Jamaica

Map of Jamaica Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II (1952) Governor-General: Kenneth Hall (2006) Prime Minister: Bruce Golding (2007) Current government officials Land area: 4,181 sq mi (10,829 sq km); total area: 4,244 sq mi (10,991 sq km) Population (2008 est.): 2,801,544 (growth rate: 0.7%); birth rate: 20.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 15.4/1000; life expectancy: 73; density per sq mi: 258 Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Kingston, 937,700 (metro. area), 590,500 (city proper) Monetary unit: Jamaican dollar Languages: English, Jamaican Creole Ethnicity/race: black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% Religions: Protestant 61.3%, (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other including some spiritual cults 34.7% National Holiday: Independence Day, August 6 Literacy rate: 88% (2003 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $11.56 billion; per capita $4,200. Real growth rate: 1.5%. Inflation: 12.9%. Unemployment: 11.5%. Arable land: 16%. Agriculture: sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks. Labor force: 1.2 million; agriculture 19.3%, industry 16.6%, services 64.1% (2004). Industries: tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications. Natural resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone. Exports: $1.608 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.): alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels. Imports: $4.093 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.): food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials. Major trading partners: U.S., Canada, France, China, UK, Netherlands, Norway, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan (2004). Member of Commonwealth of Nations Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 444,400 (2002); mobile cellular: 1.4 million (2002). Radio broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998). Television broadcast stations: 7 (1997). Internet hosts: 1,480 (2003). Internet users: 600,000 (2002). Transportation: Railways: 272 km; note: 207 km belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation, were in common carrier service but are no longer operational; the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite (2003). Highways: total: 18,700 km; paved: 13,109 km; unpaved: 5,591 km (1999 est.). Ports and harbors: Kingston, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Port Rhoades, Rocky Point. Airports: 35 (2004 est.). International disputes: none. Major sources and definitions

Geography

Jamaica is an island in the West Indies, 90 mi (145 km) south of Cuba and 100 mi (161 km) west of Haiti. It is a little smaller than Connecticut. The island is made up of coastal lowlands, a limestone plateau, and the Blue Mountains, a group of volcanic hills, in the east.

Government

Constitutional parliamentary democracy.

History

Jamaica was inhabited by Arawak Indians when Columbus explored it in 1494 and named it St. Iago. It remained under Spanish rule until 1655, when it became a British possession. Buccaneers operated from Port Royal, also the capital, until it fell into the sea in an earthquake in 1692. Disease decimated the Arawaks, so black slaves were imported to work on the sugar plantations. During the 17th and 18th centuries the British were consistently harassed by the Maroons, armed bands of freed slaves roaming the countryside. Abolition of the slave trade (1807), emancipation of the slaves (1833), and a drop in sugar prices eventually led to a depression that resulted in an uprising in 1865. The following year Jamaica became a Crown colony, and conditions improved considerably. Introduction of bananas reduced dependence on sugar.

On May 5, 1953, Jamaica gained internal autonomy, and, in 1958, it led in organizing the West Indies Federation. A nationalist labor leader, Sir Alexander Bustamente, later campaigned to withdraw from the federation. After a referendum, Jamaica became independent on Aug. 6, 1962. Michael Manley, of the socialist People's National Party, became prime minister in 1972.

The Labour Party defeated Manley in 1980 and its capitalist-oriented leader, Edward P. G. Seaga, was elected prime minister. He encouraged private investment and began an austerity program. Like other Caribbean countries, Jamaica was hard-hit by the 1981–1982 recession. Devaluation of the Jamaican dollar made Jamaican products more competitive on the world market, and the country achieved record growth in tourism and agriculture. While manufacturing also grew, food prices rose as much as 75% and thousands of Jamaicans fell deeper into poverty.

In 1989, Manley was reelected, but he resigned in 1992 and was replaced by P. J. Patterson. In May 1997, the government signed a “Ship-Rider Agreement,” allowing U.S. authorities to enter Jamaican waters and search vessels with the Jamaican government's permission in order to fight drug trafficking. In 2001, violence between politically connected gangs escalated in Kingston, promoting fears that the tourist industry could suffer. In Oct. 2002, Patterson won his third term in office.

In Sept. 2004, Hurricane Ivan, the worst storm to hit the island in decades, destroyed thousands of homes.

In March 2006, Portia Simpson Miller of the People's National Party (PNP) became Jamaica's first female prime minister. In the country's general election in September 2007, the opposition Jamaica Labour Party narrowly defeated the center-left People's National Party, which had been in power for 18 years, 50.1% to 49.8%. Bruce Golding took office as prime minister days after the election.

See also Encyclopedia: Jamaica.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Jamaica
Statistical Institute of Jamaica www.statinja.com/ .

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