53 Facts About Jamaica

Under British colonial rule Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with a plantation economy dependent on the African slaves and later their descendants.

Jamaica is often considered the world's least populous cultural superpower.

Jamaica is an upper-middle income country with an economy heavily dependent on tourism; it has an average of 4.

Jamaica's appointed representative in the country is the Governor-General of Jamaica, an office held by Patrick Allen since 2009.

Jamaica is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with legislative power vested in the bicameral Parliament of Jamaica, consisting of an appointed Senate and a directly elected House of Representatives.

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The south coast of Jamaica was the most populated, especially around the area now known as Old Harbour.

Christopher Columbus was the first European to see Jamaica, claiming the island for Spain after landing there in 1494 on his second voyage to the Americas.

Jamaica later returned in 1503; however, he was shipwrecked and he and his crew were forced to live on Jamaica for a year while waiting to be rescued.

Many slaves managed to escape, forming autonomous communities in remote and easily defended areas in the interior of Jamaica, mixing with the remaining Taino; these communities became known as Maroons.

The Irish in Jamaica formed a large part of the island's early population, making up two-thirds of the white population on the island in the late 17th century, twice that of the English population.

Jamaica was one of the chief inspirations behind Rastafari, a religion founded in Jamaica in the 1930s that combined Christianity with an Afrocentric theology focused on the figure of Haile Selassie, Emperor of Ethiopia.

In terms of foreign policy Jamaica became a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, seeking to retain strong ties with Britain and the United States whilst developing links with Communist states such as Cuba.

Parliament of Jamaica is bicameral, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate (Upper House).

Judiciary of Jamaica operates on a common law system derived from English law and Commonwealth of Nations precedents.

Jamaica has traditionally had a two-party system, with power often alternating between the People's National Party and Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

In 2017, Jamaica signed the UN treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Jamaica is divided into 14 parishes, which are grouped into three historic counties that have no administrative relevance.

Jamaica only has two cities, the first being Kingston, the capital city and centre of business, located on the south coast and the second being Montego Bay, one of the best known cities in the Caribbean for tourism, located on the north coast.

Climate in Jamaica is tropical, with hot and humid weather, although higher inland regions are more temperate.

Jamaica's climate is tropical, supporting diverse ecosystems with a wealth of plants and animals.

Jamaica is home to about 3, 000 species of native flowering plants, thousands of species of non-flowering flora, and about 20 botanical gardens, some of which are several hundred years old.

Jamaica is home to about 50 species of reptiles, the largest of which is the American crocodile; however, it is only present within the Black River and a few other areas.

Also visible in the waters surrounding Jamaica are dolphins, parrotfish, and the endangered manatee.

Jamaica is the home to about 150 species of butterflies and moths, including 35 indigenous species and 22 subspecies.

Jamaica relies on the ocean and its ecosystem for its development.

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Coral reefs in the Negril Marine Park, Jamaica, have been increasingly impacted by nutrient pollution and macroalgal blooms following decades of intensive development as a major tourist destination.

Jamaica is a very touristy place specifically because of their beaches.

The results show that tourists have a high consumer surplus associated with a vacation in Jamaica, and have a significantly lower willingness to pay for a tourism tax when compared to an environmental tax.

Jamaica is regarded as a bilingual country, with two major languages in use by the population.

Jamaica has had one of the highest murder rates in the world for many years, according to UN estimates.

Many other internationally known artists were born in Jamaica, including Toots Hibbert, Millie Small, Burning Spear, Alton Ellis, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Gregory Isaacs, Half Pint, Protoje, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Big Youth, Jimmy Cliff, Dennis Brown, Desmond Dekker, Beres Hammond, Beenie Man, Shaggy, Grace Jones, Shabba Ranks, Super Cat, Buju Banton, Sean Paul, I Wayne, Bounty Killer and many others.

Bands that came from Jamaica include Black Uhuru, Third World Band, Inner Circle, Chalice Reggae Band, Culture, Fab Five and Morgan Heritage.

Jamaica has a history in the film industry dating from the early 1960s.

Jamaica is often used as a filming location, such as the James Bond film Dr No, Papillon (1973) starring Steve McQueen, Cocktail (1988) starring Tom Cruise, and the 1993 Disney comedy Cool Runnings, which is loosely based on the true story of Jamaica's first bobsled team trying to make it in the Winter Olympics.

Jamaica has produced some of the world's most famous cricketers, including George Headley, Courtney Walsh, Chris Gayle and Michael Holding.

Chris Gayle is the most renowned batsman from Jamaica, currently representing the West Indies cricket team.

Since independence Jamaica has consistently produced world class athletes in track and field.

Jamaica is a mixed economy with both state enterprises and private sector businesses.

In 2018, Jamaica represented the CARICOM Caribbean Community at the G20 and the G7 annual meetings.

Jamaica's economy grew strongly after the years of independence, but then stagnated in the 1980s, due to the heavy falls in price of bauxite and fluctuations in the price of agriculture.

Jamaica is the fifth-largest exporter of bauxite in the world, after Australia, China, Brazil and Guinea.

In 2018, Jamaica won several World Travel Awards in Portugal winning the "Chairman's Award for Global Tourism Innovation", "Best Tourist Board in the Caribbean" "Best Honeymoon Destination", "Best Culinary Destination", "World's Leading Beach Destination" and "World's Leading Cruise Destination".

Jamaica has a wide variety of industrial and commercial activities.

Jamaica has a considerable amount of industrial engineering, light manufacturing, including metal fabrication, metal roofing, and furniture manufacturing.

Jamaica was ranked 74th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, up from 81st in 2019.

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In 2006, Jamaica became part of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy as one of the pioneering members.

The initiative would see holders of Government of Jamaica bonds returning the high interest earning instruments for bonds with lower yields and longer maturities.

However, with Jamaica's improved fiscal position, coming out of its recent IMF programme, the government has pledged to increase expenditure on research and development.

Jamaica depends on petroleum imports to satisfy its national energy needs.

Jamaica produces enormous quantities of drinking alcohol, most of which appears to be consumed as beverages, and none used as motor fuel.

Currently, only Digicel offers LTE to its customers whereas FLOW Jamaica has committed to launching LTE in the cities of Kingston and Montego Bay, places where Digicel's LTE network is currently only found in, in short order.

FLOW Jamaica currently has the most broadband and cable subscribers on the island and has 1 million mobile subscribers, second to Digicel.

Jamaica will focus on 4G LTE data offerings and will first go live in Kingston, St Andrew and Portmore and will expand to the rest of Jamaica thereafter.