Afro-East Indian, 3.2% white, 1.2% Chinese and Afro-Chinese, 0.8% other
Religion: predominantly Protestant (including Anglican and Baptist), some Roman Catholic, some spiritualist cults
Language: English, Creole
Literacy: 74%
Labor force: 728,700; 32% agriculture, 28% industry and commerce, 27% services, 13% government; shortage of technical and managerial personnel (1984)
Organized labor: 25% 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 9 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, CARICOM, CCC, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDB—Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Keith JOHNSON; 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 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.
GDP: $3.8 billion, per capita $1,529; real growth rate 3.0% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 18.7% (1988)
Budget: revenues $1.1 billion; expenditures $1.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY88 est.)
Exports: $948 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities—bauxite, alumina, sugar, bananas; partners—US 40%, UK, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Norway
Imports: $1.6 billion (c.i.f., 1989 est.); commodities—petroleum, machinery, food, consumer goods, construction goods; partners—US 46%, UK, Venezuela, Canada, Japan, Trinidad and Tobago
External debt: $4.4 billion (1989 est.)
Industrial production: growth rate 3% (1989 est.)
Electricity: 1,437,000 kW capacity; 2,390 million kWh produced, 960 kWh per capita (1989)
Industries: tourism, bauxite mining, textiles, food processing, light manufactures
Agriculture: accounts for about 9% of GDP, one-third 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 has decreased, with production shifting from large to small plots and nurseries to evade aerial detection and eradication
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $1.1 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $1.2 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $27 million; Communist countries (1974-88), $349 million
Currency: Jamaican dollar (plural—dollars); 1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1—6.5013 (January 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)
Military manpower: males 15-49, 620,400; 440,967 fit for military service; no conscription; 27,014 reach minimum volunteer age (18) annually
Defense expenditures: 1.1% of GDP (1987)
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