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Compare Jamaica (2005) - Sierra Leone (2008)

Compare Jamaica (2005) z Sierra Leone (2008)

 Jamaica (2005)Sierra Leone (2008)
 JamaicaSierra Leone
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


note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation
3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western*
Age structure 0-14 years: 27.5% (male 385,099/female 367,398)


15-64 years: 65.6% (male 897,953/female 893,509)


65 years and over: 6.9% (male 83,632/female 104,241) (2005 est.)
0-14 years: 44.8% (male 1,349,878/female 1,400,297)


15-64 years: 52% (male 1,531,763/female 1,664,996)


65 years and over: 3.2% (male 92,360/female 105,268) (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, vegetables, poultry, goats, milk, crustaceans, and mollusks rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish
Airports 35 (2004 est.) 10 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways total: 11


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.)
total: 1


over 3,047 m: 1 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways total: 24


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 22 (2004 est.)
total: 9


914 to 1,523 m: 7


under 914 m: 2 (2007)
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 drop off in tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the democratic socialists voted out of office. Political violence marred elections during the 1990s. Democracy is slowly being reestablished after the civil war from 1991 to 2002 that resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (about one-third of the population). The military, which took over full responsibility for security following the departure of UN peacekeepers at the end of 2005, is increasingly developing as a guarantor of the country's stability. The armed forces remained on the sideline during the 2007 presidential election, but still look to the UN Integrated Office in Sierra Leone (UNIOSIL) - a civilian UN mission - to support efforts to consolidate peace. The new government's priorities include furthering development, creating jobs, and stamping out endemic corruption.
Birth rate 16.56 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) 45.41 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Budget revenues: $2.793 billion


expenditures: $3.157 billion, including capital expenditures of $236 million (2004 est.)
revenues: $96 million


expenditures: $351 million (2000 est.)
Capital Kingston name: Freetown


geographic coordinates: 8 30 N, 13 15 W


time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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


local long form: Republic of Sierra Leone


local short form: Sierra Leone
Death rate 5.37 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) 22.64 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Debt - external $5.964 billion (2004 est.) $1.61 billion (2003 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 Thomas N. HULL


embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown


mailing address: use embassy street address


telephone: [232] (22) 515 000 or [232] (76) 515 000


FAX: [232] (22) 225471
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Gordon SHIRLEY


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 Hassan M. CONTECH


chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009


telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263


FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793
Disputes - international none as domestic fighting among disparate ethnic groups, rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone gradually abate, the number of refugees in border areas has begun to slowly dwindle; UN Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) has maintained over 4,000 peacekeepers in Sierra Leone since 1999; Sierra Leone considers excessive Guinea's definition of the flood plain limits to define the left bank boundary of the Makona and Moa rivers and protests Guinea's continued occupation of these lands including the hamlet of Yenga occupied since 1998
Economic aid - recipient $16 million (2003) $343.4 million (2005 est.)
Economy - overview The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. The global economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted economic growth; the economy rebounded moderately in 2003-04, with brisk tourist seasons. But the economy faces serious long-term problems: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a sizable merchandise trade deficit; large-scale unemployment; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy. The ratio of debt to GDP is close to 150%. Inflation, previously a bright spot, is expected to remain in the double digits. Uncertain economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. In 2004, the government faced the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem which is hampering economic growth. Attempts at deficit control were derailed by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, which required substantial government spending to repair the damage. Despite the hurricane, tourism looks set to enjoy solid growth for the foreseeable future. Sierra Leone is an extremely poor nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. While it possesses substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources, its physical and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. Nearly half 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. Alluvial diamond mining remains the major source of hard currency earnings accounting for nearly half of Sierra Leone's exports. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad, which is essential to offset the severe trade imbalance and supplement government revenues. The IMF has completed a Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility program that helped stabilize economic growth and reduce inflation. A recent increase in political stability has led to a revival of economic activity such as the rehabilitation of bauxite and rutile mining.
Electricity - consumption 5.849 billion kWh (2002) 227.9 million kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2002) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2002) 0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - production 6.289 billion kWh (2002) 245 million kWh (2005)
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 depleted natural resources; overfishing
Environment - international agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, 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, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands


signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Ethnic groups black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% 20 African ethnic groups 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole (Krio) 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 - 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002), 45.996 (2001), 42.986 (2000) leones per US dollar - NA (2007), 2,961.7 (2006), 2,889.6 (2005), 2,701.3 (2004), 2,347.9 (2003)
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 Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government


head of government: President Ernest Bai KOROMA (since 17 September 2007)


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 (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 August 2007 and 8 September 2007 (next to be held in 2012)


election results: second round results; percent of vote - Ernest Bai KOROMA 54.6%, Solomon BEREWA 45.4%
Exports NA 431.1 bbl/day (2004)
Exports - commodities alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish
Exports - partners US 17.4%, Canada 14.8%, France 13%, China 10.5%, UK 8.7%, Netherlands 7.5%, Norway 6%, Germany 5.9% (2004) Belgium 52.1%, US 19.1%, Netherlands 6.8% (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 equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 6.1%


industry: 32.7%


services: 61.3% (2004 est.)
agriculture: 49%


industry: 31%


services: 21% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $4,100 (2004 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 1.9% (2004 est.) 6.8% (2007 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 rainfall along the coast can reach 495 cm (195 inches) a year, making it one of the wettest places along coastal, western Africa
Heliports - 2 (2007)
Highways total: 18,700 km


paved: 13,109 km


unpaved: 5,591 km (1999 est.)
-
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 2.7%


highest 10%: 30.3% (2000)
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 NA 8,864 bbl/day (2004)
Imports - commodities food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals
Imports - partners US 38.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.2%, France 5.6%, Japan 4.7% (2004) Cote d'Ivoire 9.3%, US 7.7%, China 7.7%, Brazil 6.9%, UK 6.7%, Netherlands 5.5%, South Africa 4.5%, India 4.3%, France 4.2% (2006)
Independence 6 August 1962 (from UK) 27 April 1961 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate -2% (2000 est.) NA%
Industries tourism, bauxite/alumina, textiles, agro processing, wearing apparel, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications diamond mining; small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining, small commercial ship repair
Infant mortality rate total: 12.36 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 13.35 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 11.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
total: 158.27 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 175.39 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 140.65 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 12.4% (2004 est.) 1% (2002 est.)
International organization participation ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIT, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Irrigated land 250 sq km (1998 est.) 300 sq km (2003)
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 1.14 million (2004 est.) 1.369 million (1981 est.)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 20.1%, industry 16.6%, services 63.4% (2003) 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: 10.16%


other: 73.77% (2001)
arable land: 7.95%


permanent crops: 1.05%


other: 91% (2005)
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 in October 2007)


election results: percent of vote by party - PNP 52%, JLP 47.3%; seats by party - PNP 34, JLP 26
unicameral Parliament (124 seats; 112 members elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; to serve five-year terms)


elections: last held on 11 August 2007 (next to be held in 2012)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - APC 59, SLPP 43, PMDC 10
Life expectancy at birth total population: 73.33 years


male: 71.63 years


female: 75.12 years (2005 est.)
total population: 40.58 years


male: 38.36 years


female: 42.87 years (2007 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 English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic


total population: 35.1%


male: 46.9%


female: 24.4% (2004 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 straight baselines


territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
territorial sea: 12 nm


contiguous zone: 24 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm


continental shelf: 200 nm
Merchant marine total: 9 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 74,881 GRT/100,682 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 5, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 3


foreign-owned: 8 (Germany 2, Greece 5, UAE 1) (2005)
total: 113 ships (1000 GRT or over) 314,549 GRT/419,409 DWT


by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 85, chemical tanker 4, combination ore/oil 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 4


foreign-owned: 47 (Belgium 1, China 8, Greece 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 8, Turkey 7, Ukraine 8, UAE 7) (2007)
Military branches Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF): Army (includes Air Wing, Navy (Maritime Wing)) (2007)
Military expenditures - dollar figure $31.2 million (2003) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 0.4% (2003) 2.3% (2006)
National holiday Independence Day, 6 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 -4.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) 0.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population


note: refugees currently in surrounding countries are slowly returning (2007 est.)
Political parties and leaders Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Hyacinth BENNETT]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON] All People's Congress or APC [Ernest Bai KOROMA]; Peace and Liberation Party or PLP [Darlington MORRISON]; People's Movement for Democratic Change or PMDC [Charles MARGAI]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [Solomon BEREWA]; numerous others
Political pressure groups and leaders New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) trade unions and student unions
Population 2,731,832 (July 2005 est.) 6,144,562 (July 2007 est.)
Population below poverty line 19.7% (2002 est.) 70.2% (2004)
Population growth rate 0.71% (2005 est.) 2.292% (2007 est.)
Ports and harbors Kingston, Port Esquivel, Port Kaiser, Port Rhoades, Rocky Point -
Radio broadcast stations AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (2001)
Railways total: 272 km


standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-m gauge


note: 207 of these km belonging to the Jamaica Railway Corporation had been in common carrier service until 1992 but are no longer operational; 57 km of the remaining track is privately owned and used by ALCAN to transport bauxite (2003)
-
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%, Christian 10%, indigenous beliefs 30%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female


total population: 1 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 0.964 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.877 male(s)/female


total population: 0.938 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: country code - 1-876; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables
general assessment: marginal telephone service


domestic: the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema


international: country code - 232; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use 444,400 (2002) 24,000 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular 1.4 million (2002) 113,200 (2003)
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 1.95 children born/woman (2005 est.) 6.01 children born/woman (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate 15% (2004 est.) NA%
Waterways - 800 km (600 km year round) (2005)
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