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Compare British Virgin Islands (2006) - Jamaica (2006)
Compare British Virgin Islands (2006) z Jamaica (2006)
| British Virgin Islands (2006) | Jamaica (2006) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland
note: 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 |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.5% (male 2,403/female 2,331)
15-64 years: 74.3% (male 8,811/female 8,340) 65 years and over: 5.3% (male 636/female 577) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 33.1% (male 464,297/female 449,181)
15-64 years: 59.6% (male 808,718/female 835,394) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 90,100/female 110,434) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks |
| Airports | 3 (2006) | 35 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2006) |
| Area | total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke |
total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
| Area - comparative | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
| Background | First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. | 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, replaced by African slaves. England siezed the island in 1655 and a plantation economy - based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee - was established. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of which 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. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs created by the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. The cycle of violence, drugs, and poverty has served to impoverish large sectors of the populace. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy. |
| Birth rate | 14.89 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 20.82 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $204.7 million
expenditures: $180.4 million; including capital expenditures of $33.8 million (1997) |
revenues: $2.8 billion
expenditures: $3.21 billion; including capital expenditures of $180.4 million (2005 est.) |
| Capital | name: Road Town
geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior |
| Coastline | 80 km | 1,022 km |
| Constitution | 1 June 1977, amended in 2000 | 6 August 1962 |
| Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
| Death rate | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 6.52 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $36.1 million (1997) | $7.162 billion (2005 est.) |
| Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON
embassy: Mutual Life Building, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (876) 935-6001 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Gordon SHIRLEY
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York |
| Disputes - international | none | none |
| Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $18.5 million; note - US aid only (2004) |
| Economy - overview | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 350,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 1998. Tourism suffered in 2002 because of the lackluster US economy. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959. | The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from remittances, tourism, and bauxite/alumina. The global economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted economic growth; the economy rebounded moderately in 2003-04, with brisk tourist seasons. But the economy faces serious long-term problems: high interest rates, increased foreign competition, exchange rate instability, a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a growing stock of internal debt - the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-1990s. The ratio of debt to GDP is 135%. Inflation, previously a bright spot, is expected to remain in the double digits. Uncertain economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. In 2004, the government faced 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. Attempts at deficit control were derailed by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, which required substantial government spending to repair the damage. Despite the hurricane, tourism looks set to enjoy solid growth for the foreseeable future. |
| Electricity - consumption | 32.13 million kWh (2003) | 2.974 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2004) |
| Electricity - production | 34.55 million kWh (2003) | 3.717 billion kWh (2004) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
| Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) | 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 | - | 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 |
| Ethnic groups | black 83%, white, Indian, Asian and mixed | black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% |
| Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002), 45.996 (2001) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)
head of government: Chief Minister Dr. Orlando D. SMITH (since 17 June 2003) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed chief minister by the governor |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Kenneth O. HALL (since 15 February 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Portia SIMPSON-MILLER (since 30 March 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch 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 the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister |
| Exports | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
| Exports - commodities | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand | alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels |
| Exports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2004) | US 25.8%, Canada 19.3%, UK 10.7%, Netherlands 8.6%, China 7%, Norway 6.4%, Germany 5.6% (2005) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 April - 31 March |
| Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 4.9%
industry: 33.7% services: 61.5% (2005 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2002 est.) | 1.8% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 18 30 N, 64 30 W | 18 15 N, 77 30 W |
| Geography - note | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 30.3% (2000) |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering | transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation 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 |
| Imports | NA bbl/day | NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery | food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials |
| Imports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2004) | US 41.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 14%, Venezuela 5.5%, Japan 4.6% (2005) |
| Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 6 August 1962 (from UK) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | -2% (2000 est.) |
| Industries | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center | tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 16.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 19.5 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 15.98 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.66 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.27 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2005) | 15.3% (2005 est.) |
| International organization participation | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
| Irrigated land | NA | 250 sq km (2002) |
| Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal |
| Labor force | 12,770 (2004) | 1.2 million (2005 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 0.6%
industry: 40% services: 59.4% |
agriculture: 19.3%
industry: 16.6% services: 64.1% (2004) |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
| Land use | arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005) |
arable land: 15.83%
permanent crops: 10.01% other: 74.16% (2005) |
| Languages | English (official) | English, patois English |
| Legal system | English law | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (13 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 16 May 2003 (next to be held in 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NDP 8, VIP 5 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated eight seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 16 October 2002 (next to be held no later than October 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.68 years
male: 75.56 years female: 77.84 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 73.24 years
male: 71.54 years female: 75.03 years (2006 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba |
| Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Central America and the Caribbean |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin |
| Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 1 (North Korea 1) (2006) | total: 10 ships (1000 GRT or over) 124,323 GRT/184,247 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 5, cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 10 (Germany 3, Greece 6, Italy 1) (2006) |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
| Military branches | - | Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $31.17 million (2003 est.) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.4% (2003 est.) |
| National holiday | Territory Day, 1 July | Independence Day, 6 August (1962) |
| Nationality | noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
| Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) | hurricanes (especially July to November) |
| Natural resources | NEGL | bauxite, gypsum, limestone |
| Net migration rate | 9.22 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Political parties and leaders | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] | Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Hyacinth BENNETT]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) |
| Population | 23,098 (July 2006 est.) | 2,758,124 (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 19.1% (2003 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.97% (2006 est.) | 0.8% (2006 est.) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| Railways | - | total: 272 km
standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge note: 207 of these km belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation had been in common carrier service until 1992 but are no longer operational; 57 km of the remaining track is privately owned and used by ALCAN to transport bauxite (2003) |
| Religions | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, none 2%, other 2% (1991) | Protestant 61.3% (Church of God 21.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 9%, Baptist 8.8%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Anglican 5.5%, Methodist 2.7%, United Church 2.7%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Brethren 1.1%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other including some spiritual cults 34.7% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.1 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; submarine cable to Bermuda |
general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-876; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 11,700 (2002) | 342,000 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,000 (2002) | 2.7 million (2005) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus one cable company) (1997) | 7 (1997) |
| Terrain | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
| Total fertility rate | 1.72 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 2.41 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 3.6% (1997) | 11.5% (2005 est.) |
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