JAMAICA GEOGRAPHY Total area: 10,990 km2; land area: 10,830 km2 Comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut Land boundaries: none Coastline: 1,022 km Maritime claims: 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%; includes irrigated 3% 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: 2,489,353 (July 1991), growth rate 0.9% (1991) Birth rate: 24 births/1,000 population (1991) Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991) Net migration rate: - 9 migrants/1,000 population (1991) Infant mortality rate: 18 deaths/1,000 live births (1991) Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 76 years female (1991) Total fertility rate: 2.6 children born/woman (1991) Nationality: noun--Jamaican(s); adjective--Jamaican Ethnic divisions: African 76.3%, Afro-European 15.1%, East Indian and Afro-East Indian 3.0%, white 3.2%, Chinese and Afro-Chinese 1.2%, other 1.2% Religion: predominantly Protestant 55.9% (Church of God 18.4%, Baptist 10%, Anglican 7.1%, Seven-Day Adventist 6.9%, Pentecostal 5.2%, Methodist 3.1%, United Church 2.7%, other 2.5%), Roman Catholic 5%, other 39.1%, including some spiritualist cults (1982) Language: English, Creole Literacy: 98% (male 98%, female 99%) age 15 and over having ever attended school (1990 est.) Labor force: 1,062,100; services 41%, agriculture 22.5%, industry 19%; unemployed 17.5% (1989) Organized labor: 24% of labor force (1989) GOVERNMENT Long-form name: none 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), 6 August 1990 Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime minister, 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 Florizel A. GLASSPOLE (since 2 March 1973); Head of Government--Prime Minister Michael MANLEY (since 13 February 1989) Political parties and leaders: People's National Party (PNP), Michael MANLEY; Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), Edward SEAGA; Workers' Party of Jamaica (WPJ), Trevor MUNROE Suffrage: universal at age 18 Elections: House of Representatives--last held 9 February 1989 (next to be held by February 1994); results--PNP 57%, JLP 43%; seats--(60 total) PNP 45, JLP 15 Communists: Workers' Party of Jamaica (Marxist-Leninist) Other political or pressure groups: Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-19, G-77, GATT, 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: Ambassador Richard BERNAL; Chancery at Suite 355, 1850 K Street NW, Washington DC 20006; telephone (202) 452-0660; there are Jamaican Consulates General in Miami and New York; US--Ambassador Glen A. HOLDEN; Embassy at 3rd Floor, Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, Kingston; telephone (809) 929-4850 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 1990, 3.5% economic growth was led by mining and tourism. GDP: $3.9 billion, per capita $1,580; real growth rate 3.5% (1990) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16.0% (1990) Unemployment rate: 18.2% (1990) Budget: revenues $1.0 billion; expenditures $1.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $197 million (FY90 est.) Exports: $1.02 billion (f.o.b., 1990); commodities--bauxite, alumina, sugar, bananas; partners--US 36%, UK, Canada, Norway, Trinidad and Tobago Imports: $1.83 billion (c.i.f., 1990); commodities--petroleum, machinery, food, consumer goods, construction goods; partners--US 48%, UK, Venezuela, Canada, Japan, Trinidad and Tobago External debt: $4.1 billion (1990 est.) Industrial production: growth rate 3% (1989 est.); accounts for almost 25% of GDP Electricity: 1,122,000 kW capacity; 2,508 million kWh produced, 1,030 kWh per capita (1990) 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, and 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 ships carrying cocaine and cannabis from central and South America to North America Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.2 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $1.45 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $27 million; Communist countries (1974-89), $349 million Currency: Jamaican dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents Exchange rates: Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1--8.106 (January 1991), 7.184 (1990), 5.7446 (1989), 5.4886 (1988), 5.4867 (1987), 5.4778 (1986), 5.5586 (1985) Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March COMMUNICATIONS Railroads: 370 km, all 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track Highways: 18,200 km total; 12,600 km paved, 3,200 km gravel, 2,400 km improved earth Pipelines: refined products, 10 km Ports: Kingston, Montego Bay Merchant marine: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 13,048 GRT/21,412 DWT; includes 1 cargo, 1 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 bulk Civil air: 6 major transport aircraft Airports: 41 total, 25 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways; none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m Telecommunications: fully automatic domestic telephone network; 127,000 telephones; stations--10 AM, 17 FM, 8 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations; 3 coaxial submarine cables DEFENSE FORCES Branches: Jamaica Defense Force (includes Coast Guard and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force Manpower availability: males 15-49, 628,225; 446,229 fit for military service; no conscription; 26,442 reach minimum volunteer age (18) annually Defense expenditures: $20 million, less than 1% of GDP (FY91)