Business Intelligence (BI) Service*

The island - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino, 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 increased its independence from Britain. 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.

Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba

18 15 N, 77 30 W

Central America and the Caribbean

slightly smaller than Connecticut

0 km

1,022 km

measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines

tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

bauxite, gypsum, limestone

arable land 11.1%; permanent crops 9.2%; permanent pasture 21.1%

252.2 sq km (2003)

9.4 cu km (2011)

hurricanes (especially July to November)

heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston from vehicle emissions

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

black 92.1%, mixed 6.1%, East Indian 0.8%, other 0.4%, unspecified 0.7% (2011 est.)

English, English patois

Protestant 64.8% (includes Seventh Day Adventist 12.0%, Pentecostal 11.0%, Other Church of God 9.2%, New Testament Church of God 7.2%, Baptist 6.7%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.5%, Anglican 2.8%, United Church 2.1%, Methodist 1.6%, Revived 1.4%, Brethren .9%, and Moravian .7%), Roman Catholic 2.2%, Jehovah's Witness 1.9%, Rastafarian 1.1%, other 6.5%, none 21.3%, unspecified 2.3% (2011 est.)

2,950,210 (July 2015 est.)

0.68% (2015 est.)

18.16 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)

6.7 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)

-4.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2015 est.)

KINGSTON (capital) 588,000 (2015)

2.01 children born/woman (2015 est.)

72.5% (2008/09)

5.9% of GDP (2013)

0.41 physicians/1,000 population (2008)

1.7 beds/1,000 population (2012)

urban: 97.5% of population

rural: 89.4% of population

total: 93.8% of population

urban: 2.5% of population

rural: 10.6% of population

total: 6.2% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 79.9% of population

rural: 84.1% of population

total: 81.8% of population

urban: 20.1% of population

rural: 15.9% of population

total: 18.2% of population (2015 est.)

1.75% (2013 est.)

30,300 (2013 est.)

1,300 (2013 est.)

26.8% (2014)

3.2% (2010)

6.3% of GDP (2013)

constitutional parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm

14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland

6 August 1962 (from the UK)

Independence Day, 6 August (1962)

several previous (preindependence); latest drafted 1961-62, submitted to British Parliament 24 July 1962, entered into force 6 August 1962 (at independence); amended many times, last in 2011 (2011)

common law system based on the English model

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Andrew HOLNESS]

People's National Party or PNP [Portia SIMPSON-MILLER]

National Democratic Movement or NDM [Michael WILLIAMS]

New Beginnings Movement or NBM

Rastafarians

ACP, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CDB, CELAC, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Petrocaribe, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and fly side); green represents hope, vegetation, and agriculture, black reflects hardships overcome and to be faced, and yellow recalls golden sunshine and the island's natural resources

green-and-black streamertail (bird), Guaiacum officinale (Guaiacwood); national colors: green, yellow, black

The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which accounts for more than 70% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Remittances and tourism each account for 30% of GDP, while bauxite/alumina exports make up roughly 5% of GDP. The bauxite/alumina sector was most affected by the global downturn while the tourism industry and remittance flow remained resilient. Jamaica's economy faces many challenges to growth: high crime and corruption, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a debt-to-GDP ratio of about 130%. The attendant debt servicing cost consumes a large portion of the government's budget, limiting its ability to fund the critical infrastructure and social programs required to drive growth. Jamaica's economic growth rate in the recent past has been stagnant, averaging less than 1% per year for over 20 years. Jamaica's onerous public debt burden is largely the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably to the financial sector. In early 2010, the Jamaican Government initiated the Jamaica Debt Exchange to retire high-priced domestic bonds and reduce annual debt servicing. Despite these efforts, debt continued to be a serious concern, forcing the government to negotiate and sign a new IMF agreement in May 2013 to gain access to approximately $1 billion additional funds. As a precursor, the government instigated a second National Debt Exchange in 2012. The IMF deal requires the government to reform its tax system, eliminate discretionary tax exemptions and waivers, and achieve an annual surplus of 7.5%, excluding debt payments, to reduce its debt below 100% of GDP by 2020. The SIMPSON-MILLER administration now faces the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious crime problem that is hampering economic growth. High unemployment exacerbates the crime problem, including gang violence that is fueled by the drug trade.

$24.1 billion (2014 est.)

$23.97 billion (2013 est.)

$23.92 billion (2012 est.)

$13.79 billion (2014 est.)

0.5% (2014 est.)

0.2% (2013 est.)

-0.5% (2012 est.)

$8,600 (2014 est.)

$8,600 (2013 est.)

$8,500 (2012 est.)

13% of GDP (2014 est.)

12% of GDP (2013 est.)

10.7% of GDP (2012 est.)

(2014 est.)

sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; shellfish

tourism, bauxite/alumina, agricultural-processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications

1.2% (2014 est.)

1.311 million (2014 est.)

15.3% (2014 est.)

15.2% (2013 est.)

16.5% (2009 est.)

45.5 (2004)

37.9 (2000)

27.5% of GDP (2014 est.)

-0.9% of GDP (2014 est.)

132% of GDP (2014 est.)

132.2% of GDP (2013 est.)

1 April - 31 March

7.1% (2014 est.)

9.3% (2013 est.)

2% (31 December 2010)

17.3% (31 December 2014 est.)

17.72% (31 December 2013 est.)

$1.994 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$1.905 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$6.646 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$6.432 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$7.113 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$6.984 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$6.39 billion (31 December 2012 est.)

$7.223 billion (31 December 2011)

$6.626 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

-$879 million (2014 est.)

-$1.551 billion (2013 est.)

$1.497 billion (2014 est.)

$1.597 billion (2013 est.)

alumina, bauxite, sugar, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, apparel, mineral fuels

US 29.4%, Canada 14.8%, Netherlands 7.7%, UK 6%, UAE 5.8%, Slovenia 4.9%, Russia 4.3% (2013)

$5.153 billion (2014 est.)

$5.573 billion (2013 est.)

food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials

US 33.7%, Venezuela 15.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 11.4%, China 10.6% (2013)

$2.1 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$1.818 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$15.99 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$15.24 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

Jamaican dollars (JMD) per US dollar -

111 (2014 est.)

100.241 (2013 est.)

88.75 (2012 est.)

85.893 (2011 est.)

87.196 (2010 est.)

4.745 billion kWh (2011 est.)

3.797 billion kWh (2011 est.)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

922,700 kW (2011 est.)

91.7% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)

2.5% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)

5.8% of total installed capacity (2011 est.)

3,000 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 bbl/day (2010 est.)

22,940 bbl/day (2010 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2014 est.)

23,120 bbl/day (2010 est.)

69,310 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 bbl/day (2010 est.)

32,920 bbl/day (2010 est.)

0 cu m (2012 est.)

0 cu m (2012 est.)

0 cu m (2012 est.)

0 cu m (2012 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2014 est.)

12.75 million Mt (2012 est.)

3 free-to-air TV stations, subscription cable services, and roughly 30 radio stations (2013)

AM 4, FM 24, shortwave 0 (2008)

7 (1997)

.jm

28 (2013)

16 (2013)

Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing (2010)

17 1/2 is the legal minimum age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2012)

0.86% of GDP (2012)

0.92% of GDP (2011)

0.86% of GDP (2010)