Natural resources:
bauxite, gypsum, limestone
Land use:
arable land: 16.07%
permanent crops: 10.16%
other: 73.77% (2001)
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, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, 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:
2,731,832 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 27.5% (male 385,099/female 367,398)
15-64 years: 65.6% (male 897,953/female 893,509)
65 years and over: 6.9% (male 83,632/female 104,241) (2005 est.)