Jamaica (2007) | Montenegro (2006) | |
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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
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 |
21 municipalities (opstini, singular - opstina); Andrijevia, Bar, Berane, Bijelo Polje, Budva, Cetinje, Danilovgrad, Herceg Novi, Kolasin, Kotor, Mojkovac, Niksic, Plav, Pluzine, Pljevlja, Podgornica, Rozaje, Savnik, Tivat, Ulcinj, Zabljak |
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.) |
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Agriculture - products | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks | grains, tobacco, potatoes, citrus fruits, olives, grapes; sheepherding; commercial fishing negligible |
Airports | 34 (2007) | 5 (2006) |
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: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 23
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 21 (2007) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 14,026 sq km
land: 13,812 sq km water: 214 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
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. | The use of the name Montenegro began in the 15th century when the Crnojevic dynasty began to rule the Serbian principality of Zeta; over subsequent centuries it was able to maintain its independence from the Ottoman Empire. From the 16th to 19th centuries, Montenegro became a theocratic state ruled by a series of bishop princes; in 1852, it was transformed into a secular principality. After World War I, Montenegro was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and, at the conclusion of World War II, it became a constituent republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. When the latter dissolved in 1992, Montenegro federated with Serbia, first as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and, after 2003, in a looser union of Serbia and Montenegro. Following a three-year postponement, Montenegro held an independence referendum in the spring of 2006 under rules set by the EU. The vote for severing ties with Serbia exceeded the 55% threshold, allowing Montenegro to formally declare its independence on 3 June 2006. |
Birth rate | 20.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 12.6 births/1,000 population (2004) |
Budget | revenues: $3.214 billion
expenditures: $3.772 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: NA
expenditures: NA |
Capital | name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Podgorica (administrative capital)
geographic coordinates: 42 26 N, 19 16 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1 hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October note: Cetinje (capital city) |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior | Mediterranean climate, hot dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfalls inland |
Coastline | 1,022 km | 293.5 km |
Constitution | 6 August 1962 | 12 October 1992 (was approved by the Assembly) |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
conventional long form: Republic of Montenegro
conventional short form: Montenegro local long form: Republika Crna Gora local short form: Crna Gora former: People's Republic of Montenegro, Socialist Republic of Montenegro |
Death rate | 6.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 9.2 deaths/1,000 population (2004) |
Debt - external | $6.926 billion (2006 est.) | NA |
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 |
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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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Miodrag VLAHOVIC |
Disputes - international | none | ethnic Albanians in Kosovo refuse demarcation of the boundary with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro delimitation agreement, which includes a section of boundary with Montenegro |
Economic aid - recipient | $35.74 million (2005) | NA |
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. | The republic of Montenegro severed its economy from federal control and from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era and continues to maintain its own central bank, uses the euro instead of the Yugoslav dinar as official currency, collects customs tariffs, and manages its own budget. The dissolution of the loose political union between Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 led to separate membership in several international financial institutions, such as the IMF, World Bank, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Montenegro is pursuing its own membership in the World Trade Organization as well as negotiating a Stabilization and Association agreement with the European Union in anticipation of eventual membership. Severe unemployment remains a key political and economic problem for this entire region. Montenegro has privatized its large aluminum complex - the dominant industry - as well as most of its financial sector, and has begun to attract foreign direct investment in the tourism sector. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.131 billion kWh (2005) | NA |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - production | 6.985 billion kWh (2005) | 2.864 billion kWh 2.864 billion kWh (2005 est.) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Bobotov Kuk 2,522 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 | pollution of coastal waters from sewage outlets, especially in tourist-related areas such as Kotor |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | black 91.2%, mixed 6.2%, other or unknown 2.6% (2001 census) | Montenegrin 43%, Serbian 32%, Bosniak 8%, Albanian 5%, other (Muslims, Croats, Roma) 12% |
Exchange rates | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002) | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8089 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
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: President Filip VUJANOVIC (since 11 May 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Zeljko STURANOVIC (since 10 November 2006) cabinet: Ministries act as cabinet elections: president elected by direct vote for five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 11 May 2003 (next to be held in 2008); prime minister proposed by president, accepted by Assembly election results: Filip VUJANOVIC elected on the third round; Filip VUJANOVIC 63.3%, Miodrag ZIVKOVIC 30.8% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $171.3 million (2003) |
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) | Switzerland 83.9%, Italy 6.1%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.3% (2003) |
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) | a red field bordered by a narrow golden-yellow stripe with the Montenegrin coat of arms centered |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5.4%
industry: 33.8% services: 60.8% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: % NA
industry: % NA services: % NA |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2006 est.) | NA |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 77 30 W | 42 30 N, 19 18 E |
Geography - note | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal | strategic location along the Adriatic coast |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 35.8% (2004) |
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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 | $601.7 million (2003) |
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) | Greece 10.2%, Italy 10.2%, Germany 9.6%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 9.2% (2003) |
Independence | 6 August 1962 (from UK) | 3 June 2006 (from Serbia and Montenegro); note - a referendum on independence was held 21 May 2006 |
Industrial production growth rate | -2% (2000 est.) | - |
Industries | tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications | steelmaking, agricultural processing, consumer goods, tourism |
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.) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 8.6% (2006 est.) | 3.4% (2004) |
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 | CEI, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, ICFTU, ILO, Interpol, IPU, ITU, OSCE, UN, UPU, WHO, WTO (observer) |
Irrigated land | 250 sq km (2002) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal | Constitutional Court (five judges with nine-year terms); Supreme Court (judges have life tenure) |
Labor force | 1.249 million (2006 est.) | 259,100 (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 18.1%
industry: 17.3% services: 64.6% (2004) |
agriculture: 2%
industry: 30% services: 68% (2004) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 625 km
border countries: Albania 172 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 225 km, Croatia 25 km, Serbia 203 km |
Land use | arable land: 15.83%
permanent crops: 10.01% other: 74.16% (2005) |
arable land: 13.7%
permanent crops: 1% other: 85.3% |
Languages | English, English patois | Serbian (Ijekavian dialect - official), Bosnian, Albanian, Croatian |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
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 |
unicameral Assembly (81 seats, elected by direct vote for four-year terms; changed from 74 seats at the time of the elections)
elections: last held 10 September 2006 (next to be held 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - Coalition for a European Montenegro 41, SNS 12, Coalition SPP/NS/DSS 11, PZP 11, Liberals and Bosniaks 3, Democratic League-Democratic Prosperity 1, Democratic Union of Albanians 1, Albanian Alternative 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.12 years
male: 71.43 years female: 74.9 years (2007 est.) |
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Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.) |
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Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba | Southeastern Europe, between the Adriatic Sea and Serbia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
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 |
NA |
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) |
total: 4 ships (1000 GRT or over) 9,458 GRT/10,172 DWT
by type: cargo 4 registered in other countries: 4 (Bahamas 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2) (2006) |
Military - note | - | Montenegrin plans call for the establishment of a fully professional armed forces |
Military branches | Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing (2007) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $2.306 billion |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (2006 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 August (1962) | National Day, 13 July |
Nationality | noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
noun: Montenegrin(s)
adjective: Montenegrin |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (especially July to November) | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | bauxite, gypsum, limestone | bauxite, hydroelectricity |
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] | Albanian Alternative or AA; Bosniak Party or BS [Rafet HUSOVIC]; Coalition for a European Montenegro (Democratic Party of Socialists or DPS and Social Democratic Party or SDP) [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Coalition SPP/NS/DSS; Democratic League-Party of Democratic Prosperity [Mehmet BARHDI]; Democratic Serbian Party of Montenegro or DSS; Democratic Union of Albanians or DUA [Ferhat DINOSA]; Liberal Party of Montenegro or LP [Miodrag ZIVKOVIC]; Movement for Changes or PZP [Nebojsa MEDOJEVIC]; People's Party of Montenegro or NS [Predrag POPOVIC]; Serbian People's Party of Montenegro or SNS [Andrija MANDIC]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Ranko KRIVOKAPIC]; Social Democratic Party of Montenegro or DPS [Milo DJUKANOVIC]; Socialist People's Party or SNP [Predrag BULATOVIC] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) | - |
Population | 2,780,132 (July 2007 est.) | 630,548 (2004) |
Population below poverty line | 14.8% (2003 est.) | 12.2% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 0.777% (2007 est.) | 3.5% (2004) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | 31 (2004) |
Railways | - | total: 250 km
standard gauge: 250 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified 169 km) (2005) |
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) | Orthodox, Muslim, Roman Catholic |
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.) |
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Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 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: modern telecommunications system with access to European satellites
domestic: GSM wireless service, available through two providers with national coverage, is growing rapidly international: country code - 382 (the old code of 381 used by Serbia and Montenegro will also remain in use until Feb 2007); two international switches connect the national system |
Telephones - main lines in use | 319,000 (2005) | 177,663 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.804 million (2005) | 543,220 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (1997) | 13 (2004) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | highly indented coastline with narrow coastal plain backed by rugged high limestone mountains and plateaus |
Total fertility rate | 2.36 children born/woman (2007 est.) | - |
Unemployment rate | 11.3% (2006 est.) | 27.7% (2005) |