1992), 12.116 (1991), 7.184 (1990), 5.7446 (1989), 5.4886 (1988), 5.4867 (1987) Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March COMMUNICATIONS Railroads: 294 km, all 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track improved earth Pipelines: petroleum products 10 km Ports: Kingston, Montego Bay, Port Antonio Merchant marine: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 9,619 GRT/16,302 DWT; includes 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 oil tanker, 2 bulk Airports: total: 36 usable: 23 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 15-49 651,931; fit for military service 461,980 (1993 est.); no conscription; 26,445 reach minimum volunteer age (18) annually Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $19.3 million, 1% of GDP (FY91/92) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This section of THE WORLD FACTBOOK 1993 produced by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was derived from the US Dept. of Commerce Economics and Statistics Division's NATIONAL TRADE DATA BANK CD-ROM, July, 1994, SuDoc No. C 1.88:994/7/v.1-2 / R. Muns, UM-St. Louis Libraries Local Filename: WF940118.TXT