245 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
245 lines
20 KiB
Plaintext
JAMAICA
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GEOGRAPHY
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Total area: 10,990 km2; land area: 10,830 km2
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Comparative area: slightly smaller than Connecticut
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Land boundaries: none
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Coastline: 1,022 km
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Maritime claims:
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Territorial sea: 12 nm
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Climate: tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
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Terrain: mostly mountains with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
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Natural resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone
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Land use: arable land 19%; permanent crops 6%; meadows and pastures
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18%; forest and woodland 28%; other 29%; includes irrigated 3%
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Environment: subject to hurricanes (especially July to November);
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deforestation; water pollution
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Note: strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica
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Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal
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PEOPLE
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Population: 2,489,353 (July 1991), growth rate 0.9% (1991)
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Birth rate: 24 births/1,000 population (1991)
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Death rate: 6 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
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Net migration rate: - 9 migrants/1,000 population (1991)
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Infant mortality rate: 18 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
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Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 76 years female (1991)
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Total fertility rate: 2.6 children born/woman (1991)
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Nationality: noun--Jamaican(s); adjective--Jamaican
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Ethnic divisions: African 76.3%, Afro-European 15.1%, East Indian
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and Afro-East Indian 3.0%, white 3.2%, Chinese and Afro-Chinese 1.2%,
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other 1.2%
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Religion: predominantly Protestant 55.9% (Church of God 18.4%,
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Baptist 10%, Anglican 7.1%, Seven-Day Adventist 6.9%, Pentecostal 5.2%,
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Methodist 3.1%, United Church 2.7%, other 2.5%), Roman Catholic 5%,
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other 39.1%, including some spiritualist cults (1982)
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Language: English, Creole
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Literacy: 98% (male 98%, female 99%) age 15 and over having ever
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attended school (1990 est.)
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Labor force: 1,062,100; services 41%, agriculture 22.5%, industry
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19%; unemployed 17.5% (1989)
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Organized labor: 24% of labor force (1989)
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GOVERNMENT
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Long-form name: none
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Type: parliamentary democracy
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Capital: Kingston
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Administrative divisions: 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover,
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Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine,
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Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny,
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Westmoreland
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Independence: 6 August 1962 (from UK)
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Constitution: 6 August 1962
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Legal system: based on English common law; has not accepted
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compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
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National holiday: Independence Day (first Monday in August),
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6 August 1990
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Executive branch: British monarch, governor general, prime
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minister, Cabinet
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Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house
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or Senate and a lower house or House of Representatives
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Judicial branch: Supreme Court
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Leaders:
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Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952),
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represented by Governor General Sir Florizel A. GLASSPOLE (since 2 March
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1973);
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Head of Government--Prime Minister Michael MANLEY
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(since 13 February 1989)
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Political parties and leaders:
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People's National Party (PNP), Michael MANLEY;
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Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), Edward SEAGA;
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Workers' Party of Jamaica (WPJ), Trevor MUNROE
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Suffrage: universal at age 18
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Elections:
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House of Representatives--last held 9 February 1989 (next to be
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held by February 1994);
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results--PNP 57%, JLP 43%;
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seats--(60 total) PNP 45, JLP 15
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Communists: Workers' Party of Jamaica (Marxist-Leninist)
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Other political or pressure groups:
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Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)
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Member of: ACP, C, CARICOM, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-19, G-77,
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GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT,
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INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAES, LORCS, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, UN,
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UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
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Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Richard BERNAL;
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Chancery at Suite 355, 1850 K Street NW, Washington DC 20006; telephone
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(202) 452-0660; there are Jamaican Consulates General in Miami and New
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York;
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US--Ambassador Glen A. HOLDEN; Embassy at 3rd Floor, Jamaica Mutual
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Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, Kingston; telephone (809) 929-4850
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Flag: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four
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triangles--green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and fly side)
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ECONOMY
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Overview: The economy is based on sugar, bauxite, and tourism.
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In 1985 it suffered a setback with the closure of some facilities in the
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bauxite and alumina industry, a major source of hard currency earnings.
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Since 1986 an economic recovery has been under way. In 1987 conditions
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began to improve for the bauxite and alumina industry because of
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increases in world metal prices. The recovery has also been supported by
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growth in the manufacturing and tourism sectors. In September 1988,
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Hurricane Gilbert inflicted severe damage on crops and the electric power
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system, a sharp but temporary setback to the economy. By October 1989 the
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economic recovery from the hurricane was largely complete and real growth
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was up about 3% for 1989. In 1990, 3.5% economic growth was led by
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mining and tourism.
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GDP: $3.9 billion, per capita $1,580; real growth rate 3.5% (1990)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16.0% (1990)
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Unemployment rate: 18.2% (1990)
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Budget: revenues $1.0 billion; expenditures $1.1 billion, including
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capital expenditures of $197 million (FY90 est.)
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Exports: $1.02 billion (f.o.b., 1990);
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commodities--bauxite, alumina, sugar, bananas;
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partners--US 36%, UK, Canada, Norway, Trinidad and Tobago
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Imports: $1.83 billion (c.i.f., 1990);
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commodities--petroleum, machinery, food, consumer goods,
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construction goods;
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partners--US 48%, UK, Venezuela, Canada, Japan, Trinidad and Tobago
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External debt: $4.1 billion (1990 est.)
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Industrial production: growth rate 3% (1989 est.); accounts
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for almost 25% of GDP
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Electricity: 1,122,000 kW capacity; 2,508 million kWh produced,
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1,030 kWh per capita (1990)
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Industries: tourism, bauxite mining, textiles, food processing,
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light manufactures
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Agriculture: accounts for about 9% of GDP, 22% of work force,
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and 17% of exports; commercial crops--sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus,
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potatoes, and vegetables; livestock and livestock products include
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poultry, goats, milk; not self-sufficient in grain, meat, and dairy
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products
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Illicit drugs: illicit cultivation of cannabis; transshipment point
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for ships carrying cocaine and cannabis from central and South America
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to North America
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Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.2
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billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
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(1970-88), $1.45 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $27 million;
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Communist countries (1974-89), $349 million
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Currency: Jamaican dollar (plural--dollars);
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1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents
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Exchange rates: Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1--8.106 (January
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1991), 7.184 (1990), 5.7446 (1989), 5.4886 (1988), 5.4867 (1987), 5.4778
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(1986), 5.5586 (1985)
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Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March
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COMMUNICATIONS
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Railroads: 370 km, all 1.435-meter standard gauge, single track
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Highways: 18,200 km total; 12,600 km paved, 3,200 km gravel,
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2,400 km improved earth
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Pipelines: refined products, 10 km
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Ports: Kingston, Montego Bay
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Merchant marine: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 13,048
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GRT/21,412 DWT; includes 1 cargo, 1 container, 1 roll-on/roll-off cargo,
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1 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 bulk
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Civil air: 6 major transport aircraft
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Airports: 41 total, 25 usable; 14 with permanent-surface runways;
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none with runways over 3,659 m; 2 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 2 with
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runways 1,220-2,439 m
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Telecommunications: fully automatic domestic telephone network;
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127,000 telephones; stations--10 AM, 17 FM, 8 TV; 2 Atlantic Ocean
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INTELSAT earth stations; 3 coaxial submarine cables
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DEFENSE FORCES
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Branches: Jamaica Defense Force (includes Coast Guard and Air
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Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force
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Manpower availability: males 15-49, 628,225; 446,229 fit for
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military service; no conscription; 26,442 reach minimum volunteer
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age (18) annually
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Defense expenditures: $20 million, less than 1% of GDP (FY91)
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