Jamaica (2002) | Sierra Leone (2001) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
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 | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* |
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:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326) 15-64 years: 52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155) 65 years and over: 3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish |
Airports | 35 (2001) | 11 (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 (2002) |
total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2002) |
total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly smaller than South Carolina |
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. | Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army. |
Birth rate | 17.74 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.23 billion
expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million |
revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | Freetown |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) |
Coastline | 1,022 km | 402 km |
Constitution | 6 August 1962 | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
Currency | Jamaican dollar (JMD) | leone (SLL) |
Death rate | 5.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.2 billion (2001 est.) | $1.28 billion (1999) |
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 Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr. embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
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 John Ernest LEIGH chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
Disputes - international | none | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia |
Economic aid - recipient | $102.7 million (1995) (1995) | $203.7 million (1995) |
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. | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.27 billion kWh (2000) | 223.2 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 6.74 billion kWh (2000) | 240 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 89%
hydro: 3% nuclear: 0% other: 7% (2000) |
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:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 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 | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing |
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, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, 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% | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians |
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) | leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996) |
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 Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5% |
Exports | $1.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish |
Exports - partners | US 35.7%, EU (excluding UK) 15.9%, UK 13%, Canada 10.5% (1999) | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (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 light green (top), white, and light blue |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9.8 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7%
industry: 28% services: 65% (2000 est.) |
agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.1% (2001 est.) | 4.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 77 30 W | 8 30 N, 11 30 W |
Geography - note | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal | - |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | total: 19,000 km
paved: 13,433 km unpaved: 5,567 km (1997) |
total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 29% (1996) (1996) |
lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
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.) | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals |
Imports - partners | US 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%, Latin America 7.2%, EU (excluding UK) 4.7% (1999) | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) |
Independence | 6 August 1962 (from UK) | 27 April 1961 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Industries | tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining |
Infant mortality rate | 13.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.9% (2001 est.) | 15% (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, 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, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 21 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 250 sq km (1998 est.) | 290 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; Appeals Court; High Court |
Labor force | 1.13 million (1998) (1998) | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998) (1998) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.07%
permanent crops: 9.23% other: 74.7% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English, patois English | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; 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 House of Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.64 years
male: 73.65 years female: 77.73 years (2002 est.) |
total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 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 English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
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:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
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:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
Military branches | Jamaica Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force | Army |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $30 million (FY95/96 est.) | $46 million (FY96/97) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 2% (FY96/97) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 747,043 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 523,550 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 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, 27 April (1961) |
Nationality | noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (especially July to November) | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms |
Natural resources | bauxite, gypsum, limestone | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite |
Net migration rate | -6.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning |
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] | All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) | Trade Unions and Student Unions |
Population | 2,680,029 (July 2002 est.) | 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 34% (1992 est.) | 68% (1989 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.56% (2002 est.) | 3.61% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf) | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) |
Radios | 1.215 million (1997) | 1.12 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:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge |
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 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% |
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:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 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:
marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: national microwave radio relay trunk system, made unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 353,000 (1996) | 17,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 54,640 (1996) | 650 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (1997) | 2 (1999) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 2.05 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 16% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) |