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Compare British Virgin Islands (2006) - Jamaica (2007)
Compare British Virgin Islands (2006) z Jamaica (2007)
| British Virgin Islands (2006) | Jamaica (2007) | |
 |  | |
| 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: 32.5% (male 459,968/female 444,963)
15-64 years: 60.1% (male 822,486/female 848,310) 65 years and over: 7.4% (male 91,856/female 112,549) (2007 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks |
| Airports | 3 (2006) | 34 (2007) |
| 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 (2007) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 23
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 21 (2007) |
| 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 seized 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 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. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs affiliated with 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.) | 20.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $204.7 million
expenditures: $180.4 million; including capital expenditures of $33.8 million (1997) |
revenues: $3.214 billion
expenditures: $3.772 billion (2006 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.) | 6.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Debt - external | $36.1 million (1997) | $6.926 billion (2006 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: 142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6 mailing address: P.O. Box 541, Kingston 5 telephone: [1] (876) 702-6000 FAX: [1] (876) 702-6348 |
| 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 | $35.74 million (2005) |
| 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 more than 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Jamaica's economy, already saddled with a record of sluggish growth, was hit hard by Hurricane Ivan in late 2004, but has made a gradual recovery. The economy faces serious long-term problems: high but declining interest rates, increased foreign competition, exchange rate instability, a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a high debt burden - the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-to-late 1990s. Following a strategy begun in 2004, Jamaica has reduced its public debt to 133.3% of GDP. Inflation also had declined to 5.8% at the end of 2006. High unemployment exacerbates the serious crime problem, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. The government 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. |
| Electricity - consumption | 32.13 million kWh (2003) | 6.131 billion kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2005) |
| Electricity - production | 34.55 million kWh (2003) | 6.985 billion kWh (2005) |
| 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 91.2%, mixed 6.2%, other or unknown 2.6% (2001 census) |
| Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002) |
| 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 Bruce GOLDING (since 11 September 2007) 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 30.2%, Canada 15.6%, China 15.2%, UK 10.3%, Netherlands 7%, Norway 4.6% (2006) |
| 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: 5.4%
industry: 33.8% services: 60.8% (2006 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2002 est.) | 2.5% (2006 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%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 35.8% (2004) |
| 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 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 |
| 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 39.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.6%, Venezuela 9.5% (2006) |
| 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: 15.73 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.4 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2005) | 8.6% (2006 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), ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, 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) | 1.249 million (2006 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 0.6%
industry: 40% services: 59.4% |
agriculture: 18.1%
industry: 17.3% services: 64.6% (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, English patois |
| 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 8 seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 3 September 2007 (next to be held no later than October 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - JLP 50.1%, PNP 49.8%; seats by party - JLP 33, PNP 27 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.68 years
male: 75.56 years female: 77.84 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 73.12 years
male: 71.43 years female: 74.9 years (2007 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: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 161,700 GRT/241,663 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 2, carrier 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 12 (Denmark 1, Germany 1, Greece 8, Latvia 2) registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007) |
| Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
| Military branches | - | Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing (2007) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.6% (2006 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.) | -6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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]; People's National Party or PNP [Portia SIMPSON-MILLER]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Michael WILLIAMS] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) |
| Population | 23,098 (July 2006 est.) | 2,780,132 (July 2007 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 14.8% (2003 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.97% (2006 est.) | 0.777% (2007 est.) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) |
| 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 62.5% (Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, Pentecostal 9.5%, Other Church of God 8.3%, Baptist 7.2%, New Testament Church of God 6.3%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.3%, Anglican 3.6%, other Christian 7.7%), Roman Catholic 2.6%, other or unspecified 14.2%, none 20.9%, (2001 census) |
| 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: 1.034 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.816 male(s)/female total population: 0.978 male(s)/female (2007 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: the 1999 agreement to open the market for telecommunications services resulted in rapid growth in mobile-cellular telephone usage; mobile-cellular teledensity now exceeds 100 per 100 persons; the number of fixed-lines in use has been declining 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; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 11,700 (2002) | 319,000 (2005) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,000 (2002) | 2.804 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.) | 2.36 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 3.6% (1997) | 11.3% (2006 est.) |
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