Guernsey (2003) | Jamaica (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 10 parishes including Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson, Vale, Castel, Saint Saviour, Saint Pierre du Bois, Torteval, Forest, Saint Martin, Saint Andrew | 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: 15.8% (male 5,216; female 5,061)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 21,433; female 21,835) 65 years and over: 17.4% (male 4,705; female 6,568) (2003 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 | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks |
Airports | 2 (2002) | 35 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
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: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2006) |
Area | total: 78 sq km
land: 78 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands |
total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | about one-half the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
Background | The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. | 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 | 9.43 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 20.82 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $381.3 million
expenditures: $368.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $2.8 billion
expenditures: $3.21 billion; including capital expenditures of $180.4 million (2005 est.) |
Capital | Saint Peter Port | name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior |
Coastline | 50 km | 1,022 km |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | 6 August 1962 |
Country name | conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
Currency | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Guernsey pound | - |
Death rate | 9.84 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 6.52 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $7.162 billion (2005 est.) |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | 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 (British crown dependency) | 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 | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance, etc. - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration of the EU nations is changing the rules of the game under which Guernsey operates. | 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 | NA kWh | 2.974 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 3.717 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 0%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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 | UK and Norman-French descent | black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% |
Exchange rates | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998); note - the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound | 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)
head of government: Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Sir John FOLEY (since NA 2000) and Bailiff de Vic Graham CAREY (since NA 1999) cabinet: Advisory and Finance Committee appointed by the Assembly of the States elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; bailiff appointed by the monarch |
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 | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables | alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels |
Exports - partners | UK (regarded as internal trade) | US 25.8%, Canada 19.3%, UK 10.7%, Netherlands 8.6%, China 7%, Norway 6.4%, Germany 5.6% (2005) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag and a yellow equal-armed cross of William the Conqueror superimposed on the Saint George cross | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.3 billion (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
agriculture: 4.9%
industry: 33.7% services: 61.5% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $20,000 (1999 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.7% (1999 est.) | 1.8% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 28 N, 2 35 W | 18 15 N, 77 30 W |
Geography - note | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
- |
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 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 | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment | food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials |
Imports - partners | UK (regarded as internal trade) | US 41.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 14%, Venezuela 5.5%, Japan 4.6% (2005) |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | 6 August 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | -2% (2000 est.) |
Industries | tourism, banking | tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications |
Infant mortality rate | total: 4.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.43 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.25 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 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) | 3.99% (2000 est.) | 15.3% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | none | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 250 sq km (2002) |
Judicial branch | Royal Court | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 31,322 (2000) | 1.2 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: 19.3%
industry: 16.6% services: 64.1% (2004) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
arable land: 15.83%
permanent crops: 10.01% other: 74.16% (2005) |
Languages | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts | English, patois English |
Legal system | English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal Court | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Assembly of the States; consists of the bailiff, 10 Douzaine (parish council) representatives, 45 people's deputies elected by popular vote, 2 representatives from Alderney, Her Majesty's Procureur (Attorney General), Her Majesty's Comptroller (Solicitor General) and Her Majesty's Greffier (Court Recorder and Registrar General); note - Alderney and Sark have their own parliaments
elections: last held 12 April 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - all independents |
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: 80.04 years
male: 77.04 years female: 83.14 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 73.24 years
male: 71.54 years female: 75.03 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% 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 | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba |
Map references | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
territorial sea: 3 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 | none (2002 est.) | 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 | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) | Independence Day, 6 August (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
Natural hazards | NA | hurricanes (especially July to November) |
Natural resources | cropland | bauxite, gypsum, limestone |
Net migration rate | 3.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none; all independents | 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 | none | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) |
Population | 64,818 (July 2003 est.) | 2,758,124 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 19.1% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.34% (2003 est.) | 0.8% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | 5 km | 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 | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist | 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: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 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: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
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 | 44,000 (1996) | 342,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 12,000 (1997) | 2.7 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 7 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly level with low hills in southwest | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 1.37 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 2.41 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.5% (1999 est.) | 11.5% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |