Jamaica
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Jamaica is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. It is located about 145 kilometres (90 mi) south of Cuba, and 190 kilometres (120 mi) west of the island of Hispaniola, on which Haiti and the Dominican Republic are situated. After Hispaniola and Cuba, Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean.
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 and replaced by African slaves. England seized the island in 1655 and established a plantation economy based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee. 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.
Its major environmental issues include: 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
Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
Geographic Coordinates: 18 15 N, 77 30 W
Area: 10,991 square km (10,831 sq km land and 160 sq km water)
arable land: 15.83%
permanent crops: 10.01%
other: 74.16% (2005)
Coastline: 1,022 km
Maritime Claims: (measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines) Territorial sea to 12 nautical miles; Contiguous zone to 24 nautical miles; exclusive economic zone to 200 nautical miles; continental shelf to 200 nautical miles or to edge of the continental margin
Natural Hazards: Hurricanes (especially July to November)
Terrain: Mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain. The island consists of two main mountain ranges, the John Crow Mountains in the east and the Blue mountains. The highest point is Blue Mountain Peak (2,256 meters)
Climate: Tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior.
Capital: Kingston
Ecology and Biodiversity
Jamaica ranks fifth among the worlds islands in terms of endemic plant life. The island is home to two significant ecoregions:
The moist forests of this Jamaica are characterized by rich floral and faunal diversity. In contrast to the rest of the Caribbean archipelago, Jamaica was never connected to another landmass. As a result, the island has a particularly high proportion of endemic plant and animal species. Two notable forest areas in this ecoregion are the Blue and John Crow Mountains and Cockpit Country. Deforestation rates in this ecoregion are very high; however, due to the establishment of new protected area and management systems these rates should be slowing as logging is prohibited. Although a lack of adequate environmental legislation and enforcement seems the obvious impediments to conservation, the fundamental problem in Jamaica as in many other areas is the pervasive poverty that must be overcome.
The Jamaican dry forests cover most of the northwestern, western and southern coastal areas of Jamaica and are home to more than twenty species of endemic birds and when looking at the island as a whole; more than on any other Caribbean island as well as numerous endemic reptiles and amphibians. This ecoregion comprises approximately 15% of the land area on the island and covers most of the dry forests near the coast. The forests in this ecoregion have suffered significant pressure due to deforestation, widespread plantation agriculture and other population-related development. With increased tourism, more emphasis has been directed toward developing a system of protected areas within this ecoregion.
Because of their location on large islands, the mangroves of the Greater Antilles support relatively high levels of endemic flora and fauna, and are often part of complex assemblages of habitats that are as diverse as the conditions found in various parts of these islands. Mangroves are also a particularly important feature of Caribbean shores, as they form a barrier that helps to protect the coastal area from tropical storms and hurricanes that have become more intense in recent years. They are also important as barriers against salinization of coastal soils and groundwater and support fisheries upon which most of the population is dependent.
See also Biological diversity in the Caribbean Islands and Caribbean Sea large marine ecosystem
Protected Areas
In 1990, Jamaica created the country's first national park, Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park. It's 306 square miles (795 square km or 7% of the island)are in the eastern third of the island. Other protected areas include:
- Negril Marine Park
- Black River Morass
- Royal Palm Reserve
- Dolphin Head Reserve
- Ocho Rios Marine Park
- Cockpit Country Reserve
- Port Antonio Marine Park
- Montego Bay Marine Park
- Palisadoes-Port Royal Protected Area
- Portland Bight Protected Area
International Environmental Agreements
Jamaica is party to international agreements on: 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, and Wetlands.
People and Society
Population: 2,825,928 (July 2009 est.)
Age Structure:
0-14 years: 31.4% (male 451,310/female 436,466)
15-64 years: 61.1% (male 851,372/female 875,132)
65 years and over: 7.5% (male 94,833/female 116,815) (2009 est.)
Population Growth Rate: 0.755% (2009 est.)
Birthrate: 20.04 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death Rate: 6.37 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net Migration Rate: -5.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Life Expectancy at Birth: 73.53 years
Total Fertility Rate: 2.25 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Languages: English, English patois
Literacy: 87.9%
The Human Development Index for Jamaica is 0.724, which gives Jamaica a rank of 104th out of 177 countries with data.
Water
Fifty-six percent of the average annual rainfall is lost to evapotranspiration. The internal renewable water resources (IRWR) are 9.4 cubic kilometers per year (km3/year), with 5.5 and 3.9 km3/year for surface and groundwater respectively.
Energy
In March 2001, the U.S.-based utility, Mirant Corporation, completed an 80 percent acquisition of formerly government-owned Jamaica Public Service Company (JPSC), a fully integrated company which generates, transmits, distributes and sells power on the island. Following the Mirant acquisition, the reliability of the island’s electricity system improved, and the completion of the 120-megawatt (MW) Bogue power plant added crucial surplus generation capacity. Currently the Jamaican government is formulating a new national energy policy, which is considering alternative fuels to lessen its dependence on fuel oil. As mentioned previously, the government hopes to import LNG for new gas-fired power plants.
See Energy profile
Economy
The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for more than 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Remittances account for nearly 20% of GDP and are equivalent to tourism revenues. Jamaica's economy, already saddled with the lowest economic growth in Latin America, will face increasing difficulties as the global economy slows. The economy faces serious long-term problems: a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a debt-to-GDP ratio of almost 130%. Jamaica's onerous debt burden - the fourth highest per capita - is the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-to-late 1990s, and hinders government spending on infrastructure and social programs as debt servicing accounts for nearly half of government expenditures. Inflation rose sharply in 2008 as a result of high prices for imported food and oil and should fall in 2009 with the decline in international oil prices. High unemployment exacerbates the serious crime problem, including gang violence that is fueled by the drug trade. The GOLDING administration faces the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem that is hampering economic growth.
GDP: (Purchasing Power Parity): $20.88 billion (2008 est.)
GDP: (Official Exchange Rate): $13.47 billion (2008 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: -0.6% (2008 est.)
GDP- per capita (PPP): $7,400 (2008 est.)
GDP- composition by sector:
agriculture: 5.2%
industry: 32.9%
services: 61.8% (2008 est.)
Industries: tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications
Natural Resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Currency: Jamaican dollars (JMD)
Further Reading
Return to Jamaica's country profile
Return to the Latin America and the Caribbean Collection