of Cuba

Geographic coordinates:
18 15 N, 77 30 W

Map references:
Central America and the Caribbean

Area:
total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km
water: 160 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Connecticut

Land boundaries:
0 km

Coastline:
1,022 km

Maritime claims:
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin

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: 15.83%
permanent crops: 10.01%
other: 74.16% (2005)

Irrigated land:
250 sq km (2002)

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:
2,758,124 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 33.1% (male 464,297/female 449,181)
15-64 years: 59.6% (male 808,718/female 835,394)
65 years and over: 7.3% (male 90,100/female 110,434) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 23 years
male: 22.4 years
female: 23.5 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.8% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
20.82 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
6.52 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
-6.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.)