Country Facts - Jamaica

The People

Nationality

Jamaican(s)

Ethnic Composition

Black African	90.9%
East Indian	1.3%
White	0.2%
Chinese	0.2%
Mixed	7.3%
Other	0.1%

Religious Composition

Protestant	61.3%
Church of God	21.2%
Seventh-Day Adventist	9.0%
Baptist	8.8%
Pentecostal	7.6%
Anglican	5.5%
Roman Catholic	4.0%
Methodist	2.7%
United Church	2.7%
Jehovah's Witness	1.6%
Brethren	1.1%
Moravian	1.1%
Roman Catholic	4.0%
Other, including spiritual cults	34.7%

Languages Spoken

English, patois English

Education and Literacy

Nationwide literacy above the age of 15 is 85 percent; 80.8 percent among males, and 89.1 percent among females..

Labor Force

Total: 1.13 million (1998)

By occupation:

Services	60%
Agriculture	21%
Industry	19%

Geography

Land Mass Total

4,243 sq mi (10,991 sq km)

Land

4,181 sq mi (10,831 sq km)

Water

61 sq mi (160 sq km)

Land Boundaries

0 mi (0 km), island

Coastline

635 mi (1,022 km)

Maritime claim

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
Contiguous zone: 24 nm

Climate/Weather

Tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior.

Terrain

Mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Caribbean Sea 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Blue Mountain Peak 7,401 ft (2,256 m)

Natural Resources

Bauxite, gypsum, limestone. (Mineral resources)

Land use

Arable land	16%
Permanent crops	9%
Other	75%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Hurricanes (usually July to November).

Environment - current issues

Heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions.

Geography Note

Strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal.

Demographics

Population

2,680,029 (July 2002

)

Age structure

0-14 years:	29.1%	Male: 399,249	Female: 380,864
15-64 years:	64.1%	Male: 858,433	Female: 859,174
65 years and over:	6.8%	Male: 81,321	Female: 100,988

(2002)

Growth Rate

0.56% (2002)

Life Expectancy

75.64 years (2002)
Female: 77.73 years
Male: 73.65 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$3,700 (2001)

Infant Mortality

13.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	1 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	0.81 male(s)/female
Total population:	1 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

-6.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

The economy, which depends heavily on tourism and bauxite, has been stagnant since 1995. After five years of recession, the economy grew 0.8 percent in 2000 and 1.1 percent in 2001, but the global economic slowdown, particularly in the United States after the 11 September terrorist attacks, has stunted the economic recovery. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy, particularly the financial sector. Depressed economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including a mounting crime rate. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment, maintaining a competitive exchange rate, selling off reacquired firms, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies. Despite these problems, Jamaica managed to show 1.7-percent growth in 2002, with higher percentages (2.5 percent plus) projected for 2003 and 2004. Inflation for 2002 was 7.3 percent as compared to 8.8 percent for 2001. This marked the sixth consecutive calendar year of inflation below 10 percent, breaking the chain of double-digit inflation that had plagued the island for decades..

Unemployment

16% (2000)

Inflation Rate

6.9% (2001)

Industries

Tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products.

Exports

US$1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$3.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$9.8 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

U.S. 35.7%, E.U. (excluding U.K.) 15.6%, U.K. 13%, Canada 10.5%. (1999)

Top Import Partners

U.S. 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%, Latin America 7.2%, E.U. (excluding U.K.) 4.7%. (1999)

Top Exports

Alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum

Top Imports

Machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers

Debt - external

US$5.2 billion (2001)

Economic aid

US$102.7 million (1995)

Fiscal Year:

April 1 to March 31

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	Monday through Friday 7:15a.m. to 4p.m.	Closed
Retail	8a.m. to 6p.m.	Saturdays 10a.m. to 5p.m.
Banks	Monday to Thursday 9a.m. to 2p.m., Friday 9a.m. to 5p.m.	A few banks open on Saturdays
Government	8a.m. to 4:30p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2002	2003	2004
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Ash Wednesday¹	March 5	February 25	February 9
Good Friday	April 18	April 9	March 25
Easter²	April 20	April 11	March 27
Easter Monday	April 21	April 12	March 28
Labor Day	May 23	May 23	May 23
Emancipation Day³	August 3	August 1	July 31
Independence Day	August 6	August 6	August 6
National Heroes' Day*¹	October 20	October 18	October 17
All Saints' Day	November 1	November 1	November 1
Christmas Day*²	December 25	December 25	December 25
Boxing Day	December 26	December 26	December 26

¹	Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, the time of penance, reflection and fasting. Mainly observed in the Catholic Church, Ash Wednesday occurs 40 days before Easter.
²	Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
³	Emancipation of slaves, takes place Sunday before Independence Day.
*¹	Observed the third Monday in October.
*²	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press