Gibraltar (2004) | Jamaica (2001) | |
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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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 18% (male 2,554; female 2,452)
15-64 years: 66.2% (male 9,460; female 8,965) 65 years and over: 15.8% (male 1,939; female 2,463) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years:
29.7% (male 405,189; female 386,555) 15-64 years: 63.52% (male 845,226; female 847,944) 65 years and over: 6.78% (male 80,667; female 100,055) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | none | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk |
Airports | 1 (2003 est.) | 35 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total:
11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 5 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
24 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 6.5 sq km
land: 6.5 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
10,990 sq km land: 10,830 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 11 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
Background | Strategically important, Gibraltar was ceded to Great Britain by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht; the British garrison was formally declared a colony in 1830. In referendums held in 1967 and 2002, Gibraltarians ignored Spanish pressure and voted overwhelmingly to remain a British dependency. | Jamaica gained full independence within the British Commonwealth in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence and a dropoff in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Subsequent governments have been open market oriented. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s. |
Birth rate | 10.99 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 18.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $307 million
expenditures: $284 million, including capital expenditures of NA (FY00/01 est.) |
revenues:
$2.23 billion expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Gibraltar | Kingston |
Climate | Mediterranean with mild winters and warm summers | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior |
Coastline | 12 km | 1,022 km |
Constitution | 30 May 1969 | 6 August 1962 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Gibraltar |
conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Jamaica |
Currency | Gibraltar pound (GIP) | Jamaican dollar (JMD) |
Death rate | 9.05 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | NA (2000 est.) | $4.7 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Stanley Louis MCLELLAND embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor, Kingston 5 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859 FAX: [1] (876) 926-6743 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Richard Leighton BERNAL chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
Disputes - international | since Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum in 2003 against a "total shared sovereignty" arrangement, talks between the UK and Spain over the fate of the 300-year-old UK colony have stalled; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy | none |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $102.7 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Gibraltar benefits from an extensive shipping trade, offshore banking, and its position as an international conference center. The British military presence has been sharply reduced and now contributes about 7% to the local economy, compared with 60% in 1984. The financial sector, tourism (almost 5 million visitors in 1998), shipping services fees, and duties on consumer goods also generate revenue. The financial sector, the shipping sector, and tourism each contribute 25%-30% of GDP. Telecommunications accounts for another 10%. In recent years, Gibraltar has seen major structural change from a public to a private sector economy, but changes in government spending still have a major impact on the level of employment. | Key sectors in this island economy are bauxite (alumina and bauxite account for more than half of exports) and tourism. Since assuming office in 1992, Prime Minister PATTERSON has eliminated most price controls, streamlined tax schedules, and privatized government enterprises. Continued tight monetary and fiscal policies have helped slow inflation - although inflationary pressures are mounting - and stabilize the exchange rate, but have resulted in the slowdown of economic growth (moving from 1.5% in 1992 to 0.5% in 1995). In 1996, GDP showed negative growth (-1.4%) and remained negative through 1999. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; the weak financial condition of business in general resulting in receiverships or closures and downsizings of companies; the shift in investment portfolios to non-productive, short-term high yield instruments; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt for government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy, particularly the financial sector. Depressed economic conditions in 1999-2000 led to increased civil unrest, including a mounting crime rate. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment in the productive sectors, maintaining a competitive exchange rate, stabilizing the labor environment, selling off reacquired firms, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies. |
Electricity - consumption | 93 million kWh (2001) | 6.073 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 100 million kWh (2001) | 6.53 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
92.28% hydro: 1.36% nuclear: 0% other: 6.36% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Rock of Gibraltar 426 m |
lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural freshwater resources: large concrete or natural rock water catchments collect rainwater (no longer used for drinking water) and adequate desalination plant | 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, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Spanish, Italian, English, Maltese, Portuguese, German, North Africans | black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% |
Exchange rates | Gibraltar pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998); note - the Gibraltar pound is at par with the British pound | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 45.557 (January 2001), 42.701 (2000), 39.044 (1999), 36.550 (1998), 35.404 (1997), 37.120 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor and Commander-in-Chief Sir Francis RICHARDS (since 27 May 2003)
head of government: Chief Minister Peter CARUANA (since 17 May 1996) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed from among the 15 elected members of the House of Assembly by the governor in consultation with the chief minister 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 Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991) head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) and Deputy Prime Minister Seymour MULLINGS (since NA 1993) 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; prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the governor general |
Exports | NA (2001) | $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | (principally reexports) petroleum 51%, manufactured goods 41%, other 8% | alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum |
Exports - partners | Germany 25.6%, France 24.8%, UK 14.3%, Turkmenistan 9.4%, Switzerland 7.5%, Spain 5.6% (2003) | US 35.7%, EU (excluding UK) 15.8%, UK 13%, Canada 10.5% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | two horizontal bands of white (top, double width) and red with a three-towered red castle in the center of the white band; hanging from the castle gate is a gold key centered in the red band | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $500 million (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $9.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
7.4% industry: 35.2% services: 57.4% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $17,500 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 0.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 36 8 N, 5 21 W | 18 15 N, 77 30 W |
Geography - note | strategic location on Strait of Gibraltar that links the North Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal |
Highways | total: 29 km
paved: 29 km unpaved: 0 km (2002) |
total:
19,000 km paved: 13,433 km unpaved: 5,567 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 28.9% (1996) |
Illicit drugs | - | major 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 |
Imports | NA (2001) | $3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | fuels, manufactured goods, and foodstuffs | machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers |
Imports - partners | Spain 26.5%, UK 14.8%, Russia 8.2%, Italy 6.6%, Netherlands 6.5%, France 5.3%, Germany 4.6%, Romania 4.2% (2003) | US 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%, Latin America 7.2%, EU (excluding UK) 4.7% (1999) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 6 August 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | -2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, banking and finance, ship repairing, tobacco | tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products |
Infant mortality rate | total: 5.22 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.81 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.59 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
14.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1.5% (1998) | 8.8% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | Interpol (subbureau), UPU | ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 21 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 350 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeal | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 14,800 (including non-Gibraltar laborers) (1999) | 1.13 million (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture negligible, industry 40%, services 60% | services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998) |
Land boundaries | total: 1.2 km
border countries: Spain 1.2 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land:
14% permanent crops: 6% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 17% other: 39% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (used in schools and for official purposes), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese | English, Creole |
Legal system | English law | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral House of Assembly (18 seats - 15 elected by popular vote, one appointed for the Speaker, and two ex officio members; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 November 2003 (next to be held not later than February 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - GSD 58%, GSLP 41%; seats by party - GSD 8, GSLP 7 |
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 18 December 1997 (next to be held by March 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PNP 50, JLP 10 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 79.52 years
male: 76.65 years female: 82.54 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
75.42 years male: 73.45 years female: 77.49 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: above 80% male: NA female: NA |
definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 85% male: 80.8% female: 89.1% (1995 est.) |
Location | Southwestern Europe, bordering the Strait of Gibraltar, which links the Mediterranean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southern coast of Spain | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba |
Map references | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 133 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 980,636 GRT/1,254,661 DWT
by type: bulk 3, cargo 69, chemical tanker 14, container 27, multi-functional large load carrier 3, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 13, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: Belgium 1, Cyprus 3, Denmark 1, Estonia 1, France 1, Germany 92, Greece 11, Hong Kong 2, Iceland 1, Monaco 4, Norway 6, Spain 1, United Kingdom 6, United States 2 registered in other countries: 4 (2004 est.) |
total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,930 GRT/3,065 DWT ships by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the last British regular infantry forces left Gibraltar in 1992, replaced by the Royal Gibraltar Regiment | - |
Military branches | Royal Gibraltar Regiment | Jamaica Defense Force (includes Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $30 million (FY95/96 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
736,627 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
517,077 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
27,729 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | National Day, 10 September (1967); note - day of the national referendum to decide whether to remain with the UK or go with Spain | Independence Day, first Monday in August (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Gibraltarian(s)
adjective: Gibraltar |
noun:
Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican |
Natural hazards | NA | hurricanes (especially July to November) |
Natural resources | none | bauxite, gypsum, limestone |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -7.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 10 km |
Political parties and leaders | Gibraltar Liberal Party [Joseph GARCIA]; Gibraltar Social Democrats or GSD [Peter CARUANA]; Gibraltar Socialist Labor Party or GSLP [Joseph John BOSSANO] | Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Chamber of Commerce; Gibraltar Representatives Organization; Women's Association | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) |
Population | 27,833 (July 2004 est.) | 2,665,636 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 34.2% (1992 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.19% (2004 est.) | 0.51% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Gibraltar | Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1.215 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
370 km standard gauge: 370 km 1.435-m gauge; note - 207 km belong to the Jamaica Railway Corporation in common carrier service, but are no longer operational; the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite |
Religions | Roman Catholic 76.9%, Church of England 6.9%, Muslim 6.9%, Jewish 2.3%, none or other 7% (1991) | 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%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, 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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal, plus other UK subjects who have been residents six months or more | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate, automatic domestic system and adequate international facilities
domestic: automatic exchange facilities international: country code - 350; radiotelephone; microwave radio relay; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
fully automatic domestic telephone network domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables |
Telephones - main lines in use | 24,512 (2002) | 353,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 9,797 (2002) | 54,640 (1996) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus three low-power repeaters) (1997) | 7 (1997) |
Terrain | a narrow coastal lowland borders the Rock of Gibraltar | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 2% (2001 est.) | 16% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | none |