tiguous zone: 24 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate:
tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

Terrain:
mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m

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:
2,713,130 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 28.2% (male 390,966; female 372,961)
15-64 years: 65% (male 883,053; female 880,296)
65 years and over: 6.9% (male 82,788; female 103,066) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 26.8 years
male: 26.2 years
female: 27.6 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.66% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
16.94 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
5.4 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
-4.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 12.81 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 11.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 13.82 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 76.07 years
male: 74.04 years
female: 78.21 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.98 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.2% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
22,000 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - de