Jamaica (2001) | Gabon (2001) | |
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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 | 9 provinces; Estuaire, Haut-Ogooue, Moyen-Ogooue, Ngounie, Nyanga, Ogooue-Ivindo, Ogooue-Lolo, Ogooue-Maritime, Woleu-Ntem |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years:
33.29% (male 203,677; female 202,833) 15-64 years: 60.77% (male 373,828; female 368,282) 65 years and over: 5.94% (male 35,867; female 36,688) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk | cocoa, coffee, sugar, palm oil, rubber; cattle; okoume (a tropical softwood); fish |
Airports | 35 (2000 est.) | 59 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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.) |
total:
10 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 7 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
24 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2000 est.) |
total:
49 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 17 under 914 m: 24 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
10,990 sq km land: 10,830 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total:
267,667 sq km land: 257,667 sq km water: 10,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly smaller than Colorado |
Background | 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. | Ruled by autocratic presidents since independence from France in 1960, Gabon introduced a multiparty system and a new constitution in the early 1990s that allowed for a more transparent electoral process and for reforms of governmental institutions. A small population, abundant natural resources, and foreign private investment have helped make Gabon one of the more prosperous black African countries. |
Birth rate | 18.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 27.42 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$2.23 billion expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues:
$1.5 billion expenditures: $1.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $302 million (1996 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | Libreville |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 1,022 km | 885 km |
Constitution | 6 August 1962 | adopted 14 March 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Jamaica |
conventional long form:
Gabonese Republic conventional short form: Gabon local long form: Republique Gabonaise local short form: Gabon |
Currency | Jamaican dollar (JMD) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.7 billion (2000 est.) | $3.9 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador James V. LEDESMA embassy: Boulevard de la Mer, Libreville mailing address: B. P. 4000, Libreville telephone: [241] 76 20 03 through 76 20 04, 74 34 92 FAX: [241] 74 55 07 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Paul BOUNDOUKOU-LATHA chancery: Suite 200, 2034 20th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1000 FAX: [1] (202) 332-0668 consulate(s): New York |
Disputes - international | none | maritime boundary dispute with Equatorial Guinea because of disputed sovereignty over islands in Corisco Bay |
Economic aid - recipient | $102.7 million (1995) | $331 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | 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. | Gabon enjoys a per capita income four times that of most nations of sub-Saharan Africa. This has supported a sharp decline in extreme poverty; yet because of high income inequality a large proportion of the population remains poor. Gabon depended on timber and manganese until oil was discovered offshore in the early 1970s. The oil sector now accounts for 50% of GDP. Gabon continues to face fluctuating prices for its oil, timber, manganese, and uranium exports. Despite the abundance of natural wealth, the economy is hobbled by poor fiscal management. In 1992, the fiscal deficit widened to 2.4% of GDP, and Gabon failed to settle arrears on its bilateral debt, leading to a cancellation of rescheduling agreements with official and private creditors. Devaluation of its Francophone currency by 50% on 12 January 1994 sparked a one-time inflationary surge, to 35%; the rate dropped to 6% in 1996. The IMF provided a one-year standby arrangement in 1994-95, a three-year Enhanced Financing Facility (EFF) at near commercial rates beginning in late 1995, and stand-by credit of $119 million in October 2000. Those agreements mandate progress in privatization and fiscal discipline. France provided additional financial support in January 1997 after Gabon had met IMF targets for mid-1996. In 1997, an IMF mission to Gabon criticized the government for overspending on off-budget items, overborrowing from the central bank, and slipping on its schedule for privatization and administrative reform. The rebound of oil prices in 1999-2000 helped growth, but drops in production hampered Gabon from fully realizing potential gains. An expected decline in oil output may lead to contraction in GDP in 2001-02. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.073 billion kWh (1999) | 948.6 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 6.53 billion kWh (1999) | 1.02 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
92.28% hydro: 1.36% nuclear: 0% other: 6.36% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
29.9% hydro: 70.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Iboundji 1,575 m |
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 | deforestation; poaching |
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 |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% | Bantu tribes including four major tribal groupings (Fang, Eshira, Bapounou, Bateke), other Africans and Europeans 154,000, including 10,700 French and 11,000 persons of dual nationality |
Exchange rates | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 45.557 (January 2001), 42.701 (2000), 39.044 (1999), 36.550 (1998), 35.404 (1997), 37.120 (1996) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro |
Executive branch | 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 |
chief of state:
President El Hadj Omar BONGO (since 2 December 1967) head of government: Prime Minister Jean-Francois NTOUTOUME-EMANE (since 23 January 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; election last held 6 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister appointed by the president election results: President El Hadj Omar BONGO reelected; percent of vote - El Hadj Omar BONGO 66.6%, Pierre MAMBOUNDOU 16.5%, Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE 13.4% |
Exports | $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $3.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum | crude oil 75%, timber, manganese, uranium (1998) |
Exports - partners | US 35.7%, EU (excluding UK) 15.8%, UK 13%, Canada 10.5% (1999) | US 47%, France 19%, China 8%, Japan 1.3% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, and blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
7.4% industry: 35.2% services: 57.4% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
10% industry: 60% services: 30% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.2% (2000 est.) | 1.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 77 30 W | 1 00 S, 11 45 E |
Geography - note | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal | - |
Highways | total:
19,000 km paved: 13,433 km unpaved: 5,567 km (1997) |
total:
7,670 km paved: 629 km (including 30 km of expressways) unpaved: 7,041 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 28.9% (1996) |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
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 | $3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $1 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers | machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, petroleum products, construction materials |
Imports - partners | US 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%, Latin America 7.2%, EU (excluding UK) 4.7% (1999) | France 64%, US 4%, UK 2%, Netherlands 2%, (1999) |
Independence | 6 August 1962 (from UK) | 17 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2% (2000 est.) | 2.3% (1995) |
Industries | tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products | food and beverage; textile; lumbering and plywood; cement; petroleum extraction and refining; manganese, uranium, and gold mining; chemicals; ship repair |
Infant mortality rate | 14.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 94.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.8% (2000 est.) | 1.5% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CCC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS (associate), ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 21 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 350 sq km (1993 est.) | 40 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal | Supreme Court or Cour Supreme consisting of three chambers - Judicial, Administrative, and Accounts; Constitutional Court; Courts of Appeal; Court of State Security; County Courts |
Labor force | 1.13 million (1998) | 600,000 |
Labor force - by occupation | services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998) | agriculture 60%, services and government 25%, industry and commerce 15% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
2,551 km border countries: Cameroon 298 km, Republic of the Congo 1,903 km, Equatorial Guinea 350 km |
Land use | arable land:
14% permanent crops: 6% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 17% other: 39% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
1% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 18% forests and woodland: 77% other: 3% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English, Creole | French (official), Fang, Myene, Bateke, Bapounou/Eschira, Bandjabi |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | 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 |
bicameral legislature consists of the Senate (91 seats) and the National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats); members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms
elections: National Assembly - last held 15 and 29 December 1996 (next to be held NA December 2001); Senate - last held 26 January and 9 February 1997 (next to be held in January 2002) election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 89, PGP 9, RNB 6, CLR 3, UPG 2, USG 2, independents 4, others 5; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PDG 53, RNB 20, PGP 4, ADERE 3, RDP 1, CLR 1, independents 9 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.42 years male: 73.45 years female: 77.49 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
49.59 years male: 48.47 years female: 50.75 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 85% male: 80.8% female: 89.1% (1995 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 63.2% male: 73.7% female: 53.3% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba | Western Africa, bordering the Atlantic Ocean at the Equator, between Republic of the Congo and Equatorial Guinea |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | 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 |
contiguous zone:
24 NM exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,930 GRT/3,065 DWT ships by type: petroleum tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Jamaica Defense Force (includes Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force | Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard (charged with protecting the president and other senior officials), National Gendarmerie, National Police |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $30 million (FY95/96 est.) | $91 million (FY96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 1.6% (FY96) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
736,627 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
281,218 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
517,077 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49:
145,062 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | 20 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
27,729 (2001 est.) |
males:
11,304 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, first Monday in August (1962) | Founding of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), 12 March (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican |
noun:
Gabonese (singular and plural) adjective: Gabonese |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (especially July to November) | NA |
Natural resources | bauxite, gypsum, limestone | petroleum, manganese, uranium, gold, timber, iron ore, hydropower |
Net migration rate | -7.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 10 km | crude oil 270 km; petroleum products 14 km |
Political parties and leaders | Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON] | African Forum for Reconstruction or FAR [Leon MBOU-YEMBI]; Circle of Liberal Reformers or CLR [General Jean Boniface ASSELE]; Democratic and Republican Alliance or ADERE [Divungui-di-Ndinge DIDJOB]; Gabonese Democratic Party or PDG, former sole party [Simplice Nguedet MANZELA, secretary general]; Gabonese Party for Progress or PGP [Pierre-Louis AGONDJO-OKAWE, president]; Gabonese People's Union or UPG [Pierre MAMBOUNDOU]; Gabonese Socialist Union or USG [Serge MBA BEKALE]; National Rally of Woodcutters (Bucherons) or RNB [Fr. Paul M'BA-ABESSOLE]; People's Unity Party or PUP [Louis Gaston MAYILA]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Pierre EMBONI]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Pierre Claver MAGANGA-MOUSSAVOU] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) | NA |
Population | 2,665,636 (July 2001 est.) | 1,221,175
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 34.2% (1992 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.51% (2001 est.) | 1.02% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf) | Cap Lopez, Kango, Lambarene, Libreville, Mayumba, Owendo, Port-Gentil |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 6, FM 7, shortwave 6 (1998) |
Radios | 1.215 million (1997) | 208,000 (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 |
total:
649 km (Gabon State Railways or OCTRA) standard gauge: 649 km 1.435-m gauge; single track (1994) |
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%, Brethren 1.1%, Jehovah's Witness 1.6%, Moravian 1.1%), Roman Catholic 4%, other, including some spiritual cults 34.7% | Christian 55%-75%, animist, Muslim less than 1% |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
fully automatic domestic telephone network domestic: NA international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables |
general assessment:
NA domestic: adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 353,000 (1996) | 37,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 54,640 (1996) | 9,500 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (1997) | 4 (plus five low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | narrow coastal plain; hilly interior; savanna in east and south |
Total fertility rate | 2.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.69 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (2000 est.) | 21% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | none | 1,600 km (perennially navigable) |