Jamaica (2002) | Lebanon (2007) | |
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 | 8 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Aakar, Baalbek-Hermel, Beqaa, Beyrouth, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.1% (male 399,249; female 380,864)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 858,433; female 859,174) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 81,321; female 100,988) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.2% (male 525,199/female 504,240)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 1,255,624/female 1,361,265) 65 years and over: 7.1% (male 125,904/female 153,270) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk | citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats |
Airports | 35 (2001) | 7 (2007) |
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 (2002) |
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2002) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007) |
Area | total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 10,400 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut |
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. | Following the capture of Syria from the Ottoman Empire by Anglo-French forces in 1918, France received a mandate over this territory and separated out a region of Lebanon in 1920. France granted this area independence in 1943. A lengthy civil war (1975-1990) devastated the country, but Lebanon has since made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater voice in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, Lebanon has conducted several successful elections, most militias have been disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, a radical Shi'a organization listed by the US State Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, retains its weapons. During Lebanon's civil war, the Arab League legitimized in the Ta'if Accord Syria's troop deployment, numbering about 16,000 based mainly east of Beirut and in the Bekaa Valley. Damascus justified its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing Beirut's requests and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in May 2000, however, encouraged some Lebanese groups to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. The passage of UNSCR 1559 in early October 2004 - a resolution calling for Syria to withdraw from Lebanon and end its interference in Lebanese affairs - further emboldened Lebanese groups opposed to Syria's presence in Lebanon. The assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI and 20 others in February 2005 led to massive demonstrations in Beirut against the Syrian presence ("the Cedar Revolution"). Syria finally withdrew the remainder of its military forces from Lebanon in April 2005. In May-June 2005, Lebanon held its first legislative elections since the end of the civil war free of foreign interference, handing a majority to the bloc led by Saad HARIRI, the slain prime minister's son. Hizballah kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in July 2006 leading to a 34-day conflict with Israel. UNSCR 1701, which passed in August 2006, called for the disarmament of Hizballah. |
Birth rate | 17.74 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 18.08 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.23 billion
expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million |
revenues: $5.448 billion
expenditures: $7.878 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | name: Beirut
geographic coordinates: 33 52 N, 35 30 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior | Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows |
Coastline | 1,022 km | 225 km |
Constitution | 6 August 1962 | 23 May 1926; amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
conventional long form: Lebanese Republic
conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Lubnan former: Greater Lebanon |
Currency | Jamaican dollar (JMD) | - |
Death rate | 5.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 6.1 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.2 billion (2001 est.) | $32.11 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Sue McCourt COBB
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 Jeffrey D. FELTMAN
embassy: Awkar, Lebanon; (Awkar facing the Municipality) mailing address: P. O. Box 70-840, Antelias, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002; from US: US Embassy Beirut, 6070 Beirut Place, Washington, DC 20521-6070 telephone: [961] (4) 542600, 543600 FAX: [961] (4) 544136 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Seymour MULLINGS
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 (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Antoine CHEDID
chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6320 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, Los Angeles |
Disputes - international | none | lacking a treaty or other documentation describing the boundary, portions of the Lebanon-Syria boundary are unclear with several sections in dispute; since 2000, Lebanon has claimed Shab'a Farms area in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights; the roughly 2,000-strong UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has been in place since 1978 |
Economic aid - recipient | $102.7 million (1995) (1995) | $243 million received (2003) from the $4.2 billion in soft loans pledged at the November 2002 Paris II Aid Conference (2005) |
Economy - overview | The economy, which depends heavily on tourism and bauxite, has been stagnant since 1995. After five years of recession, the economy grew 0.8% in 2000 and 1.1% in 2001, but the global economic slowdown, particularly in the United States after the 11 September terrorist attacks, has stunted the economic recovery. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy, particularly the financial sector. Depressed economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including a mounting crime rate. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment, maintaining a competitive exchange rate, selling off reacquired firms, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies. | The 1975-90 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. In the years since, Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In an attempt to reduce the ballooning national debt, the Rafiq HARIRI government began an austerity program, reining in government expenditures, increasing revenue collection, and privatizing state enterprises, but economic and financial reform initiatives stalled and public debt continued to grow despite receipt of more than $2 billion in bilateral assistance at the Paris II Donors Conference. The Israeli-Hizballah conflict caused an estimated $3.6 billion in infrastructure damage in July and August 2006, and internal Lebanese political tension continues to hamper economic activity. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.27 billion kWh (2000) | 8.439 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 455 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 6.74 billion kWh (2000) | 9.571 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 89%
hydro: 3% nuclear: 0% other: 7% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 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; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% | Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1%
note: many Christian Lebanese do not identify themselves as Arab but rather as descendents of the ancient Canaanites and prefer to be called Phoenicians |
Exchange rates | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 47.277 (December 2001), 45.996 (2001), 42.701 (2000), 39.044 (1999), 36.550 (1998), 35.404 (1997) | Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (2006), 1,507.5 (2005), 1,507.5 (2004), 1,507.5 (2003), 1,507.5 (2002) |
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; 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 |
chief of state: President Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Fuad SINIORA (since 30 June 2005); Deputy Prime Minister Elias MURR (since April 2005) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term (may not serve consecutive terms); election last held 15 October 1998 (next to be held in December 2007 based on three-year extension); note - on 3 September 2004 the National Assembly voted 96 to 29 to extend Emile LAHUD's six-year term by three years; the prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by agreement, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the National Assembly is a Shi'a Muslim election results: for 15 October 1998 election: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions |
Exports | $1.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum | authentic jewelry, inorganic chemicals, miscellaneous consumer goods, fruit, tobacco, construction minerals, electric power machinery and switchgear, textile fibers, paper |
Exports - partners | US 35.7%, EU (excluding UK) 15.9%, UK 13%, Canada 10.5% (1999) | Syria 26.8%, UAE 12%, Switzerland 6%, Saudi Arabia 5.7%, Turkey 4.5% (2006) |
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 horizontal bands consisting of red (top), white (middle, double width), and red (bottom) with a green cedar tree centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9.8 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7%
industry: 28% services: 65% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 5.1%
industry: 18.4% services: 76.5% (2005) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.1% (2001 est.) | -2.8% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 77 30 W | 33 50 N, 35 50 E |
Geography - note | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal | Nahr el Litani is the only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity |
Highways | total: 19,000 km
paved: 13,433 km unpaved: 5,567 km (1997) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29% (1996) (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; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions | cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002 despite continued significant cannabis consumption; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way to European markets and for Middle Eastern consumption; money laundering of drug proceeds fuels concern that extremists are benefiting from drug trafficking |
Imports | $3.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers | petroleum products, cars, medicinal products, clothing, meat and live animals, consumer goods, paper, textile fabrics, tobacco |
Imports - partners | US 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%, Latin America 7.2%, EU (excluding UK) 4.7% (1999) | Syria 11.6%, Italy 9.8%, US 9.3%, France 7.7%, Germany 6%, China 5%, Saudi Arabia 4.7% (2006) |
Independence | 6 August 1962 (from UK) | 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products | banking, tourism, food processing, jewelry, cement, textiles, mineral and chemical products, wood and furniture products, oil refining, metal fabricating |
Infant mortality rate | 13.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 23.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.94 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.9% (2001 est.) | 4% (2006 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, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AMF, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OIF, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 21 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 250 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,040 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal | four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed) |
Labor force | 1.13 million (1998) (1998) | 1.5 million
note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998) (1998) | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 454 km
border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.07%
permanent crops: 9.23% other: 74.7% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 16.35%
permanent crops: 13.75% other: 69.9% (2005) |
Languages | English, patois English | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; 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 16 October 2002 (next to be held NA October 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26 |
unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held in four rounds on 29 May, 5, 12, 19 June 2005 (next to be held 2009) election results: percent of vote by group - NA; seats by group - Future Movement Bloc 36; Democratic Gathering 15; Development and Resistance Bloc 15; Free Patriotic Movement 15; Loyalty to the Resistance 14; Qornet Shewan 6; Lebanese Forces 5; Popular Bloc 4; Tripoli Independent Bloc 3; Kataeb Reform Movement 2; Syrian National Socialist Party 2; Tachnaq Party 2; Ba'th Party 1; Democratic Left 1; Democratic Renewal Movement 1; Kataeb Party 1; Nasserite Popular Movement 1; independent 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.64 years
male: 73.65 years female: 77.73 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 73.15 years
male: 70.67 years female: 75.77 years (2007 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: 87.4% male: 93.1% female: 82.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Middle East |
Maritime claims | measured from claimed archipelagic baselines
contiguous zone: 24 NM continental shelf: 200 NM or to edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 21,954 GRT/25,250 DWT
ships by type: petroleum tanker 1, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Latvia 2, United States 2 (2002 est.) |
total: 35 ships (1000 GRT or over) 132,871 GRT/140,011 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 14, livestock carrier 12, passenger/cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 2, vehicle carrier 2 foreign-owned: 3 (Greece 2, Syria 1) registered in other countries: 55 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Barbados 1, Cambodia 7, Comoros 5, Cyprus 1, Dominica 1, Egypt 1, Georgia 3, Honduras 2, Hong Kong 1, North Korea 3, Liberia 2, Malta 12, Mongolia 1, Panama 3, St Vincent and The Grenadines 7, Syria 4, unknown 2) (2007) |
Military branches | Jamaica Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force | Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF): Army, Navy, and Air Force (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $30 million (FY95/96 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 3.1% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 747,043 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 523,550 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 27,729 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, first Monday in August (1962) | Independence Day, 22 November (1943) |
Nationality | noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Lebanese |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (especially July to November) | dust storms, sandstorms |
Natural resources | bauxite, gypsum, limestone | limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land |
Net migration rate | -6.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 10 km | gas 43 km (2006) |
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] | 14 March Coalition: Democratic Gathering [Walid JUNBLATT, leader of Progressive Socialist Party]; Democratic Left [Ilyas ATALLAH]; Democratic Renewal Movement [Nassib LAHUD]; Future Movement Bloc [Sa'ad HARIRI]; Kataeb Reform Movement [Amine GEMAYEL]; Lebanese Forces [Samir JA'JA]; Nasserite Popular Movement [Ussama SAAD]; Qornet Shewan Gathering (a grouping composed of political parties and independent members of the National Assembly [no individual leader]); Tripoli Independent Bloc
Change and Reform Alliance: Free Patriotic Movement [Michel AWN]; Metn Bloc [Michel MURR]; Popular Bloc [Elias SKAFF]; Tachnaq Hizballah and Amal Alliance: Ba'th Party [Muhammad MUHAMMADIYAH]; Development and Resistance Bloc [Nabih BERRI, leader of Amal Movement]; Kataeb Party [Karim PAKRADONI]; Loyalty to the Resistance [Mohammad RA'AD]; Syrian Social Nationalist Party [Dr. Issam al-MAYHAYRI, secretary general] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) | none |
Population | 2,680,029 (July 2002 est.) | 3,925,502 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 34% (1992 est.) | 28% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.56% (2002 est.) | 1.198% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf) | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 1.215 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 272 km
standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge; note - 207 km, belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation, were in common carrier service but are no longer operational; the remaining track is privately owned and used to transport bauxite (2000) |
total: 401 km
standard gauge: 319 km 1.435 m narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050 m note: rail system became unusable because of damage done during fighting in the 1980s and in 2006 (2006) |
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% | Muslim 59.7% (Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 39% (Maronite Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Melkite Catholic, Armenian Orthodox, Syrian Catholic, Armenian Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Chaldean, Assyrian, Copt, Protestant), other 1.3%
note: 17 religious sects recognized |
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 (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.042 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.922 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.821 male(s)/female total population: 0.944 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education |
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: repair of the telecommunications system, severely damaged during the civil war, now complete
domestic: 2 wireless networks provide good service; political instability hampers privatization and deployment of new technologies; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership approaching 50 per 100 persons international: country code - 961; submarine cable link to Cyprus; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean); coaxial cable to Syria |
Telephones - main lines in use | 353,000 (1996) | 681,400 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 54,640 (1996) | 1.103 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (1997) | 15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.05 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.88 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (2000 est.) | 20% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |