Official Name:  Jamaica

Currency:  Jamaican Dollar

 

Current Exchange Rate:

 

Hemisphere: Northern

Continent: North America

Location: island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba

Area: 4,244 sq mi, 10,991 sq km

Form of Government: constitutional monarchy with two legislative houses (Senate [21]; House of Representative [60]

Population:  (2007) 2,680,000

Population Density: (2007) persons per sq mi 631.5, persons per sq km 243.8

Principal Language(s): English

Religions: Protestant (incl. Seventh - day Adventist, Pentecostal, Other Church of God, Baptist) 63%, none 21%.

Capital: Kingston

Capital Population: (2004) Kingston 594,500

Capital Average Temperature: 80.6 Fahrenheit, 27.0 Celsius
                                                  
Major Cities: (2004) Kingston 594,500; Spanish Town 134,900; Portmore 102,000; Montego Bay 89,200; May Pen 49,900.

Topography: Four-fifths of country covered by mountains.

Economy: (2007 est.) GDP $13.47 billion.

G.D.P. per Capita: (2007 est.) $4,800
 
Vital Statistics:  Birth rate per 1,000 population (2006): 17.0 Death rate per 1,000 population (2006): 5.7: Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 2005): 2.50. Life expectancy at birth (2005): male 69.2 years; female 72.7 years

Government Website: www.jis.gov.jm

Reference Sources: The World Almanac 2009, The New York Times Almanac   2009, Time Almanac 2009, World Climate website.