Jamaica

• tropical;
• hot, humid;
• temperate interior

• 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

total:

30.9 years (2024 est.)

male:

30.1 years

female:

31.7 years

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.91 male(s)/female

total population:

0.98 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

10.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)

male:

11.9 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

9.4 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

76.3 years (2024 est.)

male:

74.5 years

female:

78.1 years

total:

3.46 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

1.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

0.25 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

1.66 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.35 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

9.4% (2020 est.)

male:

15% (2020 est.)

female:

3.8% (2020 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;
• land erosion

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• tropical;
• hot, humid;
• temperate interior

urban population:

57.4% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.79% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

14.83 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

8.23 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

1.08 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal:

140 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

1.1 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

110 million cubic meters (2020 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)

etymology:

the name is a blending of the words "king's" and "town"; the English king at the time of the city's founding in 1692 was WILLIAM III (r. 1689-1702)

history:

several previous (preindependence); latest drafted 1961-62, submitted to British Parliament 24 July 1962, entered into force 6 August 1962 (at independence)

amendments:

• proposed by Parliament;
• passage of amendments to "non-entrenched" constitutional sections, such as lowering the voting age, requires majority vote by the Parliament membership;
• passage of amendments to "entrenched" sections, such as fundamental rights and freedoms, requires two-thirds majority vote of Parliament;
• passage of amendments to "specially entrenched" sections such as the dissolution of Parliament or the executive authority of the monarch requires two-thirds approval by Parliament and approval in a referendum;
• amended many times, last in 2017;
• note - in mid-July 2024, Jamaica’s Constitutional Reform Committee submitted its report on recommendations for reform of the constitution and awaiting debate in Parliament

citizenship by birth:

yes

citizenship by descent only:

yes

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

4 out of the previous 5 years

chief of state:

King CHARLES III (since 8 September 2022); represented by Governor General Sir 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

note: the Jamaican Government, in May 2023, announced plans to hold a referendum in 2024 to determine whether or not to remain in the Commonwealth or become a republic

highest 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 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
• Jamaica Progressive Party or JPP
• People's National Party or PNP
• United Independents' Congress or UIC

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

email address and website:

[email protected]; Jamaican Embassy (embassyofjamaica.org)

consulate(s) general:

Miami, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador N. Nickolas PERRY (since 13 May 2022)

embassy:

142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6

mailing address:

3210 Kingston Place, Washington DC 20521-3210

telephone:

(876) 702-6000

FAX:

(876) 702-6348

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://jm.usembassy.gov/

• 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

total World Heritage Sites:

1 (mixed)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

Blue and John Crow Mountains

• upper-middle-income Caribbean island economy;
• key agriculture and tourism sectors;
• high crime, youth unemployment, and poverty;
• susceptible to natural disasters and global commodity price shocks;
• progress in reducing public debt and moderating inflation within target range

Fitch rating:

B+ (2019)

Moody's rating:

B2 (2019)

Standard & Poors rating: B+ (2019)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

agriculture:

9% (2023 est.)

industry:

18.6% (2023 est.)

services:

60.1% (2023 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

total:

13.8% (2023 est.)

male:

13.1% (2023 est.)

female:

14.9% (2023 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

lowest 10%:

2.2% (2021 est.)

highest 10%:

29.9% (2021 est.)

consumption:

65,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

exports:

100 metric tons (2022 est.)

imports:

65,000 metric tons (2022 est.)

total petroleum production:

3,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

49,000 bbl/day (2022 est.)

consumption:

664.834 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

imports:

664.834 million cubic meters (2022 est.)

general assessment:

• Jamaica’s telecom sector has for many years been propped up by the mobile sector, which accounts for the vast majority of internet connections and voice lines;
• it also accounts for just over half of telecom sector revenue;
• in December 2020, the government announced the rollout of a national broadband network costing up to $237 million;
• the funding will be spent on improving connectivity in under served areas, improving access to education, and deploying networks to public locations such as hospitals, municipal institutions, and police stations;
• to aid in this national broadband effort, the government received a donation of 650km of fiber cabling from local cable TV providers and the two main toll road operators;
• to encourage the use of digital channels as the country deals with the Covid-19 pandemic (2021)

domestic:

fixed-line subscriptions nearly 17 per 100, cellular-mobile roughly 103 per 100 subscriptions (2021)

international:

• country code - 1-876 and 1-658;
• landing points for the ALBA-1, CFX-1, Fibralink, East-West, and Cayman-Jamaican Fiber System submarine cables providing connections to South America, parts of the Caribbean, Central America and the US;
• satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)

total ports:

11 (2024)

large:

0

medium:

1

small:

2

very small:

8

ports with oil terminals:

5

key ports:

Falmouth, Kingston, Lucea, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Rio Bueno, Rocky Point, Savannah la Mar

• 18-23 for voluntary military service (17 with parental consent) for men and women;
• 18-28 for the reserves;
• no conscription;
• since 2017, the JDF's standard mode of recruitment is to enroll recruits ages 18-23 through the Jamaica National Service Corps (JNSC), which has a service requirement of 12 months (2024)

note: as of 2022, women made up about 20% of the JDF's uniformed personnel

• Jamaica is the largest Caribbean source of marijuana and a transit point for cocaine trafficked from South America to North America and other international markets;
• criminal gangs in Jamaica, Haiti, and Central America use marijuana for currency to obtain guns or other contraband from criminal entities in Haiti and Central America