Compare Jamaica (2007) - British Indian Ocean Territory (2003)

Compare Jamaica (2007) z British Indian Ocean Territory (2003)

	Jamaica (2007)	British Indian Ocean Territory (2003)

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	-
Age structure	0-14 years: 32.5% (male 459,968/female 444,963) 15-64 years: 60.1% (male 822,486/female 848,310) 65 years and over: 7.4% (male 91,856/female 112,549) (2007 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks	-
Airports	34 (2007)	1 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 11 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2007)	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 21 (2007)	-
Area	total: 10,991 sq km land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Connecticut	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
Background	The island - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino Indians, who had inhabited Jamaica for centuries, were gradually exterminated, replaced by African slaves. England seized the island in 1655 and a plantation economy - based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee - was established. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of whom became small farmers. Jamaica gradually obtained increasing independence from Britain, and in 1958 it joined other British Caribbean colonies in forming the Federation of the West Indies. Jamaica gained full independence when it withdrew from the Federation in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs affiliated with the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. The cycle of violence, drugs, and poverty has served to impoverish large sectors of the populace. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy.	Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.
Birth rate	20.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: $3.214 billion expenditures: $3.772 billion (2006 est.)	-
Capital	name: Kingston geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time)	-
Climate	tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	1,022 km	698 km
Constitution	6 August 1962	-
Country name	conventional long form: none conventional short form: Jamaica	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Death rate	6.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-
Debt - external	$6.926 billion (2006 est.)	-
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON embassy: 142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6 mailing address: P.O. Box 541, Kingston 5 telephone: [1] (876) 702-6000 FAX: [1] (876) 702-6348	none (overseas territory of the UK)
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, New York	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Disputes - international	none	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; repatriation is complicated by the US military lease of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain
Economic aid - recipient	$35.74 million (2005)	-
Economy - overview	The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for more than 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Jamaica's economy, already saddled with a record of sluggish growth, was hit hard by Hurricane Ivan in late 2004, but has made a gradual recovery. The economy faces serious long-term problems: high but declining interest rates, increased foreign competition, exchange rate instability, a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a high debt burden - the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-to-late 1990s. Following a strategy begun in 2004, Jamaica has reduced its public debt to 133.3% of GDP. Inflation also had declined to 5.8% at the end of 2006. High unemployment exacerbates the serious crime problem, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. The government faces the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem that is hampering economic growth.	All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing.
Electricity - consumption	6.131 billion kWh (2005)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	-
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	-
Electricity - production	6.985 billion kWh (2005)	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 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	NA
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	-
Ethnic groups	black 91.2%, mixed 6.2%, other or unknown 2.6% (2001 census)	-
Exchange rates	Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002)	-
Executive branch	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Kenneth O. HALL (since 15 February 2006) head of government: Prime Minister Bruce GOLDING (since 11 September 2007) 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Alan HUCKLE (since 2001); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
Exports	NA bbl/day	-
Exports - commodities	alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels	-
Exports - partners	US 30.2%, Canada 15.6%, China 15.2%, UK 10.3%, Netherlands 7%, Norway 4.6% (2006)	-
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March	-
Flag description	diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)	white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 5.4% industry: 33.8% services: 60.8% (2006 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	2.5% (2006 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	18 15 N, 77 30 W	6 00 S, 71 30 E
Geography - note	strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal	archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility
Highways	-	total: NA km paved: short section of paved road between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 2.1% highest 10%: 35.8% (2004)	-
Illicit drugs	transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation and consumption 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 bbl/day	-
Imports - commodities	food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials	-
Imports - partners	US 39.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.6%, Venezuela 9.5% (2006)	-
Independence	6 August 1962 (from UK)	-
Industrial production growth rate	-2% (2000 est.)	-
Industries	tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications	-
Infant mortality rate	total: 15.73 deaths/1,000 live births male: 16.4 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	8.6% (2006 est.)	-
International organization participation	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	-
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	1 (2000)
Irrigated land	250 sq km (2002)	0 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal	-
Labor force	1.249 million (2006 est.)	-
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture: 18.1% industry: 17.3% services: 64.6% (2004)	-
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 15.83% permanent crops: 10.01% other: 74.16% (2005)	arable land: NEGL permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)
Languages	English, English patois	-
Legal system	based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
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 8 seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 3 September 2007 (next to be held no later than October 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - JLP 50.1%, PNP 49.8%; seats by party - JLP 33, PNP 27	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 73.12 years male: 71.43 years female: 74.9 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.)	-
Location	Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references	Central America and the Caribbean	Political Map of the World
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	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM
Merchant marine	total: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 161,700 GRT/241,663 DWT by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 2, carrier 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 12 (Denmark 1, Germany 1, Greece 8, Latvia 2) registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007)	-
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
Military branches	Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing (2007)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.6% (2006 est.)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 6 August (1962)	-
Nationality	noun: Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican	-
Natural hazards	hurricanes (especially July to November)	NA
Natural resources	bauxite, gypsum, limestone	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Net migration rate	-6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-
Political parties and leaders	Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Portia SIMPSON-MILLER]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Michael WILLIAMS]	-
Political pressure groups and leaders	New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)	-
Population	2,780,132 (July 2007 est.)	no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960's and 1970's, in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	14.8% (2003 est.)	-
Population growth rate	0.777% (2007 est.)	-
Ports and harbors	-	Diego Garcia
Radio broadcast stations	AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Religions	Protestant 62.5% (Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, Pentecostal 9.5%, Other Church of God 8.3%, Baptist 7.2%, New Testament Church of God 6.3%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.3%, Anglican 3.6%, other Christian 7.7%), Roman Catholic 2.6%, other or unspecified 14.2%, none 20.9%, (2001 census)	-
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.034 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.816 male(s)/female total population: 0.978 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	-
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	-
Telephone system	general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network domestic: the 1999 agreement to open the market for telecommunications services resulted in rapid growth in mobile-cellular telephone usage; mobile-cellular teledensity now exceeds 100 per 100 persons; the number of fixed-lines in use has been declining international: country code - 1-876; the Fibralink submarine cable network provides enhanced delivery of business and broadband traffic and is linked to the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) submarine cable in the Dominican Republic; the link to ARCOS-1 provides seamless connectivity to US, parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)	general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	319,000 (2005)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	2.804 million (2005)	-
Television broadcast stations	7 (1997)	1 (1997)
Terrain	mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)
Total fertility rate	2.36 children born/woman (2007 est.)	-
Unemployment rate	11.3% (2006 est.)	-
Waterways	-	none

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