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% permanent crops: 9% other: 75% (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 agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate
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.)