tion in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard Leighton BERNAL
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660
FAX : [1] (202) 452-0081
consulate(s) general: Miami and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador J. Gary COOPER
embassy: Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, 3rd floor,
Kingston
mailing address : use embassy street address
telephone: [1] (876) 929-4850 through 4859
FAX: [1] (876) 926-6743

Flag description: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four
triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer
side)

Economy

Economy - overview: Key sectors in this island economy are bauxite
(alumina and bauxite account for more than half of exports) and
tourism. Since assuming office in 1992, Prime Minister PATTERSON has
consolidated the market-oriented reforms initiated by his predecessor,
Michael MANLEY, to make Jamaica a regional leader in economic reform.
PATTERSON has eliminated most price controls, streamlined tax
schedules, and privatized government enterprises. Tight monetary and
fiscal policies under an IMF program have helped slow inflation and
stabilize the exchange rate, but, as a result, economic growth has
slowed down and unemployment remains high. Jamaica's medium-term
prospects depend largely on its ability to continue to attract foreign
capital and to limit speculation against the Jamaican dollar.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $8.4 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 0.5% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,260 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture : 8.1%
industry: 36.2%
services: 55.7% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 17% (1996 est.)

Labor force:
total: 1,062,100
by occupation: services 41%, agriculture 22.5%, industry 19%,
unemployed 17.5% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 15.4% (1994 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.45 billion
expenditures: $2 billion, including capital expenditures of $732
million (FY95/96 est.)

Industries: bauxite, tourism, textiles, food processing, light
manufactures

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Electricity - capacity: 848,400 kW (1995)

Electricity - production: 5.829 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 2,014 kWh (1995 est.)

Agriculture - products: sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes,
vegetables; poultry, goats, milk

Exports:
t