Jamaica

Facts & Figures

Map of Jamaica
  • Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II (1952)

    Governor-General: Patrick Allen (2009)

    Prime Minister: Portia Simpson-Miller (2012)

    Land area: 4,181 sq mi (10,829 sq km); total area: 4,244 sq mi (10,991 sq km)

    Population (2014 est.): 2,930,050 (growth rate: 0.69%); birth rate: 18.41/1000; infant mortality rate: 13.69/1000; life expectancy: 73.48

    Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Kingston, 571,000

    Monetary unit: Jamaican dollar

    Current government officials

    Languages: English, Jamaican Creole

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

    Religions: 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.)

    National Holiday: Independence Day, August 6

    Literacy rate: 87% (2011 est.)

    Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.): $25.13 billion; per capita $9,000. Real growth rate: 0.4%. Inflation: 9.4%. Unemployment: 16.3%. Arable land: 10.92%. Agriculture: sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks. Labor force: 1.261 million; agriculture 17%, industry 19%, services 64%. Industries: tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications. Natural resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone. Exports: $1.775 billion (2013 est.): alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels. Imports: $5.559 billion (2013 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, China, Netherlands, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Mexico, Slovenia, UAE (2012).

    Member of Commonwealth of Nations

    Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 265,000 (2011); mobile cellular: 2.665 million (2009). Broadcast media: 3 free-to-air TV stations, subscription cable services, and roughly 30 radio stations (2013). Internet hosts: 3,906 (2012). Internet users: 1.581 (2009).

    Transportation: Roadways: 22,121 km (includes 44 km of expressways). Ports and terminals: Discovery Bay (Port Rhoades), Kingston, Montego Bay, Port Antonio, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Rocky Point. Airports: 28 (2013 est.).

    International disputes: none.

    Major sources and definitions

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