Jamaica

• tropical;
• hot, humid;
• temperate interior

agricultural land:

41.4%;

• arable land 11.1%;
• permanent crops 9.2%;
• permanent pasture 21.1%

forest:

31.1%

other:

27.5% (2011 est.)

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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• third largest island in the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola);
• strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal

noun:

Jamaican(s)

adjective:

Jamaican

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.93 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.81 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Jamaica

etymology:

from the native Taino word "haymaca" meaning "Land of Wood and Water" or possibly "Land of Springs"

name:

Kingston

geographic coordinates:

18 00 N, 76 48 W

time difference:

UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

• several previous (preindependence);
• latest drafted 1961-62, submitted to British Parliament 24 July 1962, entered into force 6 August 1962 (at independence);
• amended many times, last in 2015 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

4 out of the previous 5 years

chief of state:

Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Dr. Patrick L. ALLEN (since 26 February 2009)

head of government:

Prime Minister Andrew HOLNESS (since 3 March 2016)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister

elections/appointments:

• the monarchy 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 majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general

highest resident court(s):

Court of Appeal (consists of president of the court and a minimum of 4 judges; Supreme Court (40 judges organized in specialized divisions); note - appeals beyond Jamaica's highest courts are referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) rather than to the Caribbean Court of Justice (the appellate court implemented for member states of the Caribbean Community)

judge selection and term of office:

• chief justice of the Supreme Court and president of the Court of Appeal appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister;
• other judges of both courts appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission;
• judges of both courts serve till age 70

subordinate courts:

resident magistrate courts, district courts, and petty sessions courts

• Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Andrew HOLNESS]
• People's National Party or PNP [Dr. Peter David PHILLIPS]
• National Democratic Movement or NDM [Peter TOWNSEND]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Audrey Patrice MARKS (since 18 January 2017)

chancery:

1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone:

[1] (202) 452-0660

FAX:

[1] (202) 452-0036

consulate(s) general:

Miami, New York

consulate(s):

Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Concord (MA), Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia (PA), Richmond (VA), San Francisco, Seattle

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Eric KHANT (since 30 June 2017)

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

• diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and fly side);
• green represents hope, vegetation, and agriculture, black reflects hardships overcome and to be faced, and yellow recalls golden sunshine and the island's natural resources

name:

"Jamaica, Land We Love"

lyrics/music:

Hugh Braham SHERLOCK/Robert Charles LIGHTBOURNE

note: adopted 1962

• sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables;
• poultry, goats, milk;
• shellfish

agriculture:

17%

industry:

19%

services:

64% (2006)

lowest 10%:

2.1%

highest 10%:

35.8% (2004)

general assessment:

fully automatic domestic telephone network

domestic:

• the 1999 agreement to open the market for telecommunications services resulted in rapid growth in mobile-cellular telephone usage while the number of fixed lines in use has declined;
• combined fixed-line and mobile cellular teledensity exceeds 120 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 1-876;
• the Fibralink submarine cable network provides enhanced delivery of business and broadband traffic and is linked to the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) submarine cable in the Dominican Republic;
• the link to ARCOS-1 provides seamless connectivity to US, parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America;
• the ALBA-1 fiber-optic submarine cable links Jamaica, Cuba, and Venezuela;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2016)

number of registered air carriers:

2; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 5

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

92,836

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

0 mt-km (2015)

total:

22,121 km (includes 44 km of expressways)

paved:

16,148 km

unpaved:

5,973 km (2011)

country comparison to the world: 104

total:

14

by type:

bulk carrier 4, cargo 5, container 4, roll on/roll off 1

foreign-owned:

14 (Denmark 1, Germany 10, Greece 3) (2010)

country comparison to the world: 103

major seaport(s):

Discovery Bay (Port Rhoades), Kingston, Montego Bay, Port Antonio, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Rocky Point

container port(s) (TEUs):

Kingston (1,724,928)

current situation:

• Jamaica is a source and destination country for children and adults subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor;
• sex trafficking of children and adults occurs on the street, in night clubs, bars, massage parlors, and private homes;
• child sex tourism is a problem in resort areas;
• Jamaicans have been subjected to sexual exploitation or forced labor in the Caribbean, Canada, the US, and the UK, while foreigners have endured conditions of forced labor in Jamaica or aboard foreign-flagged fishing vessels operating in Jamaican waters;
• a high number of Jamaican children are reported missing

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List – Jamaica does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• in 2014, the government made significant efforts to raise public awareness of human trafficking, and named a national trafficking-in-persons rapporteur – the first in the region;
• authorities initiated more new trafficking investigations than in 2013 and concluded a trafficking case in the Supreme Court, but chronic delays impeded prosecutions and no offenders were convicted for the sixth consecutive year;
• more adult trafficking victims were identified than in previous years, but only one child victim was identified, which was exceptionally low relative to the number of vulnerable children (2015)

• 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