Jamaica ( Jamaica) is a country in Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba. Jamaica geographic coordinates 18 15 N, 77 30 W; area 160 sq km; area comparative slightly smaller than Connecticut; land boundaries 0 km; coastline 1,022 km; maritime claims measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines e; climate tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior; terrain mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain; elevation extremes Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m; natural resources bauxite, gypsum, limestone; land use 73.77% (2001); irrigated land 250 sq km (1998 est.); natural hazards hurricanes (especially 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; environment international agreements none of the selected agreements; geography note strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal;

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Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a drop off in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s. government type constitutional parliamentary democracy; capital Kingston; administrative divisions 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation; independence 6 August 1962 (from UK); national holiday Independence Day, 6 August (1962); constitution 6 August 1962; legal system based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; suffrage 18 years of age; universal;

people

Jamaica population 2,731,832 (July 2005 est.); age structure 6.9% (male 83,632/female 104,241) (2005 est.); median age 27.97 years (2005 est.); population growth rate 0.71% (2005 est.); birth rate 16.56 births/1,000 population (2005 est.); death rate 5.37 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.); net migration rate -4.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.); sex ratio 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.); infant mortality rate 13.35 deaths/1,000 live births; life expectancy at birth 78.45 years (2005 est.); total fertility rate 1.95 children born/woman (2005 est.); hiv adult rate 1.2% (2003 est.); hiv people with aids 22,000 (2003 est.); hiv deaths 900 (2003 est.); nationality Jamaican; ethnic groups black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1%; religions Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Baptist 8.8%, Anglican 5.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Br; languages English, patois English; literacy 91.6% (2003 est.);

Regions

Cities