The island - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino Indians, who had inhabited Jamaica for centuries, were gradually exterminated, replaced by African slaves. England seized the island in 1655 and a plantation economy - based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee - was established. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of whom became small farmers. Jamaica gradually obtained increasing independence from Britain, and 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. The cycle of violence, drugs, and poverty has served to impoverish large sectors of the populace. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy.
total: 23.2 years male: 22.6 years female: 23.7 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.777% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:
20.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:
6.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:
-6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.034 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.816 male(s)/female total population: 0.978 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 15.73 deaths/1,000 live births male: 16.4 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.12 years male: 71.43 years female: 74.9 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.36 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.2% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
22,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
900 (2003 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican
Ethnic groups:
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%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Baptist 8.8%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Anglican 5.5%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Brethren 1.1%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other including some spiritual cults 34.7%
Languages:
English, English patois
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.)
conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jamaica
Government type:
constitutional parliamentary democracy
Capital:
name: Kingston geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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 note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation
Independence:
6 August 1962 (from UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 6 August (1962)
Constitution:
6 August 1962
Legal system:
based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Kenneth O. HALL (since 15 February 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Portia SIMPSON-MILLER (since 30 March 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated 8 seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held no later than October 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal
Political parties and leaders:
Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Portia SIMPSON-MILLER]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Michael WILLIAMS]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)
chief of mission: Ambassador Gordon SHIRLEY chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON embassy: 142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6 mailing address: P.O. Box 541, Kingston 5 telephone: [1] (876) 702-6000 FAX: [1] (876) 702-6348
Flag description:
diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)
total: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 24 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2006)
Railways:
total: 272 km standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge note: 207 of these km belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation had been in common carrier service until 1992 but are no longer operational; 57 km of the remaining track is privately owned and used by ALCAN to transport bauxite (2003)
Roadways:
total: 20,996 km paved: 15,386 km (includes 33 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,610 km (2004)
Merchant marine:
total: 10 ships (1000 GRT or over) 124,323 GRT/184,247 DWT by type: bulk carrier 5, cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 10 (Germany 3, Greece 6, Italy 1) (2006)
Ports and terminals:
Kingston, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Port Rhoades, Rocky Point
current situation: Jamaica is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and labor; information suggests that women from the Dominican Republic and Eastern Europe are also trafficked to Jamaica for sexual exploitation; women and children are trafficked internally from rural to urban and tourist areas for sexual exploitation; there may also be trafficking for domestic servitude and forced labor tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Jamaica is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List based on the determination that it is making significant efforts to undertake future action
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation and consumption of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions
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