Jamaica (2001) | Guam (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 | none (territory of the US) |
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:
35.07% (male 28,978; female 26,270) 15-64 years: 58.78% (male 48,704; female 43,902) 65 years and over: 6.15% (male 4,871; female 4,832) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk | fruits, copra, vegetables; eggs, pork, poultry, beef |
Airports | 35 (2000 est.) | 5 (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:
4 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 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:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Area | total:
10,990 sq km land: 10,830 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total:
549 sq km land: 549 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | three times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | Guam was ceded to the US by Spain in 1898. Captured by the Japanese in 1941, it was retaken by the US three years later. The military installation on the island is one of the most strategically important US bases in the Pacific. |
Birth rate | 18.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 25.07 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:
$605.3 million expenditures: $654.2 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000) |
Capital | Kingston | Hagatna (Agana) |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior | tropical marine; generally warm and humid, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to June, rainy season from July to December; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 1,022 km | 125.5 km |
Constitution | 6 August 1962 | Organic Act of 1 August 1950 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Jamaica |
conventional long form:
Territory of Guam conventional short form: Guam |
Currency | Jamaican dollar (JMD) | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 4.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.7 billion (2000 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | organized, unincorporated territory of the US with policy relations between Guam and the US under the jurisdiction of the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior |
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 |
none (territory of the US) |
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 |
none (territory of the US) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $102.7 million (1995) | Guam receives large transfer payments from the US Federal Treasury ($143 million in 1997) into which Guamanians pay no income or excise taxes; under the provisions of a special law of Congress, the Guam Treasury, rather than the US Treasury, receives federal income taxes paid by military and civilian Federal employees stationed in Guam |
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. | The economy depends on US military spending, tourism, and the export of fish and handicrafts. Total US grants, wage payments, and procurement outlays amounted to $1 billion in 1998. Over the past 20 years, the tourist industry has grown rapidly, creating a construction boom for new hotels and the expansion of older ones. More than 1 million tourists visit Guam each year. The industry has recently suffered setbacks because of the continuing Japanese slowdown; the Japanese normally make up almost 90% of the tourists. Most food and industrial goods are imported. Guam faces the problem of building up the civilian economic sector to offset the impact of military downsizing. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.073 billion kWh (1999) | 744 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) | 800 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
92.28% hydro: 1.36% nuclear: 0% other: 6.36% (1999) |
fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
lowest point:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Lamlam 406 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 | extirpation of native bird population by the rapid proliferation of the brown tree snake, an exotic species |
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 | black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% | Chamorro 47%, Filipino 25%, white 10%, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and other 18% |
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) | the US dollar is used |
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 George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001); Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Carl GUTIERREZ (since 8 November 1994) and Lieutenant Governor Madeleine BORDALLO (since 8 November 1994) cabinet: executive departments; heads appointed by the governor with the consent of the Guam legislature elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for a four-year term; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 3 November 1998 (next to be held NA November 2002) election results: Carl GUTIERREZ reelected governor; percent of vote - Carl GUTIERREZ (Democrat) 53.2%, Joseph ADA (Republican) 46.8% |
Exports | $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $75.7 million (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum | mostly transshipments of refined petroleum products; construction materials, fish, food and beverage products |
Exports - partners | US 35.7%, EU (excluding UK) 15.8%, UK 13%, Canada 10.5% (1999) | US 25% |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) | territorial flag is dark blue with a narrow red border on all four sides; centered is a red-bordered, pointed, vertical ellipse containing a beach scene, outrigger canoe with sail, and a palm tree with the word GUAM superimposed in bold red letters; US flag is the national flag |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
7.4% industry: 35.2% services: 57.4% (1999 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: 15% (1993) services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.2% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 77 30 W | 13 28 N, 144 47 E |
Geography - note | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for Panama Canal | largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Islands archipelago; strategic location in western North Pacific Ocean |
Highways | total:
19,000 km paved: 13,433 km unpaved: 5,567 km (1997) |
total:
885 km paved: 675 km unpaved: 210 km note: there are also 685 km of roads classified non-public, including roads located on federal government installations |
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.) | $203 million (f.o.b., 1999 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers | petroleum and petroleum products, food, manufactured goods |
Imports - partners | US 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%, Latin America 7.2%, EU (excluding UK) 4.7% (1999) | US 23%, Japan 19% |
Independence | 6 August 1962 (from UK) | none (territory of the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products | US military, tourism, construction, transshipment services, concrete products, printing and publishing, food processing, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | 14.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 6.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.8% (2000 est.) | 0% (1999 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 | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 21 (2000) | 20 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 350 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal | Federal District Court (judge is appointed by the president); Territorial Superior Court (judges appointed for eight-year terms by the governor) |
Labor force | 1.13 million (1998) | 60,000 (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998) | federal and territorial government 26%, private 74% (trade 24%, other services 40%, industry 10%) (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land:
14% permanent crops: 6% permanent pastures: 24% forests and woodland: 17% other: 39% (1993 est.) |
arable land:
11% permanent crops: 11% permanent pastures: 15% forests and woodland: 18% other: 45% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English, Creole | English, Chamorro, Japanese |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | modeled on US; US federal laws apply |
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 |
unicameral Legislature (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 8, Democratic Party 7 note: Guam elects one delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); results - Robert UNDERWOOD was reelected as delegate; percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
75.42 years male: 73.45 years female: 77.49 years (2001 est.) |
total population:
77.94 years male: 75.66 years female: 80.55 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: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (1990 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba | Oceania, island in the North Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
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 |
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.) |
none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | 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 | Independence Day, first Monday in August (1962) | Discovery Day, first Monday in March (1521) |
Nationality | noun:
Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican |
noun:
Guamanian(s) adjective: Guamanian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (especially July to November) | frequent squalls during rainy season; relatively rare, but potentially very destructive typhoons (especially in August) |
Natural resources | bauxite, gypsum, limestone | fishing (largely undeveloped), tourism (especially from Japan) |
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 | - |
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] | Democratic Party (party of the Governor) [leader NA]; Republican Party (controls the legislature) [leader NA] |
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.) | 157,557 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 34.2% (1992 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.51% (2001 est.) | 2.09% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf) | Apra Harbor |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 4, FM 7, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 1.215 million (1997) | 221,000 (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 |
0 km |
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% | Roman Catholic 85%, other 15% (1999 est.) |
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:
1.14 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.11 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.1 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal; US citizens, but do not vote in US presidential elections |
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:
modern system, integrated with US facilities for direct dialing, including free use of 800 numbers domestic: modern digital system, including cellular mobile service and local access to the Internet international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); submarine cables to US and Japan (Guam is a trans-Pacific communications hub for MCI, Sprint, AT&T, IT&E, and GTE, linking the US and Asia) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 353,000 (1996) | 84,134 (1998) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 54,640 (1996) | 55,000 (1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (1997) | 5 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs; relatively flat coralline limestone plateau (source of most fresh water), with steep coastal cliffs and narrow coastal plains in north, low-rising hills in center, mountains in south |
Total fertility rate | 2.08 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.85 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (2000 est.) | 15% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | none |