JAMAICA:Geography, Demographics, Economy and Culture
Jamaica is is the third largest island in the Caribbean Sea, after Cuba and Hispaniola.
Jamaica is about 146 miles long and varies from 22 to 51 miles wide. Its neighboring countries are Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, as well as the neighboring coast of Central America in the Caribbean sea.
The capital of Jamaica is Kingston and is famous for its natural and pristine harbor, making it an extreme tourist attractor.
The tropical climate is influenced by the sea and the northeast trade winds, which are dominant throughout the year. The average temperature for the country at sea level is moderate between the high 80’s and low70’s throughout the year. Along the coast of Jamaica though, the temperatures have been known to go up to the low 90’s and down to the 40’s.
The rainy season for Jamaica is most commonly during the October to May months, though thunderstorms are not uncommon and bring lots of rainfall during the June to September months also. The average rainfall is about 82 inches but it can vary in the country from 130 inches in the Portland parish to almost savana like dryness in other places.
Jamaica’s population as of 2017 is 2,737,000 people, ranking them at 141st in the world.
The population of Jamaica is dominantly black, with very small minority groups of various races.
The spaniards virtually wiped out the Taino or Arawak natives from the land during their control of the island before the English took over in 1655.
The population of English settlers remained small, but they brought in vast numbers of African slaves to work the sugar estates and from which the dominant amount of African descendants came.
The small minority groups of the island include East Asian indentured servants (Indian and Chinese), the Mulatto population of biracial citizens, and various European bloodlines from different countries like Portugal and England.
The population of Jamaica has grown steadily through the centuries, despite considerable emigration, and in the 1950s and ’60s a peak in the birth rate created a baby boom generation.
Birth and death rates have both been declining since the 1970s.
Jamaica’s economy is mixed but increasingly based on services, notably tourism and finance.
Since independence in 1962, the country has developed markedly but unevenly. Mining and manufacturing became more important to the economy in the latter part of the 20th century, while the export of agricultural commodities declined.
Starting in the 1980s, the state reduced its role as a major player in the economy, partly because structural adjustment and economic liberalization favoured private enterprise as the engine of economic growth.
Agriculture continues to be one of the bases of the island’s economy, accounting for about one-twentieth of the GDP and about one-sixth of the workforce.
The major crop is sugarcane, with its by-products molasses and rum. Fruits, including oranges, coconuts, and bananas, are also important.
The manufacturing is another major industry in Jamaica, estimated to contribute 29.4% of the country’s GDP. Manufacture of textiles is one of the industry’s largest sectors and its biggest employer and accounts for about 13% of the nation’s total exports.
Kingston is home to the country’s oil refinery where crude oil imported from Venezuela is refined into petroleum products such as gasoline, most of which is consumed domestically.
Annual exports from the country amounted to $1.51 billion in 2012, where bauxite, alumina, sugar, chemicals, and coffee were the primary export commodities.
The biggest markets for Jamaica’s exports are the United States, Russia, and Canada which consumed 38.7%, 8.1% and 7.8% of the country’s annual exports respectively.
Jamaica’s government is burdened by a large foreign debt. The Jamaican dollar had a relatively stable exchange rate relative to the U.S. dollar until 1990, when it was floated and radically devalued.
English is the dominant language in Jamaica but is very heavily affected by speech patterns and other languages that have created dialects such as Jamaican Patois which is most commonly used. There are also Spanish and small amounts of French influence.
Jamaican independence from Great Britain (August 6, 1962) is commemorated annually. It is celebrated with often government funded carnivals and festivals.
Jamaica’s cultural development has been deeply influenced by British traditions and a search for roots in African forms.
Jamaican culture is a product of the interaction between Europe and Africa. Terms such as “Afro-centred” and “Euro-centred,” but are often used to denote the perceived duality in Jamaican cultural traditions and values.
European influences persist in public institutions, medicine, Christian worship, and the arts.
African continuities are present in religious life, Jamaican Creole language, cuisine, proverbs, drumming, the rhythms of Jamaican music and dance, traditional medicine (linked to herbal and spiritual healing), and tales of Anansi, the spider-trickster.
Family life is central to most Jamaicans, although formal marriages are less prevalent than in most other countries. It is common for three generations to share a home.
Religion is fundamental to Jamaican life, which can be seen in the references to Biblical events in everyday speech.
The island has the highest number of churches per capita in the world and more than 100 different Christian denominations. Most Jamaicans are Christians; the largest denominations are the Anglicans, Baptists, Methodists, Pentecostals, Brethren and Roman Catholics.
Rastafarians believe they are one of the lost tribes of Israel who were sold into slavery and taken to Babylon (Jamaica) and that they must return to Zion, which they hold to be Ethiopia.
The movement does not have organized congregations, it does not have a paid clergy, and it doesn't have a written doctrine.
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