Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

is a sovereign island nation

Island nation

An island country is a state whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. As of 2011, 47 of the 193 UN member states are island countries.-Politics:...

 located on the Island of Jamaica of the Greater Antilles

Greater Antilles

The Greater Antilles are one of three island groups in the Caribbean. Comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico, the Greater Antilles constitute almost 90% of the land mass of the entire West Indies.-Greater Antilles in context :The islands of the Caribbean Sea, collectively known as...

 archipelago

Archipelago

An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...

 in the Caribbean Sea

Caribbean Sea

The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....

. It is 234 kilometres (145.4 mi) long and 80 kilometres (49.7 mi) at its widest. It lies about 145 kilometres (90.1 mi) south of Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 and 190 kilometres (118.1 mi) west of the Hispaniola

Hispaniola

Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...

. Its indigenous

Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....

 Arawakan

Arawakan languages

Macro-Arawakan is a proposed language family of South America and the Caribbean based on the Arawakan languages. Sometimes the proposal is called Arawakan, in which case the central family is called Maipurean....

-speaking Taíno inhabitants named the island Xaymaca, meaning the "Land of Wood and Water", or the "Land of Springs". Formerly a Spanish

Habsburg Spain

Habsburg Spain refers to the history of Spain over the 16th and 17th centuries , when Spain was ruled by the major branch of the Habsburg dynasty...

 possession known as Santiago, it later became the British

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

 West Indies

British West Indies

The British West Indies was a term used to describe the islands in and around the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire The term was sometimes used to include British Honduras and British Guiana, even though these territories are not geographically part of the Caribbean...

 Crown colony

Crown colony

A Crown colony, also known in the 17th century as royal colony, was a type of colonial administration of the English and later British Empire....

 of Jamaica. It is the third most populous anglophone

English-speaking world

The English-speaking world consists of those countries or regions that use the English language to one degree or another. For more information, please see:Lists:* List of countries by English-speaking population...

 country in the Americas

Americas

The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

, after the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Jamaica:

General reference

• Pronunciation
  International Phonetic Alphabet
  The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...
  
  :
• Common English country name: Jamaica
  Jamaica
  Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
  
  
• Official English country name: Jamaica
  Jamaica
  Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
  
  
• Common endonym(s):
• Official endonym(s):
• Adjectival(s): Jamaican
• Demonym(s):
• Etymology
  Etymology
  Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time.For languages with a long written history, etymologists make use of texts in these languages and texts about the languages to gather knowledge about how words were used during...
  
  : Name of Jamaica
• International rankings of Jamaica
  International rankings of Jamaica
  -International rankings:...
  
  
• ISO country codes: JM, JAM, 388
• ISO region codes: See ISO 3166-2:JM
  ISO 3166-2:JM
  ISO 3166-2:JM is the entry for Jamaica in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.Currently for Jamaica, ISO 3166-2 codes are...
  
  
• Internet
  Internet
  The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
  
   country code top-level domain
  Country code top-level domain
  A country code top-level domain is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, a sovereign state, or a dependent territory....
  
  : .jm
  .jm
  .jm is the Internet country code top-level domain for Jamaica. Registrations are at the third level beneath the second level names com.jm, net.jm, org.jm, edu.jm, gov.jm, and mil.jm. Registrations are processed by hand rather than automatically, so registrants are asked to allow 30 days for the...
  
  

Geography of Jamaica

• Jamaica is...
  • an island
    Island
    An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
    
    
  • a country
    Country
    A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously...
    
    
    • an island country
    • a nation state
    • a Commonwealth Realm
      Commonwealth Realm
      A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...
      
      
• Location:
  • Northern Hemisphere
    Northern Hemisphere
    The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...
    
     and Western Hemisphere
    Western Hemisphere
    The Western Hemisphere or western hemisphere is mainly used as a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian and east of the Antimeridian , the other half being called the Eastern Hemisphere.In this sense, the western hemisphere consists of the western portions...
    
    
    • North America
      North America
      North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
      
       (though not on the mainland
      Mainland
      Mainland is a name given to a large landmass in a region , or to the largest of a group of islands in an archipelago. Sometimes its residents are called "Mainlanders"...
      
      )
  • Atlantic Ocean
    Atlantic Ocean
    The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
    
    
    • North Atlantic
      • Caribbean
        Caribbean
        The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
        
        
        • Antilles
          Antilles
          The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the...
          
          
          • Greater Antilles
            Greater Antilles
            The Greater Antilles are one of three island groups in the Caribbean. Comprising Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico, the Greater Antilles constitute almost 90% of the land mass of the entire West Indies.-Greater Antilles in context :The islands of the Caribbean Sea, collectively known as...
            
            
  • Time zone
    Time zone
    A time zone is a region on Earth that has a uniform standard time for legal, commercial, and social purposes. In order for the same clock time to always correspond to the same portion of the day as the Earth rotates , different places on the Earth need to have different clock times...
    
    : UTC-05
  • Extreme points of Jamaica
    • High: Blue Mountain Peak
      Blue Mountain Peak
      Blue Mountain Peak is the highest mountain in Jamaica at 2,256 metres . It is the home of Blue Mountain coffee and their famous tours. Blue Mountain Peak is the second highest peak in the Caribbean after Pico Duarte of the Dominican Republic...
      
       2256 m (7,402 ft)
    • Low: Caribbean Sea
      Caribbean Sea
      The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
      
       0 m
  • Land boundaries: none
  • Coastline: Caribbean Sea
    Caribbean Sea
    The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
    
     1,022 km
• Population of Jamaica: 2,714,000 - UN Estimate 137th most populous country
• Area of Jamaica: 10,991 km² - 166th largest country
• Atlas of Jamaica

Environment of Jamaica

• Climate of Jamaica
• Environmental issues in Jamaica
• Ecoregions in Jamaica
• Renewable energy in Jamaica
• Geology of Jamaica
• Protected areas of Jamaica
  • Biosphere reserves in Jamaica
  • National parks of Jamaica
• Wildlife of Jamaica
  • Flora of Jamaica
  • Fauna of Jamaica
    • Birds of Jamaica
    • Mammals of Jamaica
• Effects of Hurricane Charley in Jamaica
  Effects of Hurricane Charley in Jamaica
  The effects of Hurricane Charley in Jamaica included one fatality and at least $1 million in damages. Forming out of a tropical wave on August 9, 2004, Charley quickly tracked through the eastern Caribbean Sea and attained tropical storm status on August 10. While passing south of...
  
  

Natural geographic features of Jamaica

• Beaches of Jamaica
• Islands of Jamaica
• Lakes of Jamaica
• Mountains of Jamaica
  • Volcanoes in Jamaica
• Rivers of Jamaica
  • Waterfalls of Jamaica
• Valleys of Jamaica
• World Heritage Sites in Jamaica (none)

Administrative divisions of Jamaica

Administratively, Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

 is divided into fourteen parish

Parish (subnational entity)

A parish is an administrative division used by several countries. In the British Isles it is known as a civil parish to distinguish it from the ecclesiastical parish.-External links:* Editorial in The Guardian, 2011-05-16....

es. They are grouped into three historic counties

County

A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...

, which have no administrative relevance (traditional capitals in parentheses):

• Surrey
  Surrey, Jamaica
  Surrey is the easternmost and the smallest by area of the three historic counties into which Jamaica is divided. It has no current-day administrative significance...
  
   (Kingston
  Kingston, Jamaica
  Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
  
  ) yellow
• Middlesex
  Middlesex, Jamaica
  Middlesex is the central of the three historic counties into which Jamaica is divided. It has no current-day administrative significance. It covers 5041.9 km² and has a population of 1,183,361 giving it the largest area and population of the three counties...
  
   (Spanish Town
  Spanish Town
  Spanish Town is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the former Spanish and English capital of Jamaica from the 16th to the 19th century...
  
  ) pink
• Cornwall
  Cornwall, Jamaica
  Cornwall is the westernmost of the three historic counties into which Jamaica is divided. It has no current-day administrative significance. It includes Montego Bay, the island's second largest city by area.The county of Cornwall is shown in green...
  
   (Montego Bay
  Montego Bay
  Montego Bay is the capital of St. James Parish and the second largest city in Jamaica by area and the fourth by population .It is a tourist destination with duty free shopping, cruise line terminal and the beaches...
  
  ) green

	Parish	Area km²	Population Census Census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...  2001	Capital
Cornwall County Cornwall, Jamaica Cornwall is the westernmost of the three historic counties into which Jamaica is divided. It has no current-day administrative significance. It includes Montego Bay, the island's second largest city by area.The county of Cornwall is shown in green...
1	Hanover Hanover Parish, Jamaica Hanover , is a parish located on the northwestern tip of the island of Jamaica. It is a part of the county of Cornwall, bordered by St. James in the east, and Westmoreland in the south. With the exception of Kingston, it is the smallest parish on the island...	450.4	67,037	Lucea
2	Saint Elizabeth Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica St. Elizabeth, one of Jamaica's largest parishes, is located in the southwest of the island, in the county of Cornwall. Its capital, Black River, is located at the mouth of the Black River, the longest on the island.-History:...	1,212.4	146,404	Black River Black River, Jamaica Black River is the capital of St. Elizabeth Parish, in southwestern Jamaica. It sits at the mouth of the river of the same name. Once a thriving sugar port, it is today a centre of environmental tourism and a gateway to the Treasure Beach resort area; Treasure Beach and Crane Beach are to the...
3	Saint James Saint James Parish, Jamaica St James is a suburban parish, located on the north west end of the island of Jamaica. Its capital, Montego Bay, derived from the Spanish word Manteca because many wild hogs were found there from which they made lard. It was named publicly the second city of Jamaica, behind Kingston, in 1981....	594.9	175,127	Montego Bay Montego Bay Montego Bay is the capital of St. James Parish and the second largest city in Jamaica by area and the fourth by population .It is a tourist destination with duty free shopping, cruise line terminal and the beaches...
4	Trelawny Trelawny Parish, Jamaica Trelawny is a parish in Cornwall County in northwest Jamaica. Its capital is Falmouth. It is bordered by the parishes of Saint Ann in the east, Saint James in the west, and Saint Elizabeth and Manchester in the south.-History:...	874.6	73,066	Falmouth Falmouth, Jamaica Falmouth is the chief town and capital of the parish of Trelawny in Jamaica. It is situated on Jamaica's north coast 18 miles east of Montego Bay. It is noted for being one of the Caribbean’s best-preserved Georgian towns....
5	Westmoreland Westmoreland Parish, Jamaica Westmoreland is the westernmost parish in Jamaica, located on the south side of the island. It is situated to the south of Hanover, the southwest of Saint James, and the northwest of Saint Elizabeth, in the county of Cornwall. The chief town and capital is Savanna-la-Mar...	807.0	138,947	Savanna-la-Mar Savanna-la-Mar Savanna-la-Mar is the chief town and capital of Westmoreland parish, Jamaica.It is a coastal town and contains a fort, constructed in the 18th century for defence against pirates....
Middlesex County Middlesex, Jamaica Middlesex is the central of the three historic counties into which Jamaica is divided. It has no current-day administrative significance. It covers 5041.9 km² and has a population of 1,183,361 giving it the largest area and population of the three counties...
6	Clarendon Clarendon Parish, Jamaica Clarendon is a parish in Jamaica. It is located on the south of the island, roughly half-way between the island's eastern and western ends...	1,196.3	237,024	May Pen May Pen May Pen is the capital and largest town in the parish of Clarendon in the Middlesex County, Jamaica. It is located on the Rio Minho river , and is a major market centre for the Parish...
7	Manchester Manchester Parish, Jamaica The parish of Manchester is located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex. Its capital, Mandeville, is a major business centre, and the only parish capital not located on the coast or on a major river. The Right Excellent Norman Washington Manley The parish of Manchester is located in...	830.1	185,801	Mandeville Mandeville, Jamaica Mandeville is the capital and largest town in the parish of Manchester in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. In 2005, the town had an estimated population of 50,000, and including the immediate suburbs within a radius of the total population is about 72,000. It is located on an inland plateau at an...
8	Saint Ann Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica Saint Ann is the largest parish in Jamaica. It is situated on the north coast of the island, in the county of Middlesex, roughly halfway between the eastern and western ends of the island. It is often called 'the Garden Parish of Jamaica' on account of its natural beauty...	1,212.6	166,762	Saint Ann's Bay
9	Saint Catherine Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica St Catherine is a parish located in the south east of Jamaica. It is located in the county of Middlesex, and is one of the island's largest and most economically valued parish because of its many resources. It includes the first capital of Jamaica, Spanish Town, originally known as San Jago de la...	1,192.4	482,308	Spanish Town Spanish Town Spanish Town is the capital and the largest town in the parish of St. Catherine in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. It was the former Spanish and English capital of Jamaica from the 16th to the 19th century...
10	Saint Mary Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica Saint Mary is a parish located in the northeast section of Jamaica. With a population of 115,000 it is one of Jamaica's smallest parishes, located in the county of Middlesex. Its chief town and capital is Port Maria, located on the coast. It is also the birthplace of established dancehall reggae...	610.5	111,466	Port Maria Port Maria Port Maria is the capital town of the Jamaican parish of Saint Mary. It has a population of approximately 7,500 people and is the seat of the Saint Mary Parish Council. The Mayor of Port Maria is Richard Creary...
Surrey County Surrey, Jamaica Surrey is the easternmost and the smallest by area of the three historic counties into which Jamaica is divided. It has no current-day administrative significance...
11	Kingston (parish) Kingston Parish, Jamaica Kingston is one of the 14 Parishes of Jamaica. Together with neighboring St. Andrew Parish, it makes up the consolidated administrative unit of Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation, or, informally the City of Kingston.... (1) (2)	21.8	96,052	Kingston Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
12	Portland Portland Parish, Jamaica Portland, with its capital town Port Antonio, is a parish located on Jamaica's northeast coast. It is situated to the north of St Thomas, and the east of St Mary in Surrey county. It is one of the rural areas of Jamaica and is known for its great beaches....	814.0	80,205	Port Antonio Port Antonio Port Antonio is the capital of the parish of Portland on the northeastern coast of Jamaica, about 60 miles from Kingston. It had a population of 12,285 in 1982 and 13,246 in 1991...
13	Saint Andrew Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica Saint Andrew is a parish, situated in the southeast of Jamaica in the county of Surrey. It lies north, west and east of Kingston, and stretches into the Blue Mountains and at the 2001 census had the highest population of all the parishes in Jamaica. The Right Excellent George William Gordon Saint... (1)	430.7	555,828	Half Way Tree Half Way Tree Half Way Tree is a neighbourhood in the city of Kingston, Jamaica. It is the parish capital of St. Andrew.Half Way Tree is served by the Kingston 10 post office....
14	Saint Thomas Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica Saint Thomas is a suburban parish that is situated at the south eastern end of Jamaica, in the county of Surrey. It is the birth place of The right Honorable Paul Bogle, one of Jamaica's seven National Heroes...	742.8	91,604	Morant Bay Morant Bay Morant Bay is a town in southeastern Jamaica. It is the capital of the parish of St. Thomas. In 1867 it was the starting point of the Morant Bay Rebellion, the only major peasant revolt , in Jamaican history...
	Jamaica Jamaica Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...	10,990.5	2,607,631	Kingston Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...

⁽¹⁾ The parishes of Kingston and Saint Andrew together form the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation.

⁽²⁾ The parish of Kingston does not encompass all of the city of Kingston. Most of the city is in the parish of St. Andrew.

Municipalities of Jamaica

• Capital of Jamaica: Kingston
• Cities, towns, villages and neighbourhoods of Jamaica

Government and politics of Jamaica

Main article: Government of Jamaica and Politics of Jamaica

Politics of Jamaica

The Politics of Jamaica takes place in a framework of a representative parliamentary democratic monarchy. The 1962 Constitution established a parliamentary system based on the United Kingdom model. As chief of state, Queen Elizabeth II appoints a governor general, on the advice of the prime...

• Form of government
  Form of government
  A form of government, or form of state governance, refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized. Synonyms include "regime type" and "system of government".-Empirical and conceptual problems:...
  
  : parliamentary
  Parliamentary system
  A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....
  
   multi-party
  Multi-party system
  A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
  
   representative democratic
  Representative democracy
  Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...
  
   constitutional monarchy
  Constitutional monarchy
  Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
  
  
• Capital of Jamaica: Kingston

• Elections in Jamaica
  Elections in Jamaica
  Elections in Jamaica provides information on elections and election results in Jamaica.The Parliament of Jamaica has two chambers:* The House of Representatives has 60 members, elected for a five year term in single-seat constituencies....
  
  
  • (specific elections)
• Political parties in Jamaica
• Political scandals of Jamaica
• Taxation in Jamaica

Executive branch of the government of Jamaica

• Head of state
  Head of State
  A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
  
  : Elizabeth II
  Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
  Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
  
  , Queen of Jamaica
  • Governor General of Jamaica, the Queen's representative
• Head of government
  Head of government
  Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
  
  : Bruce Golding
  Bruce Golding
  Orette Bruce Golding MP served as Prime Minister of Jamaica from 11 September 2007 to 23 October 2011. He is a member of the Jamaica Labour Party.-Biography:...
  
  , Prime Minister of Jamaica
  Prime Minister of Jamaica
  The Prime Minister of Jamaica is Jamaica's head of government, currently Andrew Holness. Andrew Holness was elected as the new leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party and succeeded Bruce Golding to become Jamaica's ninth Prime Minister on 23 October 2011...
  
  
• Cabinet of Jamaica
  Cabinet of Jamaica
  'The Cabinet of Jamaica is composed of Jamaica Labour Party members because the party won the 2007 General elections.- Ministers and Ministries :Prime Minister, Minister of Defense & Education* Andrew Holness...
  
  

Legislative branch of the government of Jamaica

• Parliament of Jamaica
  Parliament of Jamaica
  The Parliament of Jamaica is the legislative branch of the government of Jamaica. It is a bicameral body, composed of an appointed Senate and an elected House of Representatives....
  
   (bicameral)
  • Upper house
    Upper house
    An upper house, often called a senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house; a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral.- Possible specific characteristics :...
    
    : Senate of Jamaica
  • Lower house
    Lower house
    A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house.Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide the lower house has come to wield more power...
    
    : House of Representatives of Jamaica

Judicial branch of the government of Jamaica

• Supreme Court of Jamaica
• Court of Appeals of Jamaica
• Resident Magistrate's Courts of Jamaica
• Gun Court
  Gun Court
  The Gun Court is the branch of the Jamaican judicial system that tries criminal cases involving firearms. The Court was established by Parliament in 1974 to combat rising gun violence, and empowered to try suspects in camera, without a jury. The Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, and Resident...
  
  
• Commercial Court of Jamaica
• Petty Courts of Jamaica

Foreign relations of Jamaica

• Diplomatic missions in Jamaica
• Diplomatic missions of Jamaica

International organization membership

Jamaica is a member of:

• African, Caribbean, and Pacific Group of States (ACP)
• Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL)
• Caribbean Community and Common Market (Caricom)
• Caribbean Development Bank
  Caribbean Development Bank
  The Caribbean Development Bank is a financial institution which assists Caribbean nations in financing social and economic programs in its member countries...
  
   (CDB)
• Commonwealth of Nations
  Commonwealth of Nations
  The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
  
  
• Food and Agriculture Organization
  Food and Agriculture Organization
  The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...
  
   (FAO)
• Group of 15
  Group of 15
  The Group of 15 was established at the Ninth Non-Aligned Movement Summit Meeting in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in September 1989.This informal forum was set up to foster cooperation and provide input for other international groups, such as the World Trade Organization and the Group of Eight...
  
   (G15)
• Group of 77
  Group of 77
  The Group of 77 at the United Nations is a loose coalition of developing nations, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 founding members of the organization, but the organization has...
  
   (G77)
• Inter-American Development Bank
  Inter-American Development Bank
  The Inter-American Development Bank is the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean...
  
   (IADB)
• International Atomic Energy Agency
  International Atomic Energy Agency
  The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
  
   (IAEA)
• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
  The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of five institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Now, its mission has expanded to fight...
  
   (IBRD)
• International Civil Aviation Organization
  International Civil Aviation Organization
  The International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...
  
   (ICAO)
• International Criminal Court
  International Criminal Court
  The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
  
   (ICCt) (signatory)
• International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol)
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
  The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is a humanitarian institution that is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement along with the ICRC and 186 distinct National Societies...
  
   (IFRCS)
• International Finance Corporation
  International Finance Corporation
  The International Finance Corporation promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries.IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States....
  
   (IFC)
• International Fund for Agricultural Development
  International Fund for Agricultural Development
  The International Fund for Agricultural Development , a specialized agency of the United Nations, was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. IFAD is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries...
  
   (IFAD)
• International Hydrographic Organization
  International Hydrographic Organization
  The International Hydrographic Organization is the inter-governmental organisation representing the hydrographic community. It enjoys observer status at the UN and is the recognised competent authority on hydrographic surveying and nautical charting...
  
   (IHO)
• International Labour Organization
  International Labour Organization
  The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...
  
   (ILO)
• International Maritime Organization
  International Maritime Organization
  The International Maritime Organization , formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization , was established in Geneva in 1948, and came into force ten years later, meeting for the first time in 1959...
  
   (IMO)
• International Monetary Fund
  International Monetary Fund
  The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
  
   (IMF)
• International Olympic Committee
  International Olympic Committee
  The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
  
   (IOC)

• International Organization for Migration
  International Organization for Migration
  The International Organization for Migration is an intergovernmental organization. It was initially established in 1951 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration to help resettle people displaced by World War II....
  
   (IOM)
• International Organization for Standardization
  International Organization for Standardization
  The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...
  
   (ISO)
• International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
  International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
  The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...
  
   (ICRM)
• International Telecommunication Union
  International Telecommunication Union
  The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies...
  
   (ITU)
• International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
  International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
  The International Telecommunications Satellite Organization is an intergovernmental organisation charged with overseeing the public service obligations of Intelsat.-External links:*...
  
   (ITSO)
• Latin American Economic System
  Latin American Economic System
  The Latin American and the Caribbean Economic System, officially known as Sistema Económico Latinoamericano y del Caribe , is an organization founded in 1975 to promote economic cooperation and social development between Latin American and the Caribbean countries...
  
   (LAES)
• Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
  Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
  The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency is a member organization of the World Bank Group that offers political risk insurance. It was established to promote foreign direct investment into developing countries. MIGA was founded in 1988 with a capital base of $1 billion and is headquartered in...
  
   (MIGA)
• Nonaligned Movement (NAM)
• Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
• Organization of American States
  Organization of American States
  The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
  
   (OAS)
• United Nations
  United Nations
  The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
  
   (UN)
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
  The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues....
  
   (UNCTAD)
• United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
• United Nations Industrial Development Organization
  United Nations Industrial Development Organization
  The United Nations Industrial Development Organization , French/Spanish acronym ONUDI, is a specialized agency in the United Nations system, headquartered in Vienna, Austria...
  
   (UNIDO)
• Universal Postal Union
  Universal Postal Union
  The Universal Postal Union is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration , the Postal Operations Council and the...
  
   (UPU)
• World Customs Organization
  World Customs Organization
  The World Customs Organization is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. With its worldwide membership, the WCO is recognized as the voice of the global customs community...
  
   (WCO)
• World Federation of Trade Unions
  World Federation of Trade Unions
  The World Federation of Trade Unions was established in 1945 to replace the International Federation of Trade Unions. Its mission was to bring together trade unions across the world in a single international organization, much like the United Nations...
  
   (WFTU)
• World Health Organization
  World Health Organization
  The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
  
   (WHO)
• World Intellectual Property Organization
  World Intellectual Property Organization
  The World Intellectual Property Organization is one of the 17 specialized agencies of the United Nations. WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world"....
  
   (WIPO)
• World Meteorological Organization
  World Meteorological Organization
  The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
  
   (WMO)
• World Tourism Organization
  World Tourism Organization
  The World Tourism Organization , based in Madrid, Spain, is a United Nations agency dealing with questions relating to tourism. It compiles the World Tourism rankings. The World Tourism Organization is a significant global body, concerned with the collection and collation of statistical information...
  
   (UNWTO)
• World Trade Organization
  World Trade Organization
  The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
  
   (WTO)

Law and order in Jamaica

• Capital punishment in Jamaica
  Capital punishment in Jamaica
  Capital Punishment in Jamaica is legal. The Jamaican Parliament had placed a moratorium on it until 2009 when it was lifted. Currently, the only crime punishable by death is aggravated murder. The method of execution is hanging. The last person executed in Jamaica was Nathon Foster who was...
  
  
• Constitution of Jamaica
  Constitution of Jamaica
  -History:As a constituent province of the West Indies Federation, Jamaica became independent of the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962 under the Jamaica Independence Act 1962. Under the West Indies Act 1962, the monarchy of the United Kingdom was allowed to form governments for the former colonies of...
  
  
• Crime in Jamaica
  Crime in Jamaica
  Some areas of Jamaica, particularly cities such as Kingston, Montego Bay and Spanish Town, experience high levels of crime and violence. Jamaica has had one of the highest murder rates in the world for many years, according to UN estimates. Former Prime Minister P. J...
  
  
• Human rights in Jamaica
  • LGBT rights in Jamaica
    LGBT rights in Jamaica
    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender rights in Jamaica are dominated by the prohibition of sexual acts between men. Sexual acts between women are legal, by virtue of the absence of any reference to them in law...
    
    
  • Freedom of religion in Jamaica
• Law enforcement in Jamaica
• List of prisons in Jamaica

Military of Jamaica

• Command
  • Commander-in-chief
    Commander-in-Chief
    A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
    
    : Queen of Jamaica
    • Ministry of Defence of Jamaica
• Forces
  • Army of Jamaica
  • Navy of Jamaica
  • Air Force of Jamaica
  • Special forces of Jamaica
• Military history of Jamaica
  Military history of Jamaica
  The Jamaica Defence Force is the small but professional military force of Jamaica. The JDF is based upon the British military model with organization, training, weapons and traditions closely aligned with Commonwealth realms. Once chosen, officer candidates are sent to one of several British or...
  
  
• Military ranks of Jamaica

History of Jamaica

Main article: History of Jamaica

History of Jamaica

Jamaica, the 3rd largest Caribbean island, was inhabited by Arawak natives when it was first sighted by the 2nd voyage of Christopher Colombus on 5th May 1494. bob marley. christian. asmin. david...

, Timeline of the history of Jamaica, and Current events of Jamaica

• Economic history of Jamaica
• Military history of Jamaica
  Military history of Jamaica
  The Jamaica Defence Force is the small but professional military force of Jamaica. The JDF is based upon the British military model with organization, training, weapons and traditions closely aligned with Commonwealth realms. Once chosen, officer candidates are sent to one of several British or...
  
  

Culture of Jamaica

• Architecture of Jamaica
• Cuisine of Jamaica
• Ethnic minorities in Jamaica
• Festivals in Jamaica
• Humor in Jamaica
• Languages of Jamaica
• Media in Jamaica
• National symbols of Jamaica
  • Coat of arms of Jamaica
    Coat of arms of Jamaica
    Considered as a legacy from the British with slight modifications, the Jamaican Coat of Arms was granted to Jamaica in 1661 under Royal Warrant. The original was designed by William Sancroft, then Archbishop of Canterbury....
    
    
  • Flag of Jamaica
    Flag of Jamaica
    The flag of Jamaica was adopted on August 6, 1962, the original Jamaican Independence Day, the country having gained independence from the British-protected Federation of the West Indies...
    
    
  • National anthem of Jamaica
• People of Jamaica
• Prostitution in Jamaica
  Prostitution in Jamaica
  -Prostitution in practice:Female prostitutes solicit from their homes or join customers in their hotel rooms or private homes. A number of prostitutes dance in adult night clubs and a percentage of them are from other countries. These imported prostitutes work in the more sophisticated night clubs...
  
  
• Public holidays in Jamaica
  Public holidays in Jamaica
  Public holidays in Jamaica include Christian holidays and secular holidays. The dates listed are for 2008-2009.- Christian holidays :* Ash Wednesday * Good Friday * Easter Monday * Christmas Day...
  
  
• Records of Jamaica
• Religion in Jamaica
  Religion in Jamaica
  According to the most recent census , the population's religious affiliation consists of Church of God, 24 percent; Seventh-day Adventist, 11 percent; Pentecostal, 10 percent; Baptist, 7 percent; Anglican, 4 percent; Roman Catholic, 2 percent; United Church, 2 percent; Methodist, 2 percent;...
  
  
  • Buddhism in Jamaica
  • Christianity in Jamaica
    Christianity in Jamaica
    Christianity was Introduced by Spanish settlers who arrived in Jamaica in 1509.Roman Catholicism was the first Christian denomination to be established...
    
    
  • Hinduism in Jamaica
  • Islam in Jamaica
    Islam in Jamaica
    The statistics for Islam in Jamaica estimate a total Muslim population of about 5,000. There are several Islamic organizations and mosques in Jamaica, including the Islamic Council of Jamaica and the Islamic Education and Dawah Center, both located in Kingston and offering classes in Islamic...
    
    
  • Judaism in Jamaica
  • Sikhism in Jamaica
• World Heritage Sites in Jamaica(none)
• List of National Heritage Sites in Jamaica

Art in Jamaica

• Art in Jamaica
• Cinema of Jamaica
• Literature of Jamaica
• Music of Jamaica
  Music of Jamaica
  The music of Jamaica includes Jamaican folk music and many popular genres, such as mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub music, dancehall, reggae fusion and related styles. Jamaica's music culture is a fusion of elements from the United States , Africa, and neighboring Caribbean islands such as...
  
  
• Television in Jamaica
• Theatre in Jamaica

Sports in Jamaica

• Football in Jamaica
  Football in Jamaica
  Association football is one of the most popular sports in Jamaica. It was introduced to the country by the British and quickly took hold. Other important sports in Jamaica include cricket, track and field, and for women, netball.-History:...
  
  
• Jamaica at the Olympics
  Jamaica at the Olympics
  Jamaica first participated at the Olympic Games in 1948, and has sent athletes to compete in every Summer Olympic Games since then. In 1960, Jamaican athletes competed as part of the West Indies Federation team....
  
  

Economy and infrastructure of Jamaica

• Economic rank, by nominal GDP (2007): 110th (one hundred and tenth)

• Agriculture in Jamaica
• Banking in Jamaica
  • National Bank of Jamaica
• Communications in Jamaica
  • Internet in Jamaica
• Companies of Jamaica

• Currency of Jamaica
  Currency
  In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
  
  : Dollar
  Jamaican dollar
  The dollar has been the currency of Jamaica since 1969. It is often abbreviated "J$", the J serving to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents.-History:...
  
  
  • ISO 4217
    ISO 4217
    ISO 4217 is a standard published by the International Standards Organization, which delineates currency designators, country codes , and references to minor units in three tables:* Table A.1 – Current currency & funds code list...
    
    : JMD

• Economic history of Jamaica
• Energy in Jamaica
  • Energy policy of Jamaica
  • Oil industry in Jamaica
• Mining in Jamaica
• Tourism in Jamaica
• Transport in Jamaica
  Transport in Jamaica
  Transport in Jamaica consists of roadways, railways, ship and air transport, with roadways forming the backbone of the island's internal transport system.-Roadways:...
  
  

• Jamaica Stock Exchange
  Jamaica Stock Exchange
  The Jamaica Stock Exchange is the principal stock exchange of Jamaica. It is known as the JSE. It was founded in 1968 in Kingston, Jamaica and its current executive chairman is Mr Roy Johnson....
  
  

Education in Jamaica

• List of schools in Jamaica
• List of colleges in Jamaica
• List of universities in Jamaica

Infrastructure of Jamaica

• Health care in Jamaica
• Transportation in Jamaica
  • Airports in Jamaica
  • Rail transport in Jamaica
    • List of railway lines of Jamaica
    • List of railway stations in Jamaica
  • Roads in Jamaica
    Roads in Jamaica
    The road network in Jamaica consists of almost 21,000 kilometres of roads, of which over 15,000 kilometres is paved. The numbering scheme used covers freeways, primary roads, secondary roads, parochial roads and unclassified roads.-Freeways:...
    
    
  • Water transport in Jamaica
    • List of lighthouses in Jamaica
• Water supply and sanitation in Jamaica
  Water supply and sanitation in Jamaica
  Water supply and sanitation in Jamaica is characterized by high levels of access to an improved water source, while access to adequate sanitation stands at only 80%. This situation affects especially the poor, including the urban poor many of which live in the country's over 595 unplanned squatter...
  
  
• Water resources management in Jamaica
  Water resources management in Jamaica
  The management of Jamaica's freshwater resources is primarily the domain and responsibility of the National Water Commission . The duties of providing service and water infrastructure maintenance for rural communities across Jamaica are shared with the Parish Councils. Where possible efficiencies...
  
  

See also

• Commonwealth realm
  Commonwealth Realm
  A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...
  
  
• Index of Jamaica-related articles
• List of Jamaica-related topics
• List of international rankings
• Member state of the Commonwealth of Nations
• Member state of the United Nations
• Monarchy of Jamaica
  Monarchy of Jamaica
  The Monarchy of Jamaica is a constitutional system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of Jamaica, forming the core of the country's Westminster-style parliamentary democracy...
  
  
• Outline of geography
  Outline of geography
  The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to geography:Geography – science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth.- Geography is :...
  
  
• Outline of North America
• Outline of the Caribbean

External links

• Official website of Queen Elizabeth as Queen of Jamaica
• Official website of the Jamaica Information Service
• The Cabinet Office of the Government of Jamaica

• National Library of Jamaica materials in the Digital Library of the Caribbean
• detailed Satellite maps on Google
• Jamaica Environment Trust