Jamaica (2003) | Chad (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 | 14 prefectures (prefectures, singular - prefecture); Batha, Biltine, Borkou-Ennedi-Tibesti, Chari-Baguirmi, Guera, Kanem, Lac, Logone Occidental, Logone Oriental, Mayo-Kebbi, Moyen-Chari, Ouaddai, Salamat, Tandjile |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 28.6% (male 395,074; female 376,870)
15-64 years: 64.5% (male 870,486; female 869,431) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 82,022; female 101,984) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years:
47.73% (male 2,091,724; female 2,064,514) 15-64 years: 49.46% (male 2,035,099; female 2,271,389) 65 years and over: 2.81% (male 101,579; female 142,773) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk | cotton, sorghum, millet, peanuts, rice, potatoes, manioc (tapioca); cattle, sheep, goats, camels |
Airports | 35 (2002) | 50 (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:
7 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 22 (2002) |
total:
43 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 11 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total:
1.284 million sq km land: 1,259,200 sq km water: 24,800 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly more than three times the size of California |
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. | Chad, part of France's African holdings until 1960, endured three decades of ethnic warfare as well as invasions by Libya before a semblance of peace was finally restored in 1990. The government eventually suppressed or came to terms with most political-military groups, settled a territorial dispute with Libya on terms favorable to Chad, drafted a democratic constitution, and held multiparty presidential and National Assembly elections in 1996 and 1997 respectively. In 1998 a new rebellion broke out in northern Chad, which continued to escalate throughout 2000. Despite movement toward democratic reform, power remains in the hands of a northern ethnic oligarchy. |
Birth rate | 17.35 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 48.28 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.23 billion
expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million (FY 99/00 est.) |
revenues:
$198 million expenditures: $218 million, including capital expenditures of $146 million (1998 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | N'Djamena |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior | tropical in south, desert in north |
Coastline | 1,022 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 6 August 1962 | passed by referendum 31 March 1995 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
conventional long form:
Republic of Chad conventional short form: Chad local long form: Republique du Tchad local short form: Tchad |
Currency | Jamaican dollar (JMD) | Communaute Financiere Africaine franc (XAF); note - responsible authority is the Bank of the Central African States |
Death rate | 5.42 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 15.4 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $5.3 billion (2002 est.) | $1 billion (1999 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) 935-6001 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Christopher E. GOLDTHWAIT embassy: Avenue Felix Eboue, N'Djamena mailing address: B. P. 413, N'Djamena telephone: [235] (51) 70-09, (51) 90-52, (51) 92-33 FAX: [235] (51) 56-54 |
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 Hassaballah Abdelhadi Ahmat SOUBIANE chancery: 2002 R Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 462-4009 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1937 |
Disputes - international | none | delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, has been completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $238.3 million (1995); note - $125 million committed by Taiwan (August 1997); $30 million committed by African Development Bank |
Economy - overview | The economy, which depends heavily on tourism and bauxite, has been stagnant since 1995. After five years of recession, the economy inched ahead, by 0.8% in 2000, 1.7% in 2001, and 0.8% in 2002; the global economic slowdown, particularly in the United States after the 11 September 2001 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 serious violent crime. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment and tourism, maintaining a competitive exchange rate, selling off reacquired firms, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies. | Landlocked Chad's economic development suffers from its geographic remoteness, drought, lack of infrastructure, and political turmoil. About 85% of the population depends on agriculture, including the herding of livestock. Of Africa's Francophone countries, Chad benefited least from the 50% devaluation of their currencies in January 1994. Financial aid from the World Bank, the African Development Fund, and other sources is directed largely at the improvement of agriculture, especially livestock production. The World Bank's decision to back the Doba oil field development and the Chad-Cameroon pipeline will add Chad to the group of already booming West African oil exporters. However, the rank and file may not benefit much from the oil development projects. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.833 billion kWh (2001) | 83.7 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 6.272 billion kWh (2001) | 90 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 96.8%
hydro: 1.8% nuclear: 0% other: 1.5% (2001) |
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:
Djourab Depression 160 m highest point: Emi Koussi 3,415 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; improper waste disposal in rural areas contributes to soil and water pollution; desertification |
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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping |
Ethnic groups | black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% | Muslims, commonly referred to as "northerners" or "gorane" (Arabs, Toubou, Hadjerai, Fulbe, Kotoko, Kanembou, Baguirmi, Boulala, Zaghawa, and Maba); non-Muslims, commonly referred to as "southerners" (Sara, Ngambaye, Mbaye, Goulaye, Moundang, Moussei, Massa) including nonindigenous 150,000 (of whom 1,000 are French)
note: ethnicity and regional background more commonly used to identify Chadians than religious affiliation |
Exchange rates | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 48.42 (2002), 46 (2001), 42.7 (2000), 39.04 (1999), 36.55 (1998) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 699.21 (January 2001), 711.98 (2000), 615.70 (1999), 589.95 (1998), 583.67 (1997), 511.55 (1996); note - from 1 January 1999, the XAF is pegged to the euro at a rate of 655.957 XAF per euro |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Howard Felix COOKE (since 1 August 1991)
head of government: Prime Minister Percival James PATTERSON (since 30 March 1992) 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 Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY (since 4 December 1990) head of government: Prime Minister Nagoum YAMASSOUM (since 13 December 1999) cabinet: Council of State, members appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote to serve five-year term; if no candidate receives at least 50% of the total vote, the two candidates receiving the most votes must stand for a second round of voting; last held 20 May 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY elected president; percent of vote - Lt. Gen. Idriss DEBY 63%, Ngarlegy YORONGAR 16%, Saleh KEBZABO 7% note: government coalition - MPS, UNDR, and URD |
Exports | NA (2001) | $172 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum | cotton, cattle, textiles |
Exports - partners | US 28.1%, Canada 12.2%, Norway 10.7%, UK 10.5%, Germany 7%, Netherlands 5.6% (2002) | Portugal 38%, Germany 12%, Thailand, Costa Rica, South Africa, France (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 vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; similar to the flag of Romania; also similar to the flags of Andorra and Moldova, both of which have a national coat of arms centered in the yellow band; design was based on the flag of France |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10.08 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8.1 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 31% services: 63% (2002 est.) |
agriculture:
40% industry: 14% services: 46% (1998) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,800 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2002 est.) | 4% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 77 30 W | 15 00 N, 19 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal | landlocked; Lake Chad is the most significant water body in the Sahel |
Highways | total: 18,700 km
paved: 13,109 km unpaved: 5,591 km (1999 est.) |
total:
33,400 km paved: 267 km unpaved: 33,133 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 30.3% (2000) |
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 | NA (2001) | $223 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers | machinery and transportation equipment, industrial goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | US 45%, Trinidad and Tobago 11%, Japan 4.7% (2002) | France 40%, Cameroon 13%, Nigeria 12%, India 5% (1999) |
Independence | 6 August 1962 (from UK) | 11 August 1960 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | -2% (2000 est.) | 5% (1995) |
Industries | tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products | cotton textiles, meatpacking, beer brewing, natron (sodium carbonate), soap, cigarettes, construction materials |
Infant mortality rate | total: 13.26 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
95.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7% (2002 est.) | 3% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), 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, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, BDEAC, CEEAC, CEMAC, ECA, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 21 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 250 sq km (1998 est.) | 140 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; Court of Appeal; Criminal Courts; Magistrate Courts |
Labor force | 1.13 million (1998) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998) | agriculture 85% (subsistence farming, herding, and fishing) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
5,968 km border countries: Cameroon 1,094 km, Central African Republic 1,197 km, Libya 1,055 km, Niger 1,175 km, Nigeria 87 km, Sudan 1,360 km |
Land use | arable land: 16.07%
permanent crops: 9.23% other: 74.7% (1998 est.) |
arable land:
3% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 36% forests and woodland: 26% other: 35% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English, patois English | French (official), Arabic (official), Sara and Sango (in south), more than 100 different languages and dialects |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system and Chadian customary law; 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 (125 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); replaces the Higher Transitional Council or the Conseil Superieur de Transition
elections: National Assembly - last held in two rounds on 5 January and 23 February 1997 (next to be held in late 2001); in the first round of voting some candidates won clear victories by receiving 50% or more of the vote; where that did not happen, the two highest scoring candidates stood for a second round of voting election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - MPS 65, URD 29, UNDR 15, RDP 3, others 13 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.85 years
male: 73.84 years female: 77.97 years (2003 est.) |
total population:
50.88 years male: 48.86 years female: 52.98 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write French or Arabic total population: 48.1% male: 62.1% female: 34.7% (1995 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba | Central Africa, south of Libya |
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 |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 5 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 50,536 GRT/62,868 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Latvia 2, US 2 (2002 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Jamaica Defense Force (including Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force | Armed Forces (includes Ground Force, Air Force, and Gendarmerie), Republican Guard, Rapid Intervention Force, Police, Rural and Nomadic Guard (GNNT) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $30 million (FY95/96 est.) | $39 million (FY96) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% | 3.5% (FY96) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 755,698 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
1,814,578 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 528,689 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49:
949,997 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 20 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 27,398 (2003 est.) | males:
82,003 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, first Monday in August (1962) | Independence Day, 11 August (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
noun:
Chadian(s) adjective: Chadian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (especially July to November) | hot, dry, dusty harmattan winds occur in north; periodic droughts; locust plagues |
Natural resources | bauxite, gypsum, limestone | petroleum (unexploited but exploration under way), uranium, natron, kaolin, fish (Lake Chad) |
Net migration rate | -5.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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] | National Union for Development and Renewal or UNDR [Saleh KEBZABO]; Patriotic Salvation Movement or MPS [Mahamat Saleh AHMAT, chairman] (originally in opposition but now the party in power and the party of the president); Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Lal Mahamat CHOUA]; Union for Renewal and Democracy or URD [Gen. Wadal Abdelkader KAMOUGUE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) | NA |
Population | 2,695,867 (July 2003 est.) | 8,707,078 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 34.2% (1992 est.) | 64% (1995 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.61% (2003 est.) | 3.29% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf) | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 5 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1.67 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 (2002) |
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% | Muslim 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs (mostly animism) 25% |
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: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth:
1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.9 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 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:
primitive system domestic: fair system of radiotelephone communication stations international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 353,000 (1996) | 7,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 54,640 (1996) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | broad, arid plains in center, desert in north, mountains in northwest, lowlands in south |
Total fertility rate | 2.01 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 6.56 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15.4% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | 2,000 km |