Jamaica (2002) | Marshall Islands (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 | 33 municipalities; Ailinginae, Ailinglaplap, Ailuk, Arno, Aur, Bikar, Bikini, Bokak, Ebon, Enewetak, Erikub, Jabat, Jaluit, Jemo, Kili, Kwajalein, Lae, Lib, Likiep, Majuro, Maloelap, Mejit, Mili, Namorik, Namu, Rongelap, Rongrik, Toke, Ujae, Ujelang, Utirik, Wotho, Wotje |
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: 38.3% (male 12,061/female 11,622)
15-64 years: 58.9% (male 18,634/female 17,775) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 832/female 891) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk | coconuts, tomatoes, melons, taro, breadfruit, fruits; pigs, chickens |
Airports | 35 (2001) | 15 (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: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2002) |
total: 11
914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 11,854.3 sq km
land: 181.3 sq km water: 11,673 sq km (note - lagoon waters) note: includes the atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, Kwajalein, Majuro, Rongelap, and Utirik |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | about 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. | After almost four decades under US administration as the easternmost part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands attained independence in 1986 under a Compact of Free Association. Compensation claims continue as a result of US nuclear testing on some of the atolls between 1947 and 1962. The Marshall Islands hosts the US Army Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA) Reagan Missile Test Site, a key installation in the US missile defense network. |
Birth rate | 17.74 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 32.37 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.23 billion
expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million |
revenues: $42 million
expenditures: $40 million (1999) |
Capital | Kingston | name: Majuro
geographic coordinates: 7 06 N, 171 23 E time difference: UTC+12 (17 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior | tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November; islands border typhoon belt |
Coastline | 1,022 km | 370.4 km |
Constitution | 6 August 1962 | 1 May 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
conventional long form: Republic of the Marshall Islands
conventional short form: Marshall Islands local long form: Republic of the Marshall Islands local short form: Marshall Islands abbreviation: RMI former: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Marshall Islands District |
Currency | Jamaican dollar (JMD) | - |
Death rate | 5.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 4.66 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.2 billion (2001 est.) | $86.5 million (FY99/00 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 Clyde BISHOP
embassy: Oceanside, Mejen Weto, Long Island, Majuro mailing address: P. O. Box 1379, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands 96960-1379 telephone: [692] 247-4011 FAX: [692] 247-4012 |
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 Banny DE BRUM
chancery: 2433 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-5414 FAX: [1] (202) 232-3236 consulate(s) general: Honolulu |
Disputes - international | none | claims US territory of Wake Island |
Economic aid - recipient | $102.7 million (1995) (1995) | $56.56 million more than $1 billion from the US, 1986-2002 (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. | US Government assistance is the mainstay of this tiny island economy. Agricultural production, primarily subsistence, is concentrated on small farms; the most important commercial crops are coconuts and breadfruit. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, tuna processing, and copra. The tourist industry, now a small source of foreign exchange employing less than 10% of the labor force, remains the best hope for future added income. The islands have few natural resources, and imports far exceed exports. Under the terms of the Amended Compact of Free Association, the US will provide millions of dollars per year to the Marshall Islands (RMI) through 2023, at which time a Trust Fund made up of US and RMI contributions will begin perpetual annual payouts. Government downsizing, drought, a drop in construction, the decline in tourism, and less income from the renewal of fishing vessel licenses have held GDP growth to an average of 1% over the past decade. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.27 billion kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | - |
Electricity - production | 6.74 billion kWh (2000) | - |
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: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Likiep 10 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 | inadequate supplies of potable water; pollution of Majuro lagoon from household waste and discharges from fishing vessels |
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, Whaling
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% | Micronesian |
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) | 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; 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 Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 5 January 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Kessai Hesa NOTE (since 5 January 2004) cabinet: Cabinet selected by the president from among the members of the legislature elections: president elected by Parliament from among its members for a four-year term; election last held 17 November 2003 (next to be held in November 2007) election results: Kessai Hesa NOTE elected president; percent of Parliament vote - 100% |
Exports | $1.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $9.1 million f.o.b. (2000) |
Exports - commodities | alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum | copra cake, coconut oil, handicrafts, fish |
Exports - partners | US 35.7%, EU (excluding UK) 15.9%, UK 13%, Canada 10.5% (1999) | US, Japan, Australia, China (2006) |
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) | blue with two stripes radiating from the lower hoist-side corner - orange (top) and white; there is a white star with four large rays and 20 small rays on the hoist side above the two stripes |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9.8 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7%
industry: 28% services: 65% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 31.7%
industry: 14.9% services: 53.4% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.1% (2001 est.) | 3.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 77 30 W | 9 00 N, 168 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal | Bikini and Enewetak are former US nuclear test sites; Kwajalein, the famous World War II battleground, is used as a US missile test range; island city of Ebeye is the second largest settlement in the Marshall Islands, after the capital of Majuro, and one of the most densely populated locations in the Pacific |
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 | - |
Imports | $3.1 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $54.7 million f.o.b. (2000) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels, beverages and tobacco |
Imports - partners | US 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%, Latin America 7.2%, EU (excluding UK) 4.7% (1999) | US, Japan, Australia, NZ, Singapore, Fiji, China, Philippines (2006) |
Independence | 6 August 1962 (from UK) | 21 October 1986 (from the US-administered UN trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products | copra, tuna processing, tourism, craft items from seashells, wood, and pearls |
Infant mortality rate | 13.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 27.3 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.62 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.9% (2001 est.) | 3% (2005 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 | ACP, AsDB, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 21 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 250 sq km (1998 est.) | 0 sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal | Supreme Court; High Court; Traditional Rights Court |
Labor force | 1.13 million (1998) (1998) | 14,680 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998) (1998) | agriculture: 21.4%
industry: 20.9% services: 57.7% (2000) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 0 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.07%
permanent crops: 9.23% other: 74.7% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 11.11%
permanent crops: 44.44% other: 44.45% (2005) |
Languages | English, patois English | Marshallese (official) 98.2%, other languages 1.8% (1999 census)
note: English (official), widely spoken as a second language |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on adapted Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws |
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 legislature or Nitijela (33 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 17 November 2003 (next to be held by November 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - independents 33 note: the Council of Chiefs or Ironij is a 12-member body comprised of tribal chiefs that advises on matters affecting customary law and practice |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.64 years
male: 73.65 years female: 77.73 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 70.61 years
male: 68.61 years female: 72.71 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: 93.7% male: 93.6% female: 93.7% (1999) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba | Oceania, two archipelagic island chains of 29 atolls, each made up of many small islets, and five single islands in the North Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to Australia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Oceania |
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
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 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: 902 ships (1000 GRT or over) 33,260,440 GRT/55,644,008 DWT
by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 215, cargo 61, carrier 1, chemical tanker 165, combination ore/oil 6, container 171, liquefied gas 28, passenger 6, petroleum tanker 228, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 10, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 5 foreign-owned: 857 (Australia 1, Belgium 1, Bermuda 5, Canada 4, Chile 4, China 3, Croatia 4, Cyprus 39, Denmark 9, Finland 2, Germany 214, Greece 226, Hong Kong 4, Italy 3, Japan 5, South Korea 3, Latvia 10, Malaysia 3, Monaco 7, Netherlands 5, Norway 62, Romania 1, Russia 4, Saudi Arabia 4, Singapore 12, Slovenia 3, Spain 3, Sweden 1, Switzerland 14, Turkey 41, UAE 14, UK 17, US 129) (2007) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Jamaica Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force | no regular military forces; under the 1983 Compact of Free Association, the US has full authority and responsibility for security and defense of the Marshall Islands; Marshall Islands Police (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $30 million (FY95/96 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | NA |
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) | Constitution Day, 1 May (1979) |
Nationality | noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
noun: Marshallese (singular and plural)
adjective: Marshallese |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (especially July to November) | infrequent typhoons |
Natural resources | bauxite, gypsum, limestone | coconut products, marine products, deep seabed minerals |
Net migration rate | -6.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -5.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 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] | traditionally there have been no formally organized political parties; what has existed more closely resembles factions or interest groups because they do not have party headquarters, formal platforms, or party structures; the following two "groupings" have competed in legislative balloting in recent years - Aelon Kein Ad Party [Michael KABUA] and United Democratic Party or UDP [Litokwa TOMEING] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) | NA |
Population | 2,680,029 (July 2002 est.) | 61,815 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 34% (1992 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.56% (2002 est.) | 2.207% (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 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (additionally, the US Armed Forces Radio and Television Services (Central Pacific Network) operate one FM and one AM station on Kwajalein) (2005) |
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) |
- |
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% | Protestant 54.8%, Assembly of God 25.8%, Roman Catholic 8.4%, Bukot nan Jesus 2.8%, Mormon 2.1%, other Christian 3.6%, other 1%, none 1.5% (1999 census) |
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: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.048 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.934 male(s)/female total population: 1.041 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 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: digital switching equipment; modern services include telex, cellular, internet, international calling, caller ID, and leased data circuits
domestic: Majuro Atoll and Ebeye and Kwajalein islands have regular, seven-digit, direct-dial telephones; other islands interconnected by high frequency radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes) and mini-satellite telephones international: country code - 692; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean); US Government satellite communications system on Kwajalein (2001) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 353,000 (1996) | 4,500 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 54,640 (1996) | 600 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (1997) | 2 (both are US military stations; Marshalls Broadcasting Service, a cable company, operates on Majuro) (2005) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | low coral limestone and sand islands |
Total fertility rate | 2.05 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.76 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (2000 est.) | 30.9% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |