Jamaica (2008) | Senegal (2005) | |
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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 |
11 regions (regions, singular - region); Dakar, Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Kolda, Louga, Matam, Saint-Louis, Tambacounda, Thies, Ziguinchor |
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.) |
0-14 years: 42.8% (male 2,404,461/female 2,360,167)
15-64 years: 54.1% (male 2,901,689/female 3,122,854) 65 years and over: 3% (male 161,173/female 176,488) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks | peanuts, millet, corn, sorghum, rice, cotton, tomatoes, green vegetables; cattle, poultry, pigs; fish |
Airports | 34 (2007) | 20 (2004 est.) |
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: 9
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 23
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 21 (2007) |
total: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 196,190 sq km
land: 192,000 sq km water: 4,190 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Connecticut | slightly smaller than South Dakota |
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 and replaced by African slaves. England seized the island in 1655 and established a plantation economy based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee. 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. Violent crime, drug trafficking, and poverty pose significant challenges to the government today. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy. | Independent from France in 1960, Senegal joined with The Gambia to form the nominal confederation of Senegambia in 1982. However, the envisaged integration of the two countries was never carried out, and the union was dissolved in 1989. Despite peace talks, a southern separatist group sporadically has clashed with government forces since 1982. Senegal has a long history of participating in international peacekeeping. |
Birth rate | 20.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 35.21 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $3.441 billion
expenditures: $3.905 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $1.572 billion
expenditures: $1.627 billion, including capital expenditures of $357 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Dakar |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior | tropical; hot, humid; rainy season (May to November) has strong southeast winds; dry season (December to April) dominated by hot, dry, harmattan wind |
Coastline | 1,022 km | 531 km |
Constitution | 6 August 1962 | new constitution adopted 7 January 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
conventional long form: Republic of Senegal
conventional short form: Senegal local long form: Republique du Senegal local short form: Senegal |
Death rate | 6.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.6 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $7.138 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | $3.476 billion (2004 est.) |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Alan ROTH
embassy: Avenue Jean XXIII at the corner of Rue Kleber, Dakar mailing address: B. P. 49, Dakar telephone: [221] 823-4296 FAX: [221] 822-2991 |
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 Amadou Lamine BA
chancery: 2112 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 234-0540 FAX: [1] (202) 332-6315 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | none | The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau attempt to stem Senegalese citizens from the Casamance region fleeing separatist violence, cross border raids, and arms smuggling |
Economic aid - recipient | $35.74 million (2005) | $362.6 million (2002 est.) |
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. Remittances account for nearly 20% of GDP and are equivalent to tourism revenues. Jamaica's economy, already saddled with a record of sluggish growth, will suffer an economic setback from damages caused by Hurricane Dean in August 2007. 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 debt-to-GDP ratio of 135%. Jamaica's onerous debt burden - the fourth highest per capita - is the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-to-late 1990s. Inflation also has declined, standing at about 7% at the end of 2007. High unemployment exacerbates the serious crime problem, including gang violence that is fueled by the drug trade. The GOLDING administration 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. | In January 1994, Senegal undertook a bold and ambitious economic reform program with the support of the international donor community. This reform began with a 50% devaluation of Senegal's currency, the CFA franc, which was linked at a fixed rate to the French franc. Government price controls and subsidies have been steadily dismantled. After seeing its economy contract by 2.1% in 1993, Senegal made an important turnaround, thanks to the reform program, with real growth in GDP averaging 5% annually during 1995-2003. Annual inflation had been pushed down to the low single digits. As a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), Senegal is working toward greater regional integration with a unified external tariff and a more stable monetary policy. Senegal still relies heavily upon outside donor assistance, however. Under the IMF's Highly Indebted Poor Countries debt relief program, Senegal will benefit from eradication of two-thirds of its bilateral, multilateral, and private sector debt. |
Electricity - consumption | 6.131 billion kWh (2005) | 1.615 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 6.985 billion kWh (2005) | 1.737 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed feature near Nepen Diakha 581 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 | wildlife populations threatened by poaching; deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; 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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling |
Ethnic groups | black 91.2%, mixed 6.2%, other or unknown 2.6% (2001 census) | Wolof 43.3%, Pular 23.8%, Serer 14.7%, Jola 3.7%, Mandinka 3%, Soninke 1.1%, European and Lebanese 1%, other 9.4% |
Exchange rates | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 69.034 (2007), 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003) | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000) |
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 Abdoulaye WADE (since 1 April 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Macky SALL (since 21 April 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister in consultation with the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term under new constitution; election last held under prior constitution (seven-year terms) 27 February and 19 March 2000 (next to be held February 2007); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Abdoulaye WADE elected president; percent of vote in the second round of voting - Abdoulaye WADE (PDS) 58.49%, Abdou DIOUF (PS) 41.51% |
Exports | 1,531 bbl/day (2004) | NA |
Exports - commodities | alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels | fish, groundnuts (peanuts), petroleum products, phosphates, cotton |
Exports - partners | US 30.2%, Canada 15.6%, China 15.2%, UK 10.3%, Netherlands 7%, Norway 4.6% (2006) | India 14.4%, Mali 13.1%, France 9.8%, Italy 7.3%, Spain 6.6%, Guinea-Bissau 5.6%, Gambia, The 4.8% (2004) |
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 green (hoist side), yellow, and red with a small green five-pointed star centered in the yellow band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5%
industry: 34% services: 61% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 15.9%
industry: 21.4% services: 62.7% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.5% (2007 est.) | 3.2% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 N, 77 30 W | 14 00 N, 14 00 W |
Geography - note | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal | westernmost country on the African continent; The Gambia is almost an enclave within Senegal |
Highways | - | total: 14,576 km
paved: 4,271 km including 7 km of expressways unpaved: 10,305 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 35.8% (2004) |
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 33.5% (1995) |
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 | transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian heroin and South American cocaine moving to Europe and North America; illicit cultivator of cannabis |
Imports | 71,420 bbl/day (2004) | NA |
Imports - commodities | food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials | food and beverages, capital goods, fuels |
Imports - partners | US 39.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.6%, Venezuela 9.5% (2006) | France 24.8%, Nigeria 11.9%, Thailand 6.1% (2004) |
Independence | 6 August 1962 (from UK) | 4 April 1960 (from France); note - complete independence was achieved upon dissolution of federation with Mali on 20 August 1960 |
Industrial production growth rate | 2% (2007 est.) | 4.7% (2004 est.) |
Industries | tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications | agricultural and fish processing, phosphate mining, fertilizer production, petroleum refining, construction materials, ship construction and repair |
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.) |
total: 55.51 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 59.17 deaths/1,000 live births female: 51.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.1% (2007 est.) | 0.8% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, 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 | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, FZ, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOVIC, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 250 sq km (2002) | 710 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal | Constitutional Court; Council of State; Court of Final Appeals or Cour de Cassation; Court of Appeals; note - the judicial system was reformed in 1992 |
Labor force | 1.255 million (2007 est.) | 4.65 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 17%
industry: 19% services: 64% (2006) |
agriculture 70% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,640 km
border countries: The Gambia 740 km, Guinea 330 km, Guinea-Bissau 338 km, Mali 419 km, Mauritania 813 km |
Land use | arable land: 15.83%
permanent crops: 10.01% other: 74.16% (2005) |
arable land: 12.78%
permanent crops: 0.21% other: 87.01% (2001) |
Languages | English, English patois | French (official), Wolof, Pulaar, Jola, Mandinka |
Legal system | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on French civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts in Constitutional Court; the Council of State audits the government's accounting office; 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 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 National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (120 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve five-year terms)
note: the former National Assembly, dissolved in the spring of 2001, had 140 seats elections: last held 29 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SOPI Coalition 89, AFP 11, PS 10, other 10 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 73.12 years
male: 71.43 years female: 74.9 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 58.9 years
male: 57.37 years female: 60.47 years (2005 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
total population: 40.2% male: 50% female: 30.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania |
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 or to the edge of the continental margin |
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 branches | Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing (2007) | Army, Navy (Marine Senegalaise), Air Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $107.3 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.6% (2006 est.) | 1.5% (2004) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 August (1962) | Independence Day, 4 April (1960) |
Nationality | noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
noun: Senegalese (singular and plural)
adjective: Senegalese |
Natural hazards | hurricanes (especially July to November) | lowlands seasonally flooded; periodic droughts |
Natural resources | bauxite, gypsum, limestone | fish, phosphates, iron ore |
Net migration rate | -6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 564 km (2004) |
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] | African Party for Democracy and Socialism or And Jef (also known as PADS/AJ) [Landing SAVANE, secretary general]; African Party of Independence [Majhemout DIOP]; Alliance of Forces of Progress or AFP [Moustapha NIASSE]; Democratic and Patriotic Convention or CDP (also known as Garab-Gi) [Dr. Iba Der THIAM]; Democratic League-Labor Party Movement or LD-MPT [Dr. Abdoulaye BATHILY]; Front for Socialism and Democracy or FSD [Cheikh Abdoulaye DIEYE]; Gainde Centrist Bloc or BGC [Jean-Paul DIAS]; Independence and Labor Party or PIT [Amath DANSOKHO]; National Democratic Rally or RND [Madier DIOUF]; Senegalese Democratic Party or PDS [Abdoulaye WADE]; Socialist Party or PS [Ousmane Tanor DIENG]; SOPI Coalition (a coalition led by the PDS) [Abdoulaye WADE]; Union for Democratic Renewal or URD [Djibo Leyti KA]; other small parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) | labor; Muslim brotherhoods; students; teachers |
Population | 2,780,132 (July 2007 est.) | 11,126,832 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 14.8% (2003 est.) | 54% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.777% (2007 est.) | 2.48% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Dakar |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 8, FM 20, shortwave 1 (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 906 km
narrow gauge: 906 km 1.000-meter gauge (2004) |
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) | Muslim 94%, indigenous beliefs 1%, Christian 5% (mostly 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.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.91 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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: good system
domestic: above-average urban system; microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system international: country code - 221; 4 submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 319,000 (2005) | 228,800 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2.804 million (2005) | 575,900 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 7 (1997) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain | generally low, rolling, plains rising to foothills in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 2.36 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 4.75 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 10.2% (2007 est.) | 48% (urban youth 40%) (2001 est.) |
Waterways | - | 1,000 km (primarily on Senegal, Saloum, and Casamance rivers) (2003) |