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.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 2,780,132 (July 2007 est.)

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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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Median age: total: 23.2 years male: 22.6 years female: 23.7 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: 0.777% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 20.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 6.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: -6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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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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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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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 73.12 years male: 71.43 years female: 74.9 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 2.36 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 1.2% (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 22,000 (2003 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: 900 (2003 est.)

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Nationality: noun: Jamaican(s) adjective: Jamaican

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Ethnic groups: black 91.2%, mixed 6.2%, other or unknown 2.6% (2001 census)

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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)

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Languages: English, English patois

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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.)

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.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $12.82 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $9.23 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 2.3% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $4,600 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 5.2% industry: 27.3% services: 67.5% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 1.1 million (2006 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 18.1% industry: 17.3% services: 64.6% (2004)

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Unemployment rate: 11.3% (2006 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 14.8% (2003 est.)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.4% highest 10%: 30.3% (2000)

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 38.1 (2003)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5.8% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 30.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $2.85 billion expenditures: $3.174 billion; including capital expenditures of $180.4 million (2006 est.)

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Public debt: 133.3% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks

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Industries: tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications

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Industrial production growth rate: -2% (2000 est.)

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Electricity - production: 6.913 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - consumption: 6.429 billion kWh (2004)

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Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2004)

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Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 72,080 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl

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Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Current account balance: -$970 million (2006 est.)

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Exports: $2.087 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels

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Exports - partners: US 23.7%, Canada 16.5%, China 15.1%, UK 10.1%, Germany 7.5%, Netherlands 6.4%, Norway 5.9% (2006)

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Imports: $4.682 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials

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Imports - partners: US 39.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 14.4%, Venezuela 5.8% (2006) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $2.317 billion (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $7.384 billion (2006 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: $254.7 million (2004)

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Currency (code): Jamaican dollar (JMD)

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Exchange rates: Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003), 48.416 (2002)

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Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March