 | The Courier N° 138 - March - April 1993 Dossier: Africa's New Democracies - Country Reports : Jamaica - Zambia (EC Courier, 1993, 96 p.) |
 |  | Country reports |
| | Jamaica |
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Profile
Area: 11 424 km² (4411 square miles)
Population: 2 435
800 (1991)
Crowth rate. 0.9% (over 1990)
Density: 213 per
km²
Capital: Kingston
Government: Bicameral parliamentary democracy
Head of State: Queen Elizabeth, represented in Jamaica by a Governor-General. (Discussions are currently under way with a view to moving towards a republican system)
Prime Minister: P.J. Patterson (People's National Party)
Leader of the Opposition: Edward Seaga (Jamaica Labour Party)
Party Representation in the House of Assembly (February 1993): PNP 46 seats, JLP 14 seats (election due shortly)
Currency: Jamaican Dollar (US$ I = J$ 22.20 - January 1993)
Inflation: 1990 - 29.8%, 1991 - 80.2%. The year-on-year rate topped 100% in early 1992 but dropped sharply thereafter. For the first nine months of 1992, the rate was 37%. In September 1992, prices rose by only I % pointing to further steep falls in the annual rate as the one-off effects of the currency devaluation worked through the system.
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1990 |
1991 |
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Gross Domestic Product: (in J$bn) | | |
|
at current prices |
29.82 |
42.37 |
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at constant price |
16.92 |
16.95 |
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(1986 base year) |
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Real GDP growtb rate4.8%0.2% | | |
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Balance of payments (in US$m) |
- 604.7 |
- 404.3 |
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Goods |
-784.9 |
- 654.3 |
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Services |
+ 180.2 |
+ 250.0 |
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Principal exports (in US$m) | | |
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Alumina |
625.3 |
543.0 |
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Bauxite |
103.0 |
112.9 |
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Sugar |
85.8 |
87.4 |
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Bananas |
37.7 |
45.1 |
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Rum |
17.2 |
15.4 |
Source: Economic and Social Survey Jamaica 1991 prepared by the Planning Institute of Jamaica.
Map
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