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Compare Reunion (2004) - Jamaica (2004)

Compare Reunion (2004) z Jamaica (2004)

 Reunion (2004)Jamaica (2004)
 ReunionJamaica
Administrative divisions none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons 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: 30.9% (male 121,050; female 115,440)


15-64 years: 63.1% (male 238,553; female 245,236)


65 years and over: 6% (male 18,626; female 27,248) (2004 est.)
0-14 years: 28.2% (male 390,966; female 372,961)


15-64 years: 65% (male 883,053; female 880,296)


65 years and over: 6.9% (male 82,788; female 103,066) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, vegetables, poultry, goats, milk, crustaceans, and mollusks
Airports 2 (2003 est.) 35 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways total: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2004 est.)
total: 11


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways - total: 24


914 to 1,523 m: 2


under 914 m: 22 (2004 est.)
Area total: 2,517 sq km


land: 2,507 sq km


water: 10 sq km
total: 10,991 sq km


land: 10,831 sq km


water: 160 sq km
Area - comparative slightly smaller than Rhode Island slightly smaller than Connecticut
Background The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. 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.
Birth rate 19.69 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) 16.94 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget revenues: $1.26 billion


expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1998)
revenues: $2.596 billion


expenditures: $3.111 billion, including capital expenditures of $236 million (2003 est.)
Capital Saint-Denis Kingston
Climate tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
Coastline 207 km 1,022 km
Constitution 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) 6 August 1962
Country name conventional long form: Department of Reunion


conventional short form: Reunion


local long form: none


local short form: Ile de la Reunion


former: Bourbon Island
conventional long form: none


conventional short form: Jamaica
Currency euro (EUR) Jamaican dollar (JMD)
Death rate 5.48 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) 5.4 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external NA $4.962 billion (2003 est.)
Dependency status overseas department of France -
Diplomatic representation from the US none (overseas department of France) 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
Diplomatic representation in the US none (overseas department of France) 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
Disputes - international none none
Economic aid - recipient $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 est.) $16 million (2003)
Economy - overview The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for 70% 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, with one of the best tourist seasons on record. 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. Depressed economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade. In 2004, 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.
Electricity - consumption 1.005 billion kWh (2001) 5.833 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2001) 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - production 1.08 billion kWh (2001) 6.272 billion kWh (2001)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m


highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 m
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m


highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m
Environment - current issues NA 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
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 French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1%
Exchange rates euros per US dollar - 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999) Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 57.7409 (2003), 48.4159 (2002), 45.9962 (2001), 42.7011 (2000), 39.0435 (1999)
Executive branch chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Dominique VIAN (since 16 August 2004)


head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993)


cabinet: NA


elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils
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
Exports NA (2001) NA (2001)
Exports - commodities sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels
Exports - partners France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) US 29.6%, UK 11%, Canada 10.8%, France 7.9%, Norway 6.8%, Germany 6.2%, China 6%, Netherlands 4.4% (2003)
Fiscal year calendar year 1 April - 31 March
Flag description the flag of France is used diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side)
GDP purchasing power parity - $4.348 billion (2003 est.) purchasing power parity - $10.61 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 8%


industry: 19%


services: 73% (2000 est.)
agriculture: 6.7%


industry: 37.2%


services: 56.2% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $3,900 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 2.5% (2003 est.) 1.9% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates 21 06 S, 55 36 E 18 15 N, 77 30 W
Geography - note this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal
Highways total: 2,724 km


paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road)


unpaved: 1,424 km (1994)
total: 18,700 km


paved: 13,109 km


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


highest 10%: NA
lowest 10%: 2.7%


highest 10%: 30.3% (2000)
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) NA (2001)
Imports - commodities manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials
Imports - partners France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) US 39.8%, Trinidad and Tobago 9.7%, Germany 5.6%, Venezuela 4.5%, France 4.5%, Japan 4.2% (2003)
Independence none (overseas department of France) 6 August 1962 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate NA -2% (2000 est.)
Industries sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction tourism, bauxite/alumina, textiles, agro processing, wearing apparel, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications
Infant mortality rate total: 7.95 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 8.71 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 7.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
total: 12.81 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 13.82 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 11.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) NA 10.3% (2003 est.)
International organization participation InOC, UPU, WFTU 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
Irrigated land 120 sq km (1998 est.) 250 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal
Labor force 309,900 (2000) 1.13 million (2003)
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) agriculture 21%, industry 19%, services 60% (1998)
Land boundaries 0 km 0 km
Land use arable land: 13.6%


permanent crops: 1.2%


other: 85.2% (2001)
arable land: 16.07%


permanent crops: 10.16%


other: 73.77% (2001)
Languages French (official), Creole widely used English, patois English
Legal system French law based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)


elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held NA 2010)


election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7


note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1
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
Life expectancy at birth total population: 73.69 years


male: 70.29 years


female: 77.26 years (2004 est.)
total population: 76.07 years


male: 74.04 years


female: 78.21 years (2004 est.)
Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 88.9%


male: 87%


female: 90.8% (2003 est.)
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school


total population: 87.9%


male: 84.1%


female: 91.6% (2003 est.)
Location Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
Map references World Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims territorial sea: 12 nm


exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
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
Merchant marine total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 28,264 GRT/44,885 DWT


by type: chemical tanker 1


foreign-owned: Sweden 1


registered in other countries: 1
total: 6 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 74,881 GRT/100,682 DWT


by type: bulk 2, petroleum tanker 1, refrigerated cargo 2, short-sea/passenger 1


foreign-owned: Greece 2, Iceland 1, Latvia 1, United States 2 (2004 est.)
Military - note defense is the responsibility of France -
Military branches no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing
Military expenditures - dollar figure - $31 million (2003)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP - 0.4% (2003)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 202,385 (2004 est.) males age 15-49: 764,266 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 103,073 (2004 est.) males age 15-49: 533,768 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 7,070 (2004 est.) males: 27,126 (2004 est.)
National holiday Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) Independence Day, first Monday in August (1962)
Nationality noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)


adjective: Reunionese
noun: Jamaican(s)


adjective: Jamaican
Natural hazards periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano hurricanes (especially July to November)
Natural resources fish, arable land, hydropower bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) -4.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Political parties and leaders Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP [leader NA] Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Edward SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Hyacinth BENNETT]; People's National Party or PNP [Percival James PATTERSON]
Political pressure groups and leaders NA New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists)
Population 766,153 (July 2004 est.) 2,713,130 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line NA 19.7% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate 1.42% (2004 est.) 0.66% (2004 est.)
Ports and harbors Le Port, Pointe des Galets Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay, Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port Esquivel (Longswharf)
Radio broadcast stations AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
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 Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) 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%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female


total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
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 (2004 est.)
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis


domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network


international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia
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
Telephones - main lines in use 300,000 est (2001) 444,400 (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular 489,800 (2002) 1.4 million (2002)
Television broadcast stations 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) 7 (1997)
Terrain mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
Total fertility rate 2.5 children born/woman (2004 est.) 1.98 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate 36% (1999 est.) 15.9% (2003 est.)
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