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5 definitions found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Jamaica \Ja*mai"ca\, n.
One of the West Indian islands.
[1913 Webster]
{Jamaica ginger}, a variety of ginger, called also {white
ginger}, prepared in Jamaica from the best roots, which
are deprived of their epidermis and dried separately.
{Jamaica pepper}, allspice.
{Jamaica rose} (Bot.), a West Indian melastomaceous shrub
({Blakea trinervis}), with showy pink flowers.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
Jamaica
n 1: a country on the island of Jamaica; became independent of
England in 1962; much poverty; the major industry is
tourism
2: an island in the West Indies south of Cuba and west of Haiti
From CIA World Factbook 2002 [world02]:
Jamaica
Introduction Jamaica
--------------------
Background: Jamaica gained full independence
within the British Commonwealth in
1962. Deteriorating economic
conditions during the 1970s led to
recurrent violence and a dropoff in
tourism. Elections in 1980 saw the
democratic socialists voted out of
office. Subsequent governments have
been open market oriented. Political
violence marred elections during the
1990s.
Geography Jamaica
-----------------
Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean
Sea, south of Cuba
Geographic coordinates: 18 15 N, 77 30 W
Map references: Central America and the Caribbean
Area: total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km
water: 160 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Connecticut
Land boundaries: 0 km
Coastline: 1,022 km
Maritime claims: measured from claimed archipelagic
baselines
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to edge
of the continental margin
contiguous zone: 24 NM
Climate: tropical; hot, humid; temperate
interior
Terrain: mostly mountains, with narrow,
discontinuous coastal plain
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak
2,256 m
Natural resources: bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Land use: arable land: 16.07%
permanent crops: 9.23%
other: 74.7% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 250 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: hurricanes (especially July to
November)
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
Environment - international party to: Biodiversity, Climate
agreements: Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Law of the Sea,
Marine Dumping, Marine Life
Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of
the selected agreements
Geography - note: strategic location between Cayman
Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main
sea lanes for the Panama Canal
People Jamaica
--------------
Population: 2,680,029 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 29.1% (male 399,249;
female 380,864)
15-64 years: 64.1% (male 858,433;
female 859,174)
65 years and over: 6.8% (male
81,321; female 100,988) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.56% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 17.74 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 5.45 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: -6.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2002 est.)
Sex ratio: 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: 0.81 male(s)/
female
total population: 1 male(s)/female
(2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 13.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.64 years
female: 77.73 years (2002 est.)
male: 73.65 years
Total fertility rate: 2.05 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.71% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 9,900 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 650 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican
Ethnic groups: black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white
0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%,
other 0.1%
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%
Languages: English, patois English
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over has ever
attended school
total population: 85%
male: 80.8%
female: 89.1% (1995 est.)
Government Jamaica
------------------
Country name: conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica
Government type: constitutional parliamentary
democracy
Capital: Kingston
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
Independence: 6 August 1962 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day, first Monday in
August (1962)
Constitution: 6 August 1962
Legal system: based on English common law; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
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) and Deputy Prime
Minister Seymour MULLINGS (since NA
1993)
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; prime minister and deputy
prime minister appointed by the
governor general
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 18 December
1997 (next to be held by March 2002)
election results: percent of vote by
party - NA%; seats by party - PNP
50, JLP 10
Judicial branch: Supreme Court (judges appointed by
the governor general on the advice
of the prime minister); Court of
Appeal
Political parties and leaders: Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Edward
SEAGA]; National Democratic Movement
or NDM [Bruce GOLDING]; People's
National Party or PNP [Percival
James PATTERSON]
Political pressure groups and New Beginnings Movement or NBM;
leaders: Rastafarians (black religious/racial
cultists, pan-Africanists)
International organization ACP, C, Caricom, CCC, CDB, ECLAC,
participation: FAO, G-15, G-19, G-77, IADB, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES,
NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Seymour
MULLINGS
consulate(s) general: Miami and New
York
FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081
telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20036
Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador Sue
US: 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) 926-6743
Flag description: diagonal yellow cross divides the
flag into four triangles - green
(top and bottom) and black (hoist
side and outer side)
Economy Jamaica
---------------
Economy - overview: The economy, which depends heavily
on tourism and bauxite, has been
stagnant since 1995. After five
years of recession, the economy grew
0.8% in 2000 and 1.1% in 2001, but
the global economic slowdown,
particularly in the United States
after the 11 September terrorist
attacks, has stunted the economic
recovery. Serious problems include:
high interest rates; increased
foreign competition; a pressured,
sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a
widening merchandise trade deficit;
and a growing internal debt, the
result of government bailouts to
various ailing sectors of the
economy, particularly the financial
sector. Depressed economic
conditions have led to increased
civil unrest, including a mounting
crime rate. Jamaica's medium-term
prospects will depend upon
encouraging investment, maintaining
a competitive exchange rate, selling
off reacquired firms, and
implementing proper fiscal and
monetary policies.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $9.8
billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 1.1% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,700
(2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 7%
industry: 28%
services: 65% (2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 34.2% (1992 est.)
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 2.9%
percentage share: highest 10%: 28.9% (1996)
Distribution of family income - Gini 36.4 (1996)
index:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.9% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 1.13 million (1998)
Labor force - by occupation: services 60%, agriculture 21%,
industry 19% (1998)
Unemployment rate: 16% (2000 est.)
Budget: revenues: $2.23 billion
expenditures: $2.56 billion,
including capital expenditures of
$232.5 million (FY99/00 est.)
Industries: tourism, bauxite, textiles, food
processing, light manufactures, rum,
cement, metal, paper, chemical
products
Industrial production growth rate: -2% (2000 est.)
Electricity - production: 6.74 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 89.44%
hydro: 3.22%
other: 7.34% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 6.27 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus,
potatoes, vegetables; poultry,
goats, milk
Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Exports - commodities: alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas,
rum
Exports - partners: US 35.7%, EU (excluding UK) 15.9%,
UK 13%, Canada 10.5% (1999)
Imports: $3.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment,
construction materials, fuel, food,
chemicals, fertilizers
Imports - partners: US 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%,
Latin America 7.2%, EU (excluding
UK) 4.7% (1999)
Debt - external: $5.2 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $102.7 million (1995)
Currency: Jamaican dollar (JMD)
Currency code: JMD
Exchange rates: Jamaican dollars per US dollar -
47.277 (December 2001), 45.996
(2001), 42.701 (2000), 39.044
(1999), 36.550 (1998), 35.404 (1997)
Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March
Communications Jamaica
----------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 353,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 54,640 (1996)
Telephone system: general assessment: fully automatic
domestic telephone network
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth
stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic
Ocean); 3 coaxial submarine cables
Radio broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998)
Radios: 1.215 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 7 (1997)
Televisions: 460,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .jm
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 21 (2000)
Internet users: 60,000 (2000)
Transportation Jamaica
----------------------
Railways: total: 272 km
standard gauge: 272 km 1.435-
m gauge; note - 207 km, belonging to
the Jamaica Railway Corporation,
were in common carrier service but
are no longer operational; the
remaining track is privately owned
and used to transport bauxite (2000)
Highways: total: 19,000 km
paved: 13,433 km
unpaved: 5,567 km (1997)
Waterways: none
Pipelines: petroleum products 10 km
Ports and harbors: Alligator Pond, Discovery Bay,
Kingston, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios,
Port Antonio, Rocky Point, Port
Esquivel (Longswharf)
Merchant marine: total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 21,954 GRT/25,250 DWT
ships by type: petroleum tanker 1,
includes some foreign-owned ships
registered here as a flag of
convenience: Latvia 2, United States
2 (2002 est.)
Airports: 35 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 5 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 2
under 914 m: 22 (2001)
Military Jamaica
----------------
Military branches: Jamaica Defense Force (including
Ground Forces, Coast Guard, and Air
Wing), Jamaica Constabulary Force
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 747,043 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 523,550 (2002 est.)
service:
Military manpower - reaching males: 27,729 (2002 est.)
military age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar $30 million (FY95/96 est.)
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of NA%
GDP:
Transnational Issues Jamaica
----------------------------
Disputes - international: none
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
From U.S. Gazetteer (1990) [gazetteer]:
Jamaica, IA (city, FIPS 39225)
Location: 41.84550 N, 94.30719 W
Population (1990): 232 (104 housing units)
Area: 1.2 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 50128
Jamaica, NY
Zip code(s): 11430, 11432, 11433, 11434, 11435, 11436
Jamaica, VA
Zip code(s): 23079
Jamaica, VT
Zip code(s): 05343
From U.S. Gazetteer Places (2000) [gaz-place]:
Jamaica, IA -- U.S. city in Iowa
Population (2000): 237
Housing Units (2000): 114
Land area (2000): 0.457414 sq. miles (1.184698 sq. km)
Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km)
Total area (2000): 0.457414 sq. miles (1.184698 sq. km)
FIPS code: 39225
Located within: Iowa (IA), FIPS 19
Location: 41.846494 N, 94.307442 W
ZIP Codes (1990): 50128
Note: some ZIP codes may be omitted esp. for suburbs.
Headwords:
Jamaica, IA
Jamaica
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