Jamaica

For other uses, see Jamaica (disambiguation).

Jamaica
Jumieka (Jamaican Patois)
Motto: "Out of Many, One People"
Anthem: "Jamaica, Land We Love"
Location of Jamaica
Capital
and largest city
Kingston
17°58′17″N 76°47′35″W / 17.97139°N 76.79306°W / 17.97139; -76.79306
Official languagesEnglish
Vernacular languageJamaican Patois
Ethnic groups
Religion
Demonym(s)Jamaican
GovernmentUnitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch
Charles III
Patrick Allen
Andrew Holness
LegislatureParliament
• Upper house
Senate
• Lower house
House of Representatives
Independence 
from the United Kingdom
• Granted
6 August 1962
Area
• Total
10,991 km2 (4,244 sq mi) (160th)
• Water (%)
1.5
Population
• 2019 estimate
2,734,092[3] (137th)
• 2011 census
2,697,983[4]
• Density
266[5]/km2 (688.9/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $33.775 billion[6] (143rd)
• Per capita
Increase $12,283[6] (134th)
GDP (nominal)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $20.586 billion[6] (119th)
• Per capita
Increase $7,487[6] (101st)
Gini (2021)Negative increase 40.2[7]
medium inequality
HDI (2022)Increase 0.706[8]
high (115th)
CurrencyJamaican dollar (JMD)
Time zoneUTC-5
Drives onleft
Calling code+1-876
+1-658 (Overlay of 876)
ISO 3166 codeJM
Internet TLD.jm

Jamaica (/dʒəˈmeɪkə/ ⓘ jə-MAY-kə; Jamaican Patois: Jumieka [dʒʌˈmie̯ka]) is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi), it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean.[9] Jamaica lies about 145 km (78 nmi) south of Cuba, 191 km (103 nmi) west of Hispaniola (the island containing Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and 215 km (116 nmi) southeast of the Cayman Islands (a British Overseas Territory).[9]

The indigenous Taíno peoples of the island gradually came under Spanish rule after the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494. Many of the indigenous people either were killed or died of diseases, after which the Spanish brought large numbers of Africans to Jamaica as slaves.[9] The island remained a possession of Spain, under the name Santiago, until 1655, when England (part of what would become the Kingdom of Great Britain) conquered it and named it Jamaica. It became an important part of the colonial British West Indies. Under Britain's colonial rule, Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with a plantation economy dependent on continued importation of African slaves and their descendants. The British fully emancipated all slaves in 1838, and many freedmen chose to have subsistence farms rather than to work on plantations. Beginning in the 1840s, the British began using Chinese and Indian indentured labourers for plantation work. Jamaicans achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962.[9]

With 2.8 million people,[10][11] Jamaica is the third most populous Anglophone country in the Americas (after the United States and Canada), and the fourth most populous country in the Caribbean. Kingston is the country's capital and largest city. Most Jamaicans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, with significant European, East Asian (primarily Chinese), Indian, Lebanese, and mixed-race minorities.[9] Because of a high rate of emigration for work since the 1960s, there is a large Jamaican diaspora, particularly in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The country has a global influence that belies its small size; it was the birthplace of the Rastafari religion, reggae music (and such associated genres as dub, ska and dancehall), and it is internationally prominent in sports, including cricket, sprinting, and athletics.[12][13][14][15] Jamaica has sometimes been considered the world's least populous cultural superpower.[16][17][18][19]

Jamaica is an upper-middle-income country[15] with an economy heavily dependent on tourism; it has an average of 4.3 million tourists a year.[20] The country performs favourably in measures of press freedom, democratic governance and sustainable well-being. Jamaica is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with power vested in the bicameral Parliament of Jamaica, consisting of an appointed Senate and a directly elected House of Representatives.[9] Andrew Holness has served as Prime Minister of Jamaica since March 2016. As a Commonwealth realm, with Charles III as its king, the appointed representative of the Crown is the Governor-General of Jamaica, an office held by Patrick Allen since 2009.

  1. ^ "Jamaica | the University of the West Indies".
  2. ^ "The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency". Cia.gov. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2017.
  3. ^ "Population Statistics". statinja.gov.jm. Statistical Institute of Jamaica. Archived from the original on 6 March 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Population Usually Resident in Jamaica, by Parish: 2011". Statistical Institute of Jamaica. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  5. ^ "Data Query – Population density (persons per square km), as of 1 July". United Nations/DESA/Population Division. Archived from the original on 19 September 2016. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition. (Jamaica)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  7. ^ "World Bank Open Data".
  8. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "CIA World Factbook – Jamaica". Archived from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2019.
  10. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  11. ^ "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  12. ^ "Athletics in Jamaica". My island Jamaica. Archived from the original on 18 August 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  13. ^ "Reggae." Encyclopedia of Popular Music, 4th ed. Ed. Colin Larkin. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. Web. 16 February 2016.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference state2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ a b "Jamaica (country)". World Bank. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  16. ^ Horan, Tom (5 August 2012). "How Jamaica conquered the world". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  17. ^ Smith, Noah (27 October 2021). "What makes a cultural superpower?". noahpinion.substack.com. Archived from the original on 19 December 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  18. ^ Davis, Garwin (20 February 2016). "Jamaica A Global Cultural Power – Hanna – Jamaica Information Service". jis.gov.jm. Archived from the original on 3 February 2023. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  19. ^ "Jamaica". Strong Sense of Place. 2023. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  20. ^ "Record 4.3 Million Tourist Arrivals in 2017". Jamaica Information Service (Government of Jamaica). Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.