View source for Jamaica

{{Short description|Country in the Caribbean}}
{{About|the country|other uses|Jamaica (disambiguation)}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Jamaica
| native_name            = {{Native name|jam|Jumieka|nbsp=omit}}
| common_name            = Jamaica
| image_flag             = Flag of Jamaica.svg
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of Jamaica.svg
| coa_size               = 80
| image_map              = Jamaica (orthographic projection).svg
| image_map2             = 
| national_motto         = "[[E pluribus unum#Other countries' governments|Out of Many, One People]]"
| national_anthem        = "[[Jamaica, Land We Love]]"<div style="display:inline-block;margin-top:0.4em;">{{Center|[[File:"Jamaica, Land We Love", performed by the United States Navy Band.oga]]}}</div>
| official_languages     = [[Jamaican English|English]]
| languages_type         = [[Vernacular language]]
| languages              = [[Jamaican Patois]]
| ethnic_groups          = {{Tree list}}
*76.3% [[Afro-Jamaican|African]] 
*15.1% [[Demographics of Jamaica#Afro-European/Mulatto|Mixed]]
*3.4% [[Indo-Jamaicans|Indian]]
*3.2% [[White Jamaicans|White]]
*1.2% [[Chinese Jamaicans|Chinese]]
*0.8% [[Demographics of Jamaica#Ethnic groups|others]]<ref name="uwi.edu">{{Cite web | url=https://www.uwi.edu/jamaica.php#:~:text=Population%3A2%2C824%2C913%20(2024%20est.,%25%20Chinese%20and%200.8%25%20Other.&text=History%3A%20When%20Christopher%20Columbus%20first,by%20Arawak%20(Taino)%20Indians | title=Jamaica &#124; the University of the West Indies }}</ref>
{{Tree list/end}}
| religion               = {{Tree list}}
* 68.9% [[Christianity in Jamaica|Christianity]]
**64.8% [[Protestantism in Jamaica|Protestantism]]
**4.1% other [[List of Christian denominations|Christian]]
*21.3% [[Irreligion|no religion]]
*1.1% [[Rastafari]]
* 6.5% [[Religion in Jamaica|other]]
* 2.3% unanswered<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jamaica/ |title=The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency |publisher=Cia.gov |access-date=2017-09-25 |archive-date=24 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124190707/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jamaica/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
{{Tree list/end}}
| demonym                = [[Jamaicans|Jamaican]]
| capital                = [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]]
| coordinates            = {{Coord|17|58|17|N|76|47|35|W|type:city}}
| largest_city           = capital
| government_type        = Unitary [[parliamentary constitutional monarchy]]
| leader_title1          = [[Monarchy of Jamaica|Monarch]]
| leader_name1           = {{Current Jamaican monarch |Charles III}}
| leader_title2          = [[Governor-General of Jamaica|Governor-General]]
| leader_name2           = [[Patrick Allen (governor-general)|Patrick Allen]]
| leader_title3          = [[Prime Minister of Jamaica|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name3           = [[Andrew Holness]]
| legislature            = [[Parliament of Jamaica|Parliament]]
| upper_house            = Senate
| lower_house            = House of Representatives
| sovereignty_type       = [[Independence of Jamaica|Independence]]
| sovereignty_note       = from the [[United Kingdom]]
| established_event1     = Granted
| established_date1      = 6 August 1962
| area_rank              = 160th <!-- Area rank should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]] -->
| area_km2               = 10,991
| area_sq_mi             = 4,244 <!--Do not remove per [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Dates and numbers]]-->
| percent_water          = 1.5
| population_census      = 2,697,983<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://statinja.gov.jm/Census/PopCensus/PopulationUsuallyResidentinJamaicabyParish.aspx |title=Population Usually Resident in Jamaica, by Parish: 2011 |publisher=Statistical Institute of Jamaica |access-date=2019-12-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226005702/https://statinja.gov.jm/Census/PopCensus/PopulationUsuallyResidentinJamaicabyParish.aspx |archive-date=26 February 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>
| population_census_year = 2011
| population_estimate    = 2,824,913<ref name="uwi.edu"/>
| population_estimate_rank = 
| population_estimate_year = 2024
| population_density_km2 = 266<ref name="esa2.un.org">{{Cite web |url=https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DataQuery/ |title=Data Query – Population density (persons per square km), as of 1 July |publisher=United Nations/DESA/Population Division |access-date=18 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919061238/https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DataQuery/ |archive-date=19 September 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| population_density_sq_mi = 688
| population_density_rank = 54th
| GDP_PPP                = {{Increase}} $33.775 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.JM">{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2024/October/weo-report?c=343,&s=NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2024&ey=2026&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 |title=World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition. (Jamaica) |publisher=[[International Monetary Fund]] |website=IMF.org |date=10 October 2024 |access-date=16 October 2024 }}</ref>
| GDP_PPP_year           = 2024
| GDP_PPP_rank           = 143rd
| GDP_PPP_per_capita     = {{Increase}} $12,283<ref name="IMFWEO.JM" />
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 134th
| GDP_nominal            = {{Increase}} $20.586 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.JM" />
| GDP_nominal_year       = 2024
| GDP_nominal_rank       = 119th
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{Increase}} $7,487<ref name="IMFWEO.JM" />
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 95th
| Gini_year              = 2021
| Gini_change            = increase <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini                   = 40.2 <!--number only-->
| Gini_ref               = <ref>{{Cite web | url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI | title=World Bank Open Data }}</ref>
| Gini_rank              = 
| HDI_year               = 2023<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year-->
| HDI_change             = increase<!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI                    = 0.720 <!--number only-->
| HDI_ref                = <ref>{{Cite web |date= 26 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2023/2024 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/specific-country-data#/countries/JAM|access-date=25 May 2025 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]] |language=en}}</ref>
| HDI_rank               = 117th
| currency               = [[Jamaican dollar]]
| currency_code          = JMD
| country_code           = 
| time_zone              = [[Eastern Standard Time|EST]]
| utc_offset             = -5:00
| utc_offset_DST         = 
| drives_on              = Left
| calling_code           = +1
| cctld                  = [[.jm]]
}}

'''Jamaica'''{{Efn|{{IPAc-en|audio=En-us-Jamaica.ogg|dʒ|ə|ˈ|m|eɪ|k|ə}} {{Respell|jə|MAY|kə}}; {{Langx|jam|Jumieka}} {{IPA|jam|dʒʌˈmie̯ka|}}}} is an [[island country]] in the [[Caribbean]], covering {{Convert|10990|sqkm|sqmi}}. It is the third-largest island in the [[Greater Antilles]] and the Caribbean, after [[Cuba]] and the island of [[Hispaniola]].<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Jamaica">{{Cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jamaica/ |title=CIA World Factbook – Jamaica |access-date=29 July 2019 |archive-date=11 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111023238/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jamaica |url-status=dead }}</ref> Jamaica lies about {{Cvt|145|km|nmi}} south of Cuba, {{Cvt|191|km|nmi}} west of Hispaniola (the island containing [[Haiti]] and the [[Dominican Republic]]), and {{Cvt|215|km|nmi}} southeast of the [[Cayman Islands]] (a [[British Overseas Territories|British Overseas Territory]]).<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Jamaica" /> With {{#expr:{{Replace|{{UN_Population|Jamaica}}|,|}}/1e6 round 1}} million people,{{UN_Population|ref}} Jamaica is the third most populous [[English-speaking world|Anglophone]] country in the [[Americas]] and the fourth most populous country in the Caribbean. [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]] is the country's capital and largest city.

The indigenous [[Taíno]] peoples of the island gradually came under [[Spanish Empire|Spanish rule]] after the arrival of [[Christopher Columbus]] in 1494. Many of the indigenous people either were killed or died of diseases, after which the Spanish brought large numbers of Africans to Jamaica as slaves.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Jamaica"/> The island remained a possession of Spain, under the name [[Colony of Santiago|Santiago]], until 1655, when [[Kingdom of England|England]] (part of what would become the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]]) conquered it and named it ''Jamaica''. It became an important part of the colonial [[British West Indies]]. Under Britain's colonial rule, Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with a plantation economy dependent on continued importation of African slaves and their descendants. The British fully emancipated all slaves in 1838, and many freedmen chose to have [[Subsistence agriculture|subsistence farms]] rather than to work on plantations. Beginning in the 1840s, the British began using [[Chinese people|Chinese]] and [[Indian people|Indian]] [[indenture]]d labourers for plantation work. Jamaicans achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Jamaica"/>

Jamaica is a parliamentary [[constitutional monarchy]], with power vested in the bicameral [[Parliament of Jamaica]], consisting of an appointed Senate and a directly elected House of Representatives.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Jamaica"/> [[Andrew Holness]] has served as [[Prime Minister of Jamaica]] since March 2016. Jamaica is a [[Commonwealth realm]], with {{Current Jamaican monarch |Charles III}} as [[Monarchy of Jamaica|its king]]; the appointed representative of the Crown is the [[Governor-General of Jamaica]], the office having been held by [[Patrick Allen (governor-general)|Patrick Allen]] since 2009. Because of a high rate of emigration for work since the 1960s, there is a large [[Jamaican diaspora]], particularly in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Most [[Jamaicans]] are of [[Sub-Saharan Africa]]n ancestry, with significant [[White Jamaicans|European]], [[East Asian people|East Asian]] (primarily [[Chinese Jamaicans|Chinese]]), [[Indo-Jamaicans|Indian]], [[Lebanese Jamaicans|Lebanese]], and mixed-race minorities.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Jamaica"/>

Jamaica is an upper-middle-income country<ref name="Jamaica country">{{cite web |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/jamaica/overview |title=Jamaica (country) |publisher=World Bank |access-date=21 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222041845/https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/jamaica/overview |archive-date=22 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> with an economy heavily dependent on [[tourism]], including popular [[Resort|resorts]]. It has an average of 4.3 million tourists a year.<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web |url=https://jis.gov.jm/record-4-3-million-tourist-arrivals-2017/ |title=Record 4.3 Million Tourist Arrivals in 2017 |publisher=[[Jamaica Information Service]] (Government of Jamaica) |access-date=21 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221112339/https://jis.gov.jm/record-4-3-million-tourist-arrivals-2017/ |archive-date=21 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The country has a global influence that belies its small size; it is the birthplace of the [[Rastafari]] religion and [[reggae]] music, along with the associated musical genres of [[Dub music|dub]], [[ska]], and [[dancehall]]; and it is internationally prominent in sports, including [[cricket]], [[Sprint (running)|sprinting]], and [[Sport of athletics|athletics]].<ref name="track">{{cite web |title=Athletics in Jamaica |url=http://www.my-island-jamaica.com/athletics_in_jamaica.html |publisher=My island Jamaica |access-date=11 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100818201042/http://www.my-island-jamaica.com/athletics_in_jamaica.html |archive-date=18 August 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>"Reggae." ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', 4th ed. Ed. Colin Larkin. ''Oxford Music Online''. [[Oxford University Press]]. Web. 16 February 2016.</ref><ref name="state2007"/><ref name="Jamaica country" /> Jamaica has sometimes been considered the world's least populous [[Power (international relations)#Other categories|cultural superpower]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Horan |first=Tom |date=5 August 2012 |title=How Jamaica conquered the world |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/aug/05/how-jamaica-conquered-the-world |access-date=3 February 2023 |issn=}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Noah |date=27 October 2021 |title=What makes a cultural superpower? |url=https://noahpinion.substack.com/p/what-makes-a-cultural-superpower |access-date=3 February 2023 |website=noahpinion.substack.com |language=en |archive-date=19 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219033332/https://noahpinion.substack.com/p/what-makes-a-cultural-superpower |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Davis |first=Garwin |date=20 February 2016 |title=Jamaica A Global Cultural Power – Hanna – Jamaica Information Service |url=https://jis.gov.jm/jamaica-a-global-cultural-power-hanna/ |access-date=3 February 2023 |website=jis.gov.jm |archive-date=3 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230203135918/https://jis.gov.jm/jamaica-a-global-cultural-power-hanna/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Jamaica |url=https://strongsenseofplace.com/destinations/jamaica/ |access-date=27 March 2023 |website=Strong Sense of Place |language=en |archive-date=27 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230327104831/https://strongsenseofplace.com/destinations/jamaica/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Etymology==
The [[indigenous people]], the Taíno, called the island ''Xaymaca'' in their [[Taíno language|language]],{{efn|As represented in [[Spanish orthography#Orthography|Old Spanish orthography]], meaning it began with a "[[ʃ|sh]]" sound}} meaning the "Land of Wood and Water" or the "Land of Springs".<ref name=taino>{{cite web|url=http://www.uctp.org/VocesIndigena.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016055722/http://www.uctp.org/VocesIndigena.html |archive-date=16 October 2007 |title= Taíno Dictionary |publisher= The United Confederation of Taíno People |access-date=18 October 2007|language=Spanish}}</ref> ''Yamaye'' has been suggested as an early Taíno name for the island as recorded by [[Christopher Columbus]].<ref name="Atkinson">{{cite book |last1=Atkinson |first1=Lesley-Gail |title=The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaican Taíno |year=2006 |publisher=University of the West Indies Press |isbn=978-976-640-149-8 |page=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M33aOoslSTMC&q=yamaye%20%20 |access-date=1 March 2021 |language=en |archive-date=20 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520042517/https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Earliest_Inhabitants/M33aOoslSTMC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=yamaye++ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Jamaicans often refer to their home island as "yaad" – the Jamaican Patois word for yard, meaning home. Other colloquial names such as "Jamrock", "Jamdown" ("Jamdung" in [[Jamaican Patois]]), or briefly "Ja" are also widely used.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yaad |website=Wiwords |url=https://wiwords.com/words/yaad |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref>{{User-generated inline|date=August 2024}}<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Jamaica2">{{cite web|title=CIA World Factbook – Jamaica|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jamaica/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111023238/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jamaica|archive-date=11 January 2021|access-date=29 July 2019}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=August 2024}}

==History==
{{Main|History of Jamaica}}

===Prehistory===
{{Main|Pre-Columbian Jamaica}}

There is no archaeological evidence of any human presence on Jamaica until about 500.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Keegan |first1=William F. |title=The Caribbean before Columbus |last2=Hofman |first2=Corinne L. |author-link2=Corinne Hofman |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2017 |isbn=9780190647353 |edition=ebook |location=New York. New York |pages=10}}</ref> A group known as the "Redware people" after their pottery arrived circa 600,<ref name="EBJH">[https://www.britannica.com/place/Jamaica/History "Jamaica"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420082314/https://www.britannica.com/place/Jamaica/History |date=20 April 2019 }}, ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.</ref> followed by the Taíno circa 800, who most likely came from [[South America]].<ref name="EBJH"/><ref>Atkinson, Lesley-Gail. "The Earliest Inhabitants: The Dynamics of the Jamaican Taíno."</ref> They practised an agrarian and fishing economy, and at their height are thought to have numbered some 60,000 people, grouped into around 200 villages headed by ''[[cacique]]s'' (chiefs).<ref name="EBJH"/> The south coast of Jamaica was the most populated, especially around the area now known as Old Harbour.<ref name="primearticles1">{{cite web |url=http://www.jamaicans.com/articles/primearticles/taino.shtml |title=The Taino of Jamaica (Jamaica) |publisher=Jamaicans.com |date=1 April 2001 |access-date=4 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416013904/http://www.jamaicans.com/articles/primearticles/taino.shtml |archive-date=16 April 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Though often thought to have become extinct following contact with Europeans, the Taíno in fact still inhabited Jamaica when the English took control of the island in 1655.<ref name="primearticles1"/> Some fled into interior regions, merging with African [[Jamaican Maroons|Maroon]] communities.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fuller |first1=Harcourt |last2=Torres |first2=Jada Benn |date=2018-01-02 |title=Investigating the "Taíno" ancestry of the Jamaican Maroons: a new genetic (DNA), historical, and multidisciplinary analysis and case study of the Accompong Town Maroons |journal=Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=47–78 |doi=10.1080/08263663.2018.1426227 |s2cid=166204004 |issn=0826-3663}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Madrilejo |first1=Nicole |last2=Lombard |first2=Holden |last3=Torres |first3=Jada Benn |date=2014-11-13 |title=Origins of marronage: Mitochondrial lineages of Jamaica's Accompong Town Maroons |journal=American Journal of Human Biology |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=432–437 |doi=10.1002/ajhb.22656 |pmid=25392952 |s2cid=30255510 |issn=1042-0533}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140705/lead/lead5.html |title='I am not extinct'—Jamaican Taino proudly declares ancestry |date=2014-07-05 |website=jamaica-gleaner.com |access-date=2019-02-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190206044422/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140705/lead/lead5.html |archive-date=6 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Jamaican National Heritage Trust is attempting to locate and document any remaining evidence of the Taíno.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jnht.com/archaeology/barbican_rescue.php |title=Jamaican National Heritage Trust |date=28 September 2007 |access-date=26 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928013715/http://www.jnht.com/archaeology/barbican_rescue.php |archive-date=28 September 2007}}</ref>

===Spanish rule (1509–1655)===
{{main|Colony of Santiago}}

[[File:Cristobal Columbus20231003 115330.jpg|thumb|Statue of [[Christopher Columbus]] in [[St. Ann Parish]]]]
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.<ref name="EBJH"/> His probable landing point was Dry Harbour, called [[Discovery Bay, Jamaica|Discovery Bay]],<ref name="columbus">{{cite web |url=http://www.columbusnavigation.com/cctl.shtml|title=A Christopher Columbus Timeline |last=Pickering |first=Keith A. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060421053355/http://www.columbusnavigation.com/cctl.shtml |archive-date=21 April 2006 |url-status=dead |access-date=18 April 2018}}</ref> and [[Saint Ann Parish|St. Ann's Bay]] was named "Saint Gloria" by Columbus, as the first sighting of the land. He 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.<ref>[[Samuel Eliot Morison]], ''Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus'', 1942, pp. 653–54. [[Samuel Eliot Morison]], ''Christopher Columbus, Mariner'', 1955, pp. 184–92.</ref>

One and a half kilometres west of St. Ann's Bay is the site of the first Spanish settlement on the island, [[Sevilla la Nueva (Jamaica)|Sevilla]], which was established in 1509 by [[Juan de Esquivel]] but abandoned around 1524 because it was deemed unhealthy.<ref name="JNHT">{{cite web |title=History of Jamaica |url=http://www.jnht.com/jamaica/hist_spanish.php |publisher=Jamaica National Heritage Trust |access-date=30 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926083214/http://jnht.com/jamaica/hist_spanish.php |archive-date=26 September 2010}}</ref> The capital was moved to [[Spanish Town]], then called ''St. Jago de la Vega'', around 1534.<ref name="EBJH"/><ref name="Spanish town">{{cite web |title=Spanish Town |url=http://www.jnht.com/heritage_site.php?id=217 |publisher=Jamaica National Heritage Trust |access-date=30 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100925160737/http://jnht.com/heritage_site.php?id=217 |archive-date=25 September 2010}}</ref> Meanwhile, the Taínos began dying in large numbers, both from introduced diseases and from enslavement by the Spanish.<ref name="EBJH"/> As a result, the Spanish began importing slaves from Africa to the island.<ref name=discja>{{cite web|title=Jamaican History I|url=http://www.discoverjamaica.com/gleaner/discover/geography/history1.htm|publisher=Discover Jamaica|access-date=23 August 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130805083846/http://www.discoverjamaica.com/gleaner/discover/geography/history1.htm|archive-date=5 August 2013}}</ref>

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 [[Jamaican Maroons|Maroons]].<ref name="EBJH"/> [[History of the Jews in Jamaica|Many Jews fled the Spanish Inquisition]] to live on the island.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Portuguese Jews of Jamaica |author=Arbell, M. |isbn=9789768125699 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-35vXOgop6QC |year=2000 |publisher=Canoe Press}}</ref> They lived as [[conversos]] and were often persecuted by the Spanish rulers, and some turned to [[Jewish pirates|piracy against the Spanish Empire's shipping]].<ref>
Kritzler, Edward, ''The Jewish Pirates of the Caribbean,'' Anchor, 2009, p. 15, {{ISBN|0767919521}}</ref>

By the early 17th century it is estimated that no more than 2,500–3,000 people lived on Jamaica.<ref name="EBJH"/><ref>{{cite book |last=Parker |first=Matthew |date=2011 |title=The Sugar Barons}}</ref>{{page needed|date=July 2019}}

===Early British period===
{{Main|Colony of Jamaica}}

[[File:Morgan,Henry.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Henry Morgan]] was a [[Piracy in the Caribbean|Caribbean pirate]], privateer, plantation owner and slaveholder; he had first come to the West Indies as an indentured servant, like most of the early English colonists.<ref>[http://www.historynet.com/henry-morgan-the-pirate-who-invaded-panama-in-1671.htm "Henry Morgan: The Pirate Who Invaded Panama in 1671"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080612044508/http://www.historynet.com/henry-morgan-the-pirate-who-invaded-panama-in-1671.htm |date=12 June 2008 }}, Historynet.com.</ref>]]
The English began taking an interest in the island and, following a failed attempt to conquer [[Captaincy General of Santo Domingo|Santo Domingo]] on [[Hispaniola]], [[William Penn (Royal Navy officer)|Admiral William Penn]] and General [[Robert Venables]] led an [[invasion of Jamaica]] in 1655.<ref>*{{cite book |last=Parker |first=Matthew |date=2011 |title=The Sugar Barons}}</ref> Battles at [[Battle of Ocho Rios|Ocho Rios in 1657]] and the [[Battle of Rio Nuevo|Rio Nuevo in 1658]] resulted in Spanish defeats; in 1660 the Maroon community under the leadership of [[Juan de Bolas]] switched sides from the Spanish, and began supporting the English. With their help, the Spanish defeat was secured.<ref name="jamsenghist">{{cite web|title=Jamaica's English History|url=http://www.jnht.com/history_english.php|publisher=Jamaica National Heritage Trust|access-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317015826/http://www.jnht.com/history_english.php|archive-date=17 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1661 English civil government was formed and [[Roundhead]] soldiers turned their attention to governance and agricultural responsibilities.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.2307/1923356 | doi=10.2307/1923356 | jstor=1923356 | last1=Bennett | first1=J. Harry | title=Cary Helyar, Merchant and Planter of Seventeenth-Century Jamaica | journal=The William and Mary Quarterly | year=1964 | volume=21 | issue=1 | pages=53–76  | issn = 0043-5597 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>

When the English captured Jamaica, most Spanish colonists fled, with the exception of Spanish Jews, who chose to remain. Spanish slave holders freed their slaves before leaving.<ref name="jamsenghist"/> Many slaves dispersed into the mountains, joining the already established [[maroon (people)|maroon]] communities.<ref name="maroons">{{cite web|last=Benitez|first=Suzette|title=The Maroons|url=http://scholar.library.miami.edu/slaves/Maroons/individual_essays/suzette1.html|access-date=30 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100823070511/http://scholar.library.miami.edu/slaves/Maroons/individual_essays/suzette1.html|archive-date=23 August 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> During the centuries of slavery, [[Jamaican Maroons]] established free communities in the mountainous interior of Jamaica, where they maintained their freedom and independence for generations, under the leadership of Maroon leaders such as [[Juan de Serras]].<ref>Mavis Campbell, ''The Maroons of Jamaica 1655–1796: a History of Resistance, Collaboration & Betrayal'' (Massachusetts: Bergin & Garvey, 1988), pp. 14–25.</ref>

Meanwhile, the Spanish made several attempts to re-capture the island, prompting the British to support pirates attacking Spanish ships in the Caribbean; as a result piracy became rampant on Jamaica, with the city of [[Port Royal]] becoming notorious for its lawlessness. Spain later recognised English possession of the island with the [[Treaty of Madrid (1670)]].<ref>C. V. Black, ''History of Jamaica'' (London: Collins, 1975), p. 54.</ref> After that, the English authorities sought to rein in the worst excesses of the pirates.<ref name="EBJH"/> During this period, Cromwell had begun to transport Scottish prisoners of war from [[Scotland]] to the island, with 1,200 Scots being sent to the island which had recently been colonised by England. The method of sending Scottish prisoners of war to the island continued, and as a result, Scots played a significant role in the development of the island, being credited as "indentured and skilled labourers".<ref name="adventuresfromelle.com">{{cite web |last1=Adventuresfromelle |first1=Rochelle |title=Exploring the Cultural Ties Between Scotland & Jamaica |url=https://adventuresfromelle.com/2023/10/27/scotland-jamaica-ties/ |website=Adventures from Elle |access-date=19 August 2025 |language=en |date=27 October 2023}}</ref>

In 1660, the population of Jamaica was about 4,500 white and 1,500 black.<ref name="population">[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08270a.htm Donovan, J. (1910). Jamaica.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029204716/http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08270a.htm |date=29 October 2009 }} ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]''. New York: Robert Appleton Company</ref> By the early 1670s, as the English developed sugar cane plantations worked by large numbers of slaves, black Africans formed a majority of the population.<ref>[http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090628132038/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2005/is_n1_v28/ai_16106981/pg_2 Trevor Burnard, "A failed settler society: marriage and demographic failure in early Jamaica"], ''Journal of Social History'', Fall, 1994.</ref> The [[Irish people in Jamaica|Irish in Jamaica]] also 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. They were brought in as indentured labourers and soldiers after the conquest of 1655. The majority of Irish were transported by force as political prisoners of war from Ireland as a result of the ongoing [[Wars of the Three Kingdoms]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://tudorstuartireland.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/tsi-2015-abstracts.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=19 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014000146/https://tudorstuartireland.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/tsi-2015-abstracts.pdf |archive-date=14 October 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Migration of large numbers of Irish to the island continued into the 18th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irlandeses.org/0711rodgers2.htm |title=Rodgers, Nini, 'The Irish in the Caribbean 1641–1837: An Overview' |publisher=Irlandeses.org |access-date=2017-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171119044057/http://www.irlandeses.org/0711rodgers2.htm |archive-date=19 November 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A limited form of local government was introduced with the creation of the [[House of Assembly of Jamaica]] in 1664; however, it represented only a tiny number of rich plantation owners.<ref name="HJ">[[Frank Cundall|Cundall, Frank]]. (1915) [https://archive.org/details/cu31924020417527/page/n45 ''Historic Jamaica''.] London: Institute of Jamaica. p. 15.</ref> In 1692, the colony was rocked by an [[1692 Jamaica earthquake|earthquake]] that resulted in several thousand deaths and the almost complete destruction of Port Royal.<ref name="USGS">{{cite web |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1692_06_07.php |title=Historic Earthquakes: Jamaica 1692 June 07 UTC |last=USGS |date=21 October 2009 |access-date=6 December 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408181146/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/events/1692_06_07.php |archive-date=8 April 2012}}</ref>

===18th–19th centuries===
{{main|Slavery in colonial British America}}

[[File:Duperly (1833) Destruction of the Roehampton Estate January 1832.png|thumb|right|A plantation set alight during the Baptist War of 1831–32]]
During the 1700s the economy boomed, based largely on sugar and other crops for export such as [[coffee]], [[cotton]] and [[indigo]]. All these crops were worked by black slaves, who lived short and often brutal lives with no rights, being the property of a small planter-class.<ref name="EBJH"/> In the 18th century, slaves ran away and joined the Maroons in increasing numbers, and resulted in The [[First Maroon War]] (1728 – 1739/40), which ended in stalemate. The British government sued for peace, and signed treaties with the Leeward Maroons led by [[Cudjoe]] and [[Accompong]] in 1739, and the Windward Maroons led by [[Quao]] and [[Queen Nanny]] in 1740.<ref>Bev Carey, ''The Maroon Story: The Authentic and Original History of the Maroons in the History of Jamaica 1490–1880'' (Kingston, Jamaica: Agouti Press, 1997), pp. 315–355.</ref>

A large slave rebellion, known as [[Tacky's War]], broke out in 1760 but was defeated by the British and their Maroon allies.<ref name="jamaicans1">{{cite web |url=http://www.jamaicans.com/culture/articles_culture/tackys_rebellion.shtml |title=Jamaican Culture |publisher=Jamaicans.com |date=2014-06-20 |access-date=2015-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016000555/http://www.jamaicans.com/culture/articles_culture/tackys_rebellion.shtml |archive-date=16 October 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> After the [[Second Maroon War|second conflict]] in 1795–96, many Maroons from the Maroon town of [[Cudjoe's Town (Trelawny Town)]] were expelled to [[Nova Scotia]] and, later, [[Sierra Leone]].<ref name="EBJH"/>[[File:Hakewill, A Picturesque Tour of the Island of Jamaica, Plate 04.jpg|thumb|Harbour Street, Kingston, {{Circa|1820}}]]By the beginning of the 19th century, Jamaica's dependence on slave labour and a plantation economy had resulted in black people outnumbering [[white people]] by a ratio of almost 20 to 1. Although the British had outlawed the importation of slaves, some were still smuggled in from Spanish colonies and directly from Africa.{{citation needed|date=August 2019}} While planning the abolition of slavery, the British Parliament passed laws to improve conditions for slaves. They banned the use of whips in the field and flogging of women; informed planters that slaves were to be allowed religious instruction, and required a free day during each week when slaves could sell their produce,<ref>''History of the Catholic Church in Jamaica'', {{ISBN|978-0-829-40544-6}}, p. 68.</ref> prohibiting Sunday markets to enable slaves to attend church.{{citation needed|date=February 2016}} The House of Assembly in Jamaica resented and resisted the new laws. Members, with membership then restricted to European-descended Jamaicans, claimed that the slaves were content and objected to Parliament's interference in island affairs. Slave owners feared possible revolts if conditions were lightened.
The British [[Slave Trade Act 1807|abolished the slave trade]] in 1807, but not the institution itself.<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/caribbean-islands/8.htm The Sugar Revolutions and Slavery] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110622222104/http://countrystudies.us/caribbean-islands/8.htm |date=22 June 2011 }}, ''U.S. Library of Congress''.</ref> In 1831 a huge slave rebellion, known as the [[Baptist War]], broke out, led by the Baptist preacher [[Samuel Sharpe]]. The rebellion resulted in hundreds of deaths and the destruction of many plantations, and led to ferocious reprisals by the plantocracy class.<ref name="Revauger">{{cite book |title=The Abolition of Slavery – The British Debate 1787–1840 |first=Cécile |last=Révauger |author-link =Cécile Révauger |pages=107–108 |publisher=Presse Universitaire de France |date=October 2008 |isbn=978-2-13-057110-0}}</ref>
[[File:Proclamation_of_the_abolition_of_slavery_in_the_Colony_of_Jamaica,_August_1,_1838,_in_Spanish_Town_(cropped).jpg|thumb|Governor [[Sir Lionel Smith, 1st Baronet|Sir Lionel Smith]], accompanied by Revd [[James Phillippo]], proclaiming the [[Abolition of slavery in the United States|abolition of slavery]] in the colony of Jamaica, on 1 August 1838, from the King's House in [[Spanish Town]]]]
As a result of rebellions such as these, as well as the efforts of abolitionists, Britain outlawed slavery in its empire in 1834, with full [[Abolitionism in the United Kingdom|emancipation]] from chattel slavery declared in 1838.<ref name="EBJH" /> The population in 1834 was 371,070, of whom 15,000 were white, 5,000 free black; 40,000 "coloured" or [[Free people of color|free people of colour]] ([[mixed race]]); and 311,070 were slaves.<ref name="population" />

The resulting labour shortage prompted the British to begin to "import" [[indentured servant]]s to supplement the labour pool, as many freedmen resisted working on the plantations.<ref name="EBJH" /> Workers recruited from India began arriving in 1845, Chinese workers in 1854.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.embassyofjamaica.org/ABOUThistory.htm|title=Embassy of Jamaica, Washington, DC|website=www.embassyofjamaica.org|access-date=27 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080620044655/http://www.embassyofjamaica.org/ABOUThistory.htm|archive-date=20 June 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref>  Many Jamaicans are descendants of South Asian and Chinese people.<ref name="tortello" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Out of Many, One People: Chinese-Jamaicans Treasure Their Roots and Their Communities |author=Hemlock, Doreen |url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2005-04-17/features/0504140989_1_jamaican-chinese-new-year-chinese-heritage |newspaper=The Sun-Sentinel |date=17 April 2005 |access-date=27 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109134431/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2005-04-17/features/0504140989_1_jamaican-chinese-new-year-chinese-heritage |archive-date=9 November 2017 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Over the next 20 years, several epidemics of [[cholera]], [[scarlet fever]], and [[smallpox]] hit the island, killing almost 60,000 people (about 10 per day).{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} Nevertheless, in 1871 the census recorded a population of 506,154 people, 246,573 of whom were males, and 259,581 females. Their races were recorded as 13,101 white, 100,346 coloured (known as the Browning Class), and 392,707 black.<ref>{{cite book |date=1908 |title=Handbook of Jamaica |url=https://archive.org/details/handbookjamaica04cundgoog |location=Google Books |publisher=Jamaica Government |page=[https://archive.org/details/handbookjamaica04cundgoog/page/n50 37]}}</ref> There was an economic slump in this period, with many Jamaicans living in poverty. Dissatisfaction with this, and continued racial discrimination and marginalisation of the black majority, led to the outbreak of the [[Morant Bay rebellion]] in 1865, led by [[Paul Bogle]], which was put down by Governor [[Edward John Eyre|John Eyre]] with such brutality that he was recalled from his position.<ref name="EBJH" /> His successor, [[John Peter Grant]], enacted a series of social, financial and political reforms while aiming to uphold firm British rule over the island, which became a Crown Colony in 1866.<ref name="EBJH" /> In 1872 the capital was transferred from Spanish Town to Kingston.<ref name="EBJH" />

===Early 20th century===
[[File:Marcus Garvey 1924-08-05.jpg|thumb|upright|left|[[Marcus Garvey]], father of the Back to Africa Movement and Jamaica's first National Hero]]
In 1907, Jamaica was struck by [[1907 Kingston earthquake|an earthquake]] which, together with the subsequent fire, resulted in considerable destruction in Kingston and caused  the deaths of between 800 and 1,000 people.<ref name="Wilson">J. F. Wilson [https://books.google.com/books?id=AsKRgxpfL_gC&pg=PA69 ''Earthquakes and Volcanoes: Hot Springs''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215072629/https://books.google.com/books?id=AsKRgxpfL_gC&pg=PA69 |date=15 December 2019 }}, pg. 70, BiblioLife (2008), {{ISBN|0-554-56496-3}}</ref><ref name="EBJH"/>

Unemployment and poverty remained a problem for many Jamaicans. Various movements seeking political change arose as a result, most notably the [[Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Communities League]] founded by [[Marcus Garvey]] in 1917. As well as seeking greater political rights and an improvement for the condition of workers, Garvey was also a prominent [[Pan-Africanist]] and proponent of the [[Back-to-Africa movement]].<ref name=back>{{cite web|title=Historian situates 'back-to-Africa' movements in broad context|url=http://news.stanford.edu/news/2006/march1/colonize-030106.html|work=1 March 2006|date=March 2006|publisher=Stanford.edu|access-date=24 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120729121919/http://news.stanford.edu/news/2006/march1/colonize-030106.html|archive-date=29 July 2012|url-status=live}}</ref> He was also one of the chief inspirations behind Rastafari, a religion founded in Jamaica in the 1930s that combined Christianity with an [[Afrocentrism|Afrocentric]] theology focused on the figure of [[Haile Selassie]], Emperor of [[Ethiopia]]. Despite occasional persecution, Rastafari grew to become an established faith on the island, later spreading abroad.

The [[Great Depression]] of the 1930s hit Jamaica hard. As part of the [[British West Indian labour unrest of 1934–39]], Jamaica saw numerous strikes, culminating in a strike in 1938 that turned into a riot.<ref>Hamilton, Janice. ''Jamaica in Pictures'', p. 30. Twenty-First Century Books (2005), {{ISBN|0-8225-2394-9}}</ref><ref name="EBJH"/><ref>{{Cite book|title=Arise Ye Starvelings: The Jamaican Rebellion of 1938 and its Aftermath|last=Post|first=Ken|publisher=Martinus Nijhoff|year=1978|isbn=9024721407|location=The Hague, Netherlands}}</ref>
As a result, the British government instituted [[Report of West India Royal Commission (Moyne Report)|a commission]] to look into the causes of the disturbances; their report recommended political and economic reforms in Britain's Caribbean colonies.<ref name="EBJH" /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Fraser |first=Cary |title=The Twilight of Colonial Rule in the British West Indies: Nationalist Assertion vs. Imperial Hubris in the 1930s |journal=Journal of Caribbean History |year=1996 |volume=30 |issue=1/2 |page=2 |url=http://connection.ebscohost.com/c/articles/45526514}} {{dead link |date=August 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> A new House of Representatives was established in 1944, elected by universal adult suffrage.<ref name="EBJH" /> During this period Jamaica's two-party system emerged, with the creation of the [[Jamaican Labour Party]] (JLP) under [[Alexander Bustamante]] and the [[People's National Party]] (PNP) under [[Norman Manley]].<ref name="EBJH" />

Jamaica slowly gained increasing autonomy from the United Kingdom. In 1958 it became a province in the [[Federation of the West Indies]], a federation of several of [[British West Indies|Britain's Caribbean colonies]].<ref name="EBJH"/> Membership of the Federation proved to be divisive, however, and a [[1961 Jamaican Federation of the West Indies membership referendum|referendum]] on the issue saw a slight majority voting to leave.<ref name="EBJH"/> After leaving the Federation, Jamaica attained full [[Independence of Jamaica|independence]] on 6 August 1962.<ref name="EBJH"/> The new state retained, however, its membership in the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] (with the British monarch as head of state) and adopted a [[Westminster parliamentary system|Westminster-style parliamentary system]]. Bustamante, at the age of 78, became the country's first prime minister.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Jamaica: Self-government |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/299716/Jamaica/214972/Self-government#ref515864 |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=24 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121229101146/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/299716/Jamaica/214972/Self-government#ref515864 |archive-date=29 December 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The West Indies Federation |url=http://www.caricom.org/jsp/community/west_indies_federation.jsp?menu=community |work=2011 |publisher=CARICOM |access-date=24 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929234257/http://www.caricom.org/jsp/community/west_indies_federation.jsp?menu=community |archive-date=29 September 2013 }}</ref>

===Post-independence era===
{{Main|Independence of Jamaica}}

Strong economic growth, averaging approximately 6% per year, marked the first ten years of independence under conservative JLP governments; these were led by successive Prime Ministers Alexander Bustamante, [[Donald Sangster]] (who died of natural causes within two months of taking office) and [[Hugh Shearer]].<ref name="EBJH"/> The growth was fuelled by high levels of private investment in quarrying [[bauxite]]/[[alumina]] ([[aluminium]] ore), [[tourism]], the manufacturing industry and, to a lesser extent, the agricultural sector. In the [[1967 Jamaican general election]], the JLP were victorious again, winning 33 out of 53 seats, with the PNP taking 20 seats.<ref name="Dieter Nohlen 2005 p. 430">Dieter Nohlen (2005), ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook'', Volume I, p. 430.</ref>

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 also developing links with Communist states such as Cuba.<ref name="EBJH"/>

[[File:Michael Manley.jpg|thumb|right|[[Michael Manley]], Prime Minister 1972–1980 and 1989–1992]]
The optimism of the first decade was accompanied by a growing sense of inequality among many Afro-Jamaicans, and a concern that the benefits of growth were not being shared by the urban poor, many of whom ended up living in crime-ridden shanty towns in Kingston.<ref name="EBJH"/> This led to the voters [[1972 Jamaican general election|electing the PNP]] under [[Michael Manley]] in 1972. The PNP won 37 seats to the JLP's 16.<ref name="Dieter Nohlen 2005 p. 430"/>

Manley's government enacted various social reforms, such as a higher [[minimum wage]], land reform, legislation for women's equality, greater housing construction and an increase in educational provision.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://michaelmanley.org/about/trade-unionist/ |title=Trade Unionist |first=Peter Scott Chrysalis |last=Communications |access-date=11 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180428093659/http://michaelmanley.org/about/trade-unionist/ |archive-date=28 April 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="EBJH"/> Internationally he improved ties with the Communist bloc and vigorously opposed the [[apartheid]] regime in [[South Africa]].<ref name="EBJH"/>

In 1976, the PNP won another landslide, winning 47 seats to the JLP's 13. The turnout was a very high 85 percent.<ref name="Dieter Nohlen p. 430">Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook'', Volume I, p. 430.</ref> However, the economy faltered in this period due to a combination of internal and external factors (such as the oil shocks).<ref name="EBJH"/> The rivalry between the JLP and PNP became intense, and [[Jamaican political conflict|political and gang-related violence]] grew significantly in this period.<ref name="EBJH"/>

By 1980, Jamaica's gross national product had declined to some 25% below its 1972 level.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} Seeking change, in 1980 Jamaicans voted the JLP [[1980 Jamaican general election|back in]] under [[Edward Seaga]], the JLP winning 51 seats to the PNP's nine seats.<ref name="Dieter Nohlen 2005 p. 430"/><ref name="EBJH"/> Firmly anti-Communist, Seaga cut ties with Cuba and sent troops to support the [[US invasion of Grenada]] in 1983.<ref name="EBJH"/> The economic deterioration, however, continued into the mid-1980s, exacerbated by a number of factors. The largest and third-largest alumina producers, [[Alpart]] and [[Alcoa]], closed; and there was a significant reduction in production by the second-largest producer, [[Alcan]].{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} Reynolds Jamaica Mines, Ltd. left the Jamaican industry. There was also a decline in tourism, which was important to the economy.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} Owing to rising foreign and local debt, accompanied by large fiscal deficits, the government sought [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF) financing, which was dependent on implementing various austerity measures.<ref name="EBJH"/> These resulted in strikes in 1985 and a decline in support for the Seaga government, exacerbated by criticism of the government's response to the devastation caused by [[Hurricane Gilbert]] in 1988.<ref name="EBJH"/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/27/magazine/showdown-in-jamaica.html|title=Showdown in Jamaica|date=27 November 1988|work=The New York Times|access-date=19 September 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919230610/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/27/magazine/showdown-in-jamaica.html|archive-date=19 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Having now de-emphasised socialism and adopting a more centrist position, Michael Manley and the PNP were [[1989 Jamaican general election|re-elected in 1989]], winning 45 seats to the JLP's 15.<ref name="Nohlen 2005 p. 430">[[Dieter Nohlen|Nohlen, D]] (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p. 430, {{ISBN|978-0-19-928357-6}}.</ref><ref name="EBJH"/>

The PNP went on to win a string of elections, under Prime Ministers Michael Manley (1989–1992), [[P. J. Patterson]] (1992–2005) and [[Portia Simpson-Miller]] (2005–2007). In the [[1993 Jamaican general election]], Patterson led the PNP to victory, winning 52 seats to the JLP's eight seats. Patterson also won the [[1997 Jamaican general election]], by another landslide margin of 50 seats to the JLP's 10 seats.<ref name="Dieter Nohlen p. 430"/> Patterson's third consecutive victory came in the [[2002 Jamaican general election]], when the PNP retained power, but with a reduced seat majority of 34 seats to 26. Patterson stepped down on 26 February 2006, and was replaced by [[Portia Simpson-Miller]], Jamaica's first female Prime Minister. The turnout slowly declined during this period of time, from 67.4% in 1993 to 59.1% in 2002.<ref name="Nohlen 2005 p. 430"/>

During this period various economic reforms were introduced, such as deregulating the finance sector and floating the Jamaican dollar, as well as greater investment in infrastructure, whilst also retaining a strong social safety net.<ref name="EBJH"/> Political violence, so prevalent in the previous two decades, declined significantly.<ref name="EBJH"/><ref>Franklyn, Delano (ed.): 2002. ''The Challenges of Change: P. J. Patterson Budget Presentations 1992–2002''. Kingston, Jamaica: Ian Randle Publishers.</ref>

In [[2007 Jamaican general election|2007]] the PNP was defeated by the JLP by a narrow margin of 32 seats to 28, with a turnout of 61.46%.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Caribbean Elections: Jamaican Election Centre |title=Jamaican general election results 3 September 2007 |url=http://www.caribbeanelections.com/jm/elections/jm_results_2007.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205164530/http://www.caribbeanelections.com/jm/elections/jm_results_2007.asp |archive-date=5 December 2020 |access-date=24 December 2020}}</ref> This election ended 18 years of PNP rule, and [[Bruce Golding]] became the new prime minister.<ref>[http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20070909/news/news2.html Pollster's diary: virtual motion picture of campaign 2007] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622031614/http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20070909/news/news2.html |date=2008-06-22}}, ''Jamaica Gleaner'', 9 September 2007.</ref> Golding's tenure (2007–2010) was dominated by the effects of the [[Great Recession|global recession]], as well as the fallout from [[2010 Kingston unrest|an attempt]] by Jamaican police and military to arrest drug lord [[Christopher Coke]] in 2010 which erupted in violence, resulting in over 70 deaths.<ref name="EBJH"/><ref name="OAS body raises concerns over Jamaica as death toll rises">{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/05/27/jamaica.violence/ |title=OAS body raises concerns over Jamaica as death toll rises |date=27 May 2010 |publisher=[[CNN]] |access-date=27 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530095457/http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/05/27/jamaica.violence/ |archive-date=30 May 2010<!--DASHBot--> |url-status=live}}</ref> As a result of this incident Golding resigned and was replaced by Andrew Holness in 2011.

Independence, however widely celebrated in Jamaica, has been questioned in the early 21st century. In 2011, a survey showed that approximately 60% of Jamaicans believe that the country would have been better off had it remained a British colony, with only 17% believing it would have been worse off, citing as problems years of social and fiscal mismanagement in the country.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110628/lead/lead1.html |title=Give Us The Queen! |date=28 June 2011 |work=The Gleaner |access-date=13 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209064054/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110628/lead/lead1.html |archive-date=9 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibtimes.com/most-jamaicans-would-prefer-remain-british-294753 |title=Most Jamaicans Would Prefer To Remain British |last=Ghosh |first=Palash |date=29 June 2011 |access-date=13 February 2017 |website=[[International Business Times]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214102304/http://www.ibtimes.com/most-jamaicans-would-prefer-remain-british-294753 |archive-date=14 February 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Holness and the JLP were defeated in the [[2011 Jamaican general election]], which saw Portia Simpson-Miller and the PNP return to power. The number of seats had been increased to 63, and the PNP swept to power with a landslide 42 seats to the JLP's 21. The voter turnout was 53.17%.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Caribbean Elections: Jamaican Election Centre |title=Jamaican general election results 29 December 2011 |url=http://www.caribbeanelections.com/jm/elections/jm_results_2011.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208122455/http://www.caribbeanelections.com/jm/elections/jm_results_2011.asp |archive-date=8 December 2020 |access-date=24 December 2020}}</ref>

Holness's JLP won the [[2016 Jamaican general election|2016]] general election narrowly, defeating Simpson-Miller's PNP, on 25 February. The PNP won 31 seats to the JLP's 32. As a result, Simpson-Miller became Opposition Leader for a second time. The voter turnout dipped below 50% for the first time, registering just 48.37%.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Caribbean Elections: Jamaican Election Centre |title=Jamaican general election results 25 February 2016 |url=http://www.caribbeanelections.com/jm/elections/jm_results_2016.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731030013/http://www.caribbeanelections.com/jm/elections/jm_results_2016.asp |archive-date=31 July 2020 |access-date=24 December 2020}}</ref>

In the [[2020 Jamaican general election|2020 general election]], Andrew Holness secured a second consecutive win for the Jamaica Labour Party, winning 49 seats to 14 won by the PNP, led this time by [[Peter Phillips (Jamaican politician)|Peter Phillips]]. The last time a consecutive win occurred for the JLP was in 1980. However, the turnout at this election was just 37%, probably affected by the coronavirus pandemic. However, this low turnout was a trend that continued in subsequent elections.<ref>[http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20200903/javotes2020-jlp-trounces-pnp-49-14-seats JLP Trounces PNP 49 To 14 Seats] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200905085739/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20200903/javotes2020-jlp-trounces-pnp-49-14-seats |date=5 September 2020 }} The Gleaner, 3 September 2020</ref>

In the [[2025 Jamaican general election]], Holness created history, securing a third consecutive term for the JLP, the first time the party had won three general elections in a row. However, this victory was achieved with a much-reduced majority. The JLP won 34 seats to the 29 won by the [[Mark Golding]] led PNP. The turnout was again low, at just 39.5%.<ref>Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness elected to a third term as main opposition candidate concedes, AP, 4 September 2025</ref>

==Government and politics==
{{main|Politics of Jamaica}}

{{further|Foreign relations of Jamaica|Republicanism in Jamaica}}
{{Multiple image
| caption_align     = center
| total_width       = 320
| image1            = {{Current Jamaican monarch |image}}
| image2            = Patrick Allen Coronation 2023.jpg
| caption1          = {{Current Jamaican monarch |King |Charles III}}<br /><small>[[Monarchy of Jamaica|Monarch]] </small>
| caption2          = [[Patrick Allen (governor-general)|Patrick Allen]]<br/><small>[[Governor-General of Jamaica|Governor-General]] </small>
| image3            = Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Dr. Andrew Holness at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi on October 01, 2024 (cropped).jpg
| caption3          = [[Andrew Holness]]<br /><small>[[Prime Minister of Jamaica|Prime Minister]] </small>
}}

Jamaica is a [[parliamentary system|parliamentary democracy]] and [[constitutional monarchy]].<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Jamaica"/><ref name="EBJ">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Jamaica |title=Encyclopedia Britannica – Jamaica |access-date=29 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190930100130/https://www.britannica.com/place/Jamaica |archive-date=30 September 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The head of state is the [[{{Current Jamaican monarch|King}} of Jamaica]] (currently {{Current Jamaican monarch |King |Charles III}}),<ref>{{cite web |title=Queen and Jamaica |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/Jamaica/Jamaica.aspx |url-status=dead |publisher=The British Monarchy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120920160534/http://www.royal.gov.uk/MonarchAndCommonwealth/Jamaica/Jamaica.aspx |archive-date=20 September 2012}}</ref> represented locally by the [[Governor-General of Jamaica]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page4923.asp |title=The Monarchy Today: Queen and Commonwealth |access-date=25 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070607011458/http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page4923.asp |archive-date=7 June 2007}}</ref><ref name="CIA World Factbook – Jamaica"/><ref name="EBJ"/> The governor-general is nominated by the Prime Minister of Jamaica and the entire Cabinet and then formally appointed by the monarch. All the members of the Cabinet are appointed by the governor-general on the advice of the prime minister. The monarch and the governor-general serve largely ceremonial roles, apart from their [[reserve power]]s for use in certain constitutional crisis situations. The position of the monarch has been a matter of [[Republicanism in Jamaica|continuing debate]] in Jamaica for many years; currently both major political parties are committed to transitioning to a republic with a president.<ref>Rob Crilly, [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/16/jamaica-unveils-plan-to-ditch-queen-as-head-of-state/ "Jamaica unveils plan to ditch Queen as head of state"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729204338/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/16/jamaica-unveils-plan-to-ditch-queen-as-head-of-state/ |date=29 July 2019 }}, ''[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]'', 16 April 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.</ref><ref>[http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20150912/editorial-monarchy-and-beyond "Editorial: The Monarchy And Beyond"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729203341/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20150912/editorial-monarchy-and-beyond |date=29 July 2019 }}, ''[[The Jamaica Gleaner]]'', 12 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2016.</ref>

Jamaica's current [[Constitution of Jamaica|constitution]] was drafted in 1962 by a bipartisan joint committee of the Jamaican legislature. It came into force with the Jamaica Independence Act, 1962, which was passed by the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]], which gave Jamaica independence.<ref name="EBJ"/>

The [[Parliament of Jamaica]] is [[Bicameralism|bicameral]], consisting of the House of Representatives (Lower House) and the Senate (Upper House). Members of the House (known as Members of Parliament or ''MPs'') are directly elected, and the member of the House of Representatives who, in the governor-general's best judgement, is best able to command the confidence of a majority of the members of that House, is appointed by the governor-general to be the prime minister. Senators are nominated jointly by the prime minister and the parliamentary [[Opposition (parliamentary)|Leader of the Opposition]] and are then appointed by the governor-general.<ref name="EBJ"/>

The [[Judiciary of Jamaica]] operates on a [[common law]] system derived from [[English law]] and [[Commonwealth of Nations]] precedents.<ref name="EBJ"/> The court of final appeal is the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]], a court of the [[British Crown]] based in [[London]]. A proposal has been made to replace the Privy Council with the [[Caribbean Court of Justice]] as part of a wider push toward full [[decolonization]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Burton |first1=Zahra |last2=Demony |first2=Catarina |title=Jamaican government urged to 'fully decolonise' with bill to ditch King Charles |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/jamaican-government-urged-fully-decolonise-with-bill-ditch-king-charles-2025-03-01/ |access-date=11 June 2025 |work=Reuters |date=March 1, 2025}}</ref>

===Political parties and elections===
Jamaica has traditionally had a [[two-party system]], with power often alternating between the [[People's National Party]] (PNP) and [[Jamaica Labour Party]] (JLP).<ref name="EBJ"/> The party with current administrative and legislative power is the Jamaica Labour Party, after its 2020 victory. There are also several minor parties who have yet to gain a seat in parliament; the largest of these is the [[National Democratic Movement (Jamaica)|National Democratic Movement]] (NDM).

===Military===
{{Main|Jamaica Defence Force}}

[[File:FN FAL DA-SD-04-01067.jpg|thumb|right|Jamaican soldiers training to fire the [[L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle]] in 2002]]
The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) is the small but professional military force of Jamaica.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Jamaica"/> The JDF is based on the British military model with similar organisation, training, weapons and traditions. Once chosen, officer candidates are sent to one of several British or Canadian basic officer courses depending on the arm of service. Enlisted soldiers are given basic training at Up Park Camp or JDF Training Depot, Newcastle, both in St. Andrew. As with the British model, NCOs are given several levels of professional training as they rise up the ranks. Additional military schools are available for speciality training in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

The JDF is directly descended from the [[British Army]]'s [[West India Regiment]], which was formed during the colonial era.<ref name="jdfhistory">{{cite web|title=Jamaica Defense Force History|url=http://www.jdfmil.org/overview/background/background2.php|publisher=Jamaica Defense Force|access-date=10 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101025200223/http://www.jdfmil.org/overview/background/background2.php|archive-date=25 October 2010|url-status=usurped}}</ref> The West India Regiment was used extensively throughout the [[British Empire]] in policing the empire from 1795 to 1926. Other units in the JDF heritage include the early colonial Jamaica Militia, the Kingston Infantry Volunteers of WWI and reorganised into the Jamaican Infantry Volunteers in World War II. The West Indies Regiment was reformed in 1958 as part of the [[West Indies Federation]], after dissolution of the Federation the JDF was established.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Origins {{!}} JDF.org The Official Website of The Jamaica Defence Force|url=https://www.jdfweb.com/history/|access-date=2021-09-21|language=en-GB|archive-date=21 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921031952/https://www.jdfweb.com/history/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) comprises an [[The Jamaica Regiment|infantry Regiment]] and Reserve Corps, an Air Wing, a Coast Guard fleet and a supporting Engineering Unit.<ref name="JDFstructure">{{cite web|title=Jamaica Defense Force General Information|url=http://www.jdfmil.org/overview/background/background3.php|publisher=Jamaica Defense Force|access-date=10 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101025200228/http://www.jdfmil.org/overview/background/background3.php|archive-date=25 October 2010|url-status=usurped}}</ref> The infantry regiment contains the 1st, 2nd and 3rd (National Reserve) battalions. The JDF Air Wing is divided into three flight units, a training unit, a support unit and the JDF Air Wing (National Reserve). The Coast Guard is divided between seagoing crews and support crews who conduct maritime safety and maritime law enforcement as well as defence-related operations.<ref name="cgroles">{{cite web|title=JDF Coast Guard Roles|url=http://www.jdfmil.org/Units/coast_guard/cg_roles.php|publisher=Jamaica Defense Force|access-date=10 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511104441/http://www.jdfmil.org/Units/coast_guard/cg_roles.php|archive-date=11 May 2011|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

The role of the support battalion is to provide support to boost numbers in combat and issue competency training in order to allow for the readiness of the force.<ref name="csbattalion">{{cite web|title=The Combat Support Battalion (Cbt Sp Bn)|url=http://www.jdfmil.org/Units/combat_Support/CSB_home.php|publisher=Jamaica Defense Force|access-date=10 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008022534/http://jdfmil.org/Units/combat_Support/CSB_home.php|archive-date=8 October 2010|url-status=usurped}}</ref> The 1st Engineer Regiment was formed due to an increased demand for military engineers and their role is to provide engineering services whenever and wherever they are needed.<ref name="engineerhistory">{{cite web|title=1st Engineering Regiment History|url=http://www.jdfmil.org/Units/engineers/er_history.php|publisher=Jamaica Defense Force|access-date=11 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511104425/http://www.jdfmil.org/Units/engineers/er_history.php|archive-date=11 May 2011|url-status=usurped}}</ref> The Headquarters JDF contains the JDF Commander, Command Staff as well as Intelligence, Judge Advocate office, Administrative and Procurement sections.<ref name="jdfhq">{{cite web|title=Headquarters Jamaica Defence Force (HQ JDF)|url=http://www.jdfmil.org/Units/hq_jdf/hqjdf_home.php|publisher=Jamaica Defense Force|access-date=11 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125090433/http://jdfmil.org/Units/hq_jdf/hqjdf_home.php|archive-date=25 November 2010|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

In recent years the JDF has been called on to assist the nation's police, the [[Jamaica Constabulary Force]] (JCF), in fighting drug smuggling and a rising crime rate which includes one of the highest murder rates in the world. JDF units actively conduct armed patrols with the JCF in high-crime areas and known gang neighbourhoods. There has been vocal controversy as well as support of this JDF role. In early 2005, an Opposition leader, Edward Seaga, called for the merger of the JDF and JCF. This has not garnered support in either organisation nor among the majority of citizens.<ref>{{Cite web |title=No Plans To Merge JCF And JDF – Minister Chang – Jamaica Information Service |url=https://jis.gov.jm/no-plans-to-merge-jcf-and-jdf-minister-chang/ |access-date=2025-03-04 |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2017, Jamaica signed the UN [[treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |title=Chapter XXVI: Disarmament&nbsp;– No. 9 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons |publisher=United Nations Treaty Collection |date=7 July 2017 |access-date=16 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190806220546/https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-9&chapter=26&clang=_en |archive-date=6 August 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> In September 2024 the AP reported that "20 soldiers and four police officers are scheduled to arrive in Haiti to support the UN-Kenya lead mission and they would provide command, planning and logistics support." Jamaica's PM had pledged a total of 170 soldiers and 30 police officers, but said that all would not deploy at once.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-10 |title=Jamaica to deploy a limited number of soldiers and police to help fight gangs in Haiti |url=https://apnews.com/article/jamaica-police-soldiers-haiti-gangs-mission-f3d04bd20847bdba3a53f3a1c8a1a8d6 |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>

===Administrative divisions===
{{main|Parishes of Jamaica}}

Jamaica is divided into 14 [[Parishes of Jamaica|parishes]], which are grouped into three historic [[Counties of Jamaica|counties]] that have no administrative relevance.<ref name="EBJ"/>

In the context of [[local government]] the parishes are designated "Local Authorities". These local authorities are further styled as "Municipal Corporations", which are either city municipalities or town municipalities.<ref name="localgovernemtn">{{cite web |title=Local Government Act, 2015 |url=http://www.localauthorities.gov.jm/sites/default/files/resources/local_governance_bill_2015.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160913220934/http://localauthorities.gov.jm/sites/default/files/resources/local_governance_bill_2015.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 September 2016 |website=localauthorities.gov.jm |access-date=17 January 2018}}</ref> Any new city municipality must have a population of at least 50,000, and a town municipality a number set by the Minister of Local Government.<ref name="localgovernemtn"/> There are currently no town municipalities.

The local governments of the parishes of Kingston and St. Andrews are consolidated as the city municipality of Kingston & St. Andrew Municipal Corporation. The newest city municipality is the Municipality of Portmore, created 2003. While it is geographically located within the parish of St. Catherine, it is governed independently.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
| colspan="2" style="background:#bfb; text-align:;"|'''[[Cornwall, Jamaica|Cornwall County]]'''
| style="background:#bfb; text-align:center;"|<small>Capital</small>
| style="background:#bfb; text-align:center;"|<small>km<sup>2</sup></small>
| colspan="2" style="background:#fbb; text-align:center;"|'''[[Middlesex, Jamaica|Middlesex County]]'''
| style="background:#fbb; text-align:center;"|<small>Capital</small>
| style="background:#fbb; text-align:center;"|<small>km<sup>2</sup></small>
| colspan="2" style="background:#ffa; text-align:center;"|'''[[Surrey, Jamaica|Surrey County]]'''
| style="background:#ffa; text-align:center;"|<small>Capital</small>
| style="background:#ffa; text-align:center;"|<small>km<sup>2</sup></small>
|-
| 1
| [[Hanover Parish|Hanover]]||<small>Lucea</small>||<small>&nbsp;&nbsp;450</small>
| 6
| [[Clarendon Parish, Jamaica|Clarendon]]||<small>May Pen</small>||<small>1,196</small>
| 11
| [[Kingston Parish|Kingston]]||<small>Kingston</small>||<small>25</small>
|-
| 2
| [[Saint Elizabeth Parish|St. Elizabeth]]||<small>Black River</small>||<small>1,212</small>
| 7
| [[Manchester Parish|Manchester]]||<small>Mandeville</small>||<small>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;830</small>
| 12
| [[Portland Parish|Portland]]||<small>Port Antonio</small>||<small>814</small>
|-
| 3
| [[Saint James Parish, Jamaica|St. James]]||<small>Montego Bay</small>||<small>&nbsp;&nbsp;595</small>
| 8
| [[Saint Ann Parish|St. Ann]]||<small>St. Ann's Bay</small>||<small>1,213</small>
| 13
| [[Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica|St. Andrew]]||<small>Half Way Tree</small>||<small>453</small>
|-
| 4
| [[Trelawny Parish|Trelawny]]||<small>Falmouth</small>||<small>&nbsp;&nbsp;875</small>
| 9
| [[Saint Catherine Parish|St. Catherine]]||<small>Spanish Town</small>||<small>1,192</small>
| 14
| [[Saint Thomas Parish, Jamaica|St. Thomas]]||<small>Morant Bay</small>||<small>743</small>
|-
| 5
| [[Westmoreland Parish|Westmoreland]]||<small>Savanna-la-Mar</small>||<small>&nbsp;&nbsp;807</small>
| 10
| [[Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica|St. Mary]]||<small>Port Maria</small>||<small>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;611</small>
|
| || ||
|}
{{clear}}
{{Jamaica parishes imagemap}}

==Geography and environment==
{{Main|Geography of Jamaica|Geology of Jamaica}}

[[File:Doctors-Cave-Beach.jpg|thumb|[[Doctor's Cave Beach Club]] is a popular destination in [[Montego Bay]].]]
[[File:Start of the Blue Mountains just north of Kingston, Jamaica.jpg|thumb|[[Blue Mountains (Jamaica)|Blue Mountains]]]]

Jamaica is the third-largest island in the Caribbean.<ref name="jamaica background">{{cite web|title=County Background – Jamaica|url=http://www.bvsde.paho.org/bvsana/e/fulltext/perfiles/jamaica.pdf|publisher=Pan American Health Organization|access-date=11 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161130153040/http://www.bvsde.paho.org/bvsana/e/fulltext/perfiles/jamaica.pdf|archive-date=30 November 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> It lies between latitudes [[17th parallel north|17°]] and [[19th parallel north|19°N]], and longitudes [[76th meridian west|76°]] and [[79th meridian west|79°W]]. Mountains dominate the interior: the Don Figuerero, Santa Cruz, and May Day mountains in the west, the [[Dry Harbour Mountains]] in the centre, and the [[John Crow Mountains]] and [[Blue Mountains (Jamaica)|Blue Mountains]] in the east, the latter containing [[Blue Mountain Peak]], Jamaica's tallest mountain at 2,256 m.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Jamaica"/><ref name="EBJ"/> They are surrounded by a narrow coastal plain.<ref name="Geogofjam">{{cite web|title=Geography of Jamaica|url=http://www.discoverjamaica.com/gleaner/discover/geography/geography.htm|publisher=Jamaica Gleaner|access-date=11 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180518020038/http://www.discoverjamaica.com/gleaner/discover/geography/geography.htm|archive-date=18 May 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="CIA World Factbook – Jamaica"/> Jamaica has two cities, the first being [[Kingston, Jamaica|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. [[Kingston Harbour]] is the seventh-largest natural harbour in the world,<ref name="portauthority">{{cite web|title=Port Authority History|url=http://www.portjam.com/nmCMS.php?p=history|publisher=Port Authority of Jamaica|access-date=11 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509235846/http://www.portjam.com/nmCMS.php?p=history|archive-date=9 May 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> which contributed to the city being designated as the capital in 1872. Other towns of note include [[Portmore, Jamaica|Portmore]], [[Spanish Town]], [[Savanna la Mar]], [[Mandeville, Jamaica|Mandeville]] and the resort towns of [[Ocho Ríos]], [[Port Antonio]] and [[Negril]].<ref name="majortownsandcities">{{cite web|title=Jamaican Cities|url=http://www.my-island-jamaica.com/jamaican_cities.html|publisher=My Island Jamaica|access-date=11 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100917103147/http://www.my-island-jamaica.com/jamaican_cities.html|archive-date=17 September 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Tourist attractions include [[Dunn's River Falls]] in St. Ann, YS Falls in St. Elizabeth, the Blue Lagoon in [[Portland Parish|Portland]], a dormant volcano's crater,<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 13, 2023 |title=Blue Lagoon |url=https://portlandmc.gov.jm/attractions/blue-lagoon |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617151241/https://portlandmc.gov.jm/attractions/blue-lagoon |archive-date=June 17, 2022 |access-date=January 13, 2023 |website=[[Portland Parish|Portland]] Municipal Corporation}}</ref> and [[Port Royal]], site of a major earthquake in 1692 that helped form the island's [[Palisadoes]] tombolo.<ref name="kingston">{{cite web|title=Kingston tourist destinations|date=23 March 2023|url=https://cheapholidayhacks.com/holidaydestinations/a-journey-through-the-caribbean-a-guide-to-its-culture-and-history/|access-date=12 April 2023|archive-date=6 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206213505/https://cheapholidayhacks.com/holidaydestinations/a-journey-through-the-caribbean-a-guide-to-its-culture-and-history/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Among the variety of terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems are dry and wet limestone forests, rainforest, riparian woodland, wetlands, caves, rivers, seagrass beds and coral reefs. The authorities have recognised the tremendous significance and potential of the environment and have designated some of the more "fertile" areas as "protected". Among the island's protected areas are the [[Cockpit Country]], [[Jamaican dry forests|Hellshire Hills]], and Litchfield forest reserves. In 1992, Jamaica's first marine park, covering nearly {{convert|15|km2|sqmi}}, was established in [[Montego Bay]]. [[Portland Bight Protected Area]] was designated in 1999.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/csi/act/jamaica/jamai2.htm |title=CSI Activities (Portland Bight, Jamaica) |publisher=Unesco.org |access-date=20 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309111105/http://www.unesco.org/csi/act/jamaica/jamai2.htm |archive-date=9 March 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The following year [[Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park]] was created, covering roughly {{convert|300|mi2|km2}} of a wilderness area which supports thousands of tree and fern species and rare animals.

There are several small islands off Jamaica's coast, most notably those in [[Portland Bight]] such as Pigeon Island, Salt Island, Dolphin Island, Long Island, [[Great Goat Island]] and [[Little Goat Island]], and also [[Lime Cay]] located further east. Much further out – some 50–80&nbsp;km off the south coast – lie the very small [[Morant Cays]] and [[Pedro Cays]].

===Climate===
[[File:Koppen-Geiger Map JAM present.svg|thumb|Köppen climate classification of Jamaica]]
The climate in Jamaica is tropical, with hot and humid weather, although higher inland regions are more temperate.<ref name="climate">{{cite web|title=Jamaica Climate and Weather|url=http://www.wordtravels.com/Travelguide/Countries/Jamaica/Climate|publisher=Word Travels|access-date=11 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627015148/http://www.wordtravels.com/Travelguide/Countries/Jamaica/Climate/|archive-date=27 June 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="EBJ"/> Some regions on the south coast, such as the Liguanea Plain and the Pedro Plains, are relatively dry [[rain shadow|rain-shadow]] areas.<ref name="Gleaner Climate">{{cite web |title=Climate of Jamaica |url=http://www.discoverjamaica.com/gleaner/discover/geography/climate.htm |publisher=Jamaica Gleaner |access-date=11 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180429091454/http://www.discoverjamaica.com/gleaner/discover/geography/climate.htm |archive-date=29 April 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Jamaica lies within the [[Main Development Region]] for Atlantic [[tropical cyclone]] activity, and because of this, the island sometimes suffers significant storm damage.<ref name="jamhurricanes">{{cite web |title=Construction and Building in Jamaica |url=http://www.projects-abroad.org/volunteer-in-latin-america/building/jamaica/ |publisher=Projects Abroad |access-date=11 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205171026/http://www.projects-abroad.org/volunteer-in-latin-america/building/jamaica/ |archive-date=5 December 2010 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="EBJ"/> Hurricanes [[Hurricane Charlie (1951)|Charlie]] and [[Hurricane Gilbert|Gilbert]] hit Jamaica directly in 1951 and 1988, respectively, causing major damage and many deaths. In the 2000s (decade), hurricanes [[Hurricane Ivan|Ivan]], [[Hurricane Dean (2007)|Dean]], and [[Hurricane Gustav|Gustav]] also brought severe weather to the island. In 2025, [[Hurricane Melissa]] made landfall as a Category&nbsp;5, far surpassing Gilbert as the strongest landfalling storm in Jamaican history.

===Flora and fauna===
{{see also|Jamaican moist forests|Jamaican dry forests}}
[[File:Red-billed_streamertail(_Trochilus_polytmus)_adult_male_2.jpg|thumb|Jamaica's national bird, a [[red-billed streamertail]]]]
[[File:Epicrates subflavus.jpg|thumb|[[Jamaican boa]]]]
[[File:Stoplight-parrotfish.jpg|thumb|[[parrotfish|Jamaican parrotfish]]]]

Jamaica's climate is tropical, supporting diverse ecosystems with a wealth of plants and animals. Its plant life has changed considerably over the centuries; when the Spanish arrived in 1494, except for small agricultural clearings, the country was deeply forested. The European settlers cut down the great timber trees for building and ships' supplies, and cleared the plains, savannas, and mountain slopes for intense agricultural cultivation.<ref name="EBJ"/> Many new plants were introduced including sugarcane, bananas, and citrus trees.<ref name="EBJ"/>

Jamaica is home to about 3,000 species of [[flowering plant|native flowering plants]] (of which over 1,000 are [[endemic]] and 200 are species of [[Orchidaceae|orchid]]), thousands of species of non-flowering flora, and about 20 [[botanical garden]]s, some of which are several hundred years old.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0021.html |title=Jamaica's Botantical{{sic|hide=y}} Gardens Worth More Than Gold |author=<!--Not stated--> |website=Jamaica Gleaner |publisher=Jamaica Gleaner Newspaper |access-date=23 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130103325/http://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0021.html |archive-date=30 January 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Aiken, Wilson, Vogel, Garraway PhD |first=Karl, Byron, Peter, Eric |date=21 January 2007 |title=LETTER OF THE DAY: Biologists speak on Cockpit mining |url=https://www.mona.uwi.edu/lifesciences/cockpit.htm |work=University of the West Indies |location=University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica |access-date=23 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712155740/http://www.mona.uwi.edu/lifesciences/cockpit.htm |archive-date=12 July 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> Areas of heavy rainfall also contain stands of bamboo, ferns, ebony, mahogany, and rosewood. Cactus and similar dry-area plants are found along the south and southwest coastal area. Parts of the west and southwest consist of large grasslands, with scattered stands of trees. Jamaica is home to three terrestrial [[ecoregion]]s, the [[Jamaican moist forests]], [[Jamaican dry forests]], and [[Greater Antilles mangroves]].

Jamaica's fauna, typical of the Caribbean, includes highly diversified wildlife with many endemic species. As with other oceanic islands, land mammals are mostly several species of [[bat]]s of which at least three endemic species are found only in Cockpit Country, one of which is at-risk. Other species of bat include the [[Jamaican fig-eating bat|fig-eating]] and [[lasiurus|hairy-tailed bats]]. The only non-bat native mammal extant in Jamaica is the [[Jamaican hutia]], locally known as the coney.<ref name="EBJ"/> Introduced mammals such as [[wild boar]] and the [[small Asian mongoose]] are also common. Jamaica is also home to about 50 species of reptiles,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.reptile-database.org|title=THE REPTILE DATABASE|work=reptile-database.org|access-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102083427/http://reptile-database.org/|archive-date=2 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> the largest of which is the [[American crocodile]]; however, it is only present within the Black River and a few other areas. Lizards such as [[anole]]s, [[iguana]]s and snakes such as racers and the [[Jamaican boa]] (the largest snake on the island), are common in areas such as the Cockpit Country. None of Jamaica's eight species of native snakes is venomous.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cockpitcountry.com/Amphibians%20%26%20Reptiles.html |title=Amphibians and reptiles found in Cockpit Country jamaica |publisher=Cockpitcountry.com |access-date=31 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120110142008/http://www.cockpitcountry.com/Amphibians%20%26%20Reptiles.html |archive-date=10 January 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Jamaica is home to about 289 species of birds of which 27 are endemic including the endangered [[black-billed amazon|black-Billed parrots]] and the [[Jamaican blackbird]], both of which are only found in Cockpit Country. It is also the indigenous home to four species of [[hummingbird]]s (three of which are found nowhere else in the world): the [[black-billed streamertail]], the [[Jamaican mango]], the [[Vervain hummingbird]], and [[red-billed streamertail]]s. The red-billed streamertail, known locally as the "doctor bird", is Jamaica's National Symbol.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jis.gov.jm/symbols/jamaican-national-bird-the-doctor-bird/|title=The Doctor Bird – Jamaica Information Service|work=jis.gov.jm|access-date=8 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321065148/http://jis.gov.jm/symbols/jamaican-national-bird-the-doctor-bird/|archive-date=21 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="EBJ"/> Other notable species include the [[Jamaican tody]] and the [[Greater flamingo]],<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cms.int/flamingos/en/country/jamaica |title=High Andean Flamingos (Jamaica) |publisher=Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (Germany) |access-date=2 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190203085427/https://www.cms.int/flamingos/en/country/jamaica |archive-date=3 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

One species of freshwater turtle is native to Jamaica, the [[Jamaican slider]]. It is found only on Jamaica and on a few islands in [[the Bahamas]]. In addition, many types of frogs are common on the island, especially [[treefrog]]s.

Jamaican waters contain considerable resources of fresh and saltwater fish.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fishbase.org/Country/CountryChecklist.php?c_code=388&vhabitat=all2&csub_code= |title=All fishes reported from Jamaica |work=fishbase.org |access-date=14 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130909194629/http://www.fishbase.org/Country/CountryChecklist.php?c_code=388&vhabitat=all2&csub_code= |archive-date=9 September 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The chief varieties of saltwater fish are [[King mackerel|kingfish]], [[Carangidae|jack]], [[mackerel]], [[Whiting (fish)|whiting]], [[bonito]], and [[tuna]]. Fish that occasionally enter freshwater and estuarine environments include [[Centropomidae|snook]], [[Epinephelus itajara|jewfish]], [[mangrove snapper]], and [[Mullet (fish)|mullets]]. Fish that spend the majority of their lives in Jamaica's fresh waters include many species of [[livebearer]]s, [[killifish]], freshwater [[Goby|gobies]], the mountain mullet, and the [[American eel]]. [[Tilapia]] have been introduced from Africa for aquaculture, and are very common. Also visible in the waters surrounding Jamaica are dolphins, [[parrotfish]], and the endangered [[West Indian manatee|manatee]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sea-cows-used-to-walk-on-land-in-africa-and-jamaica-2742073/|title=Sea Cows Used To Walk on Land in Africa And Jamaica|first=Rachel|last=Nuwer|author-link=Rachel Nuwer|website=Smithsonian Magazine|access-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200402204116/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sea-cows-used-to-walk-on-land-in-africa-and-jamaica-2742073/|archive-date=2 April 2020|url-status=live}}</ref>

Insects and other invertebrates are abundant, including the world's largest centipede, the [[Amazonian giant centipede]]. Jamaica is the home to about 150 species of butterflies and moths, including 35 indigenous species and 22 subspecies. It is also the native home to the [[Homerus swallowtail|Jamaican swallowtail]], the western hemisphere's largest butterfly.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140629/arts/arts1.html |title=Beautiful Butterflies – Jamaican Swallowtails Among Those on Display at IOJ |date=29 June 2014 |website=Jamaica Gleaner |publisher=Jamaica Gleaner Newspaper |access-date=23 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124041455/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20140629/arts/arts1.html |archive-date=24 January 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Aquatic life ===
[[File:RaftShilouette20221019 134124.jpg|thumb|left|White River Rafting]]

Coral reef ecosystems are important because they provide people with a source of livelihood, food, recreation, and medicinal compounds and protect the land on which they live.<ref name=":03">{{cite journal |last=Edwards |first=Peter E.T. |date=March 2009 |title=Sustainable financing for ocean and coastal management in Jamaica: The potential for revenues from tourist user fees |journal=Marine Policy |volume=33 |issue=2 |pages=376–385 |doi=10.1016/j.marpol.2008.08.005 |bibcode=2009MarPo..33..376E |s2cid=14123041 |url=https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/14769/1/MPRA_paper_14769.pdf |access-date=24 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170922024647/https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/14769/1/MPRA_paper_14769.pdf |archive-date=22 September 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Jamaica relies on the ocean and its ecosystem for its development. However, the marine life in Jamaica is also being affected. There could be many factors that contribute to marine life not having the best health. Jamaica's geological origin, topographical features and seasonal high rainfall make it susceptible to a range of natural hazards that can affect the coastal and oceanic environments. These include storm surge, slope failures (landslides), earthquakes, floods and hurricanes.<ref name=":22">{{cite web |url=http://nepa.gov.jm/symposia_03/Policies/OceanandCoastalZoneManagementPolicy.pdf |title=Toward Developing a National Policy on Ocean and Coastal Zone Management |date=June 2000 |website=nepa.gov.jm |access-date=2018-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225031022/http://nepa.gov.jm/symposia_03/Policies/OceanandCoastalZoneManagementPolicy.pdf |archive-date=25 December 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> Coral reefs in the Negril Marine Park (NMP), Jamaica, have been increasingly impacted by [[nutrient pollution]] and macroalgal blooms following decades of intensive development as a major tourist destination.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225357464 |title=Sewage pollution in Negril, Jamaica: Effects on nutrition and ecology of coral reef macroalgae |date=July 2011 |journal=Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology |volume=29 |issue=4 |page=775 |access-date=2018-12-16 |bibcode=2011ChJOL..29..775L |last1=Lapointe |first1=B. E. |last2=Thacker |first2=K. |last3=Hanson |first3=C. |last4=Getten |first4=L. |doi=10.1007/s00343-011-0506-8 |s2cid=84875443 |archive-date=20 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520042531/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225357464_Sewage_pollution_in_Negril_Jamaica_Effects_on_nutrition_and_ecology_of_coral_reef_macroalgae |url-status=live }}</ref>

Another one of those factors could include tourism: being that Jamaica is a very touristy place, the island draws numerous people travelling here from all over the world. The Jamaican tourism industry accounts for 32% of total employment and 36% of the country's GDP and is largely based on the sun, sea and sand, the last two of these attributes being dependent on healthy coral reef ecosystems.<ref name=":03" /> Because of Jamaica's tourism, they have developed a study to see if the tourist would be willing to help financially to manage their marine ecosystem because Jamaica alone is unable to. The ocean connects all the countries all over the world, however, everyone and everything is affecting the flow and life in the ocean. Jamaica is a very touristy place specifically because of their beaches. If their oceans are not functioning at their best then the well-being of Jamaica and the people who live there will start to deteriorate. According to the OECD, oceans contribute $1.5 trillion annually in value-added to the overall economy.<ref name=":12">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/environment/brief/oceans|title=Oceans, Fisheries and Coastal Economies|website=World Bank|access-date=2018-12-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181225030929/http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/environment/brief/oceans|archive-date=25 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> A developing country on an island will get the majority of their revenue from their ocean.

=== Pollution ===
Pollution comes from run-off, sewage systems, and garbage. However, this typically all ends up in the ocean after there is rain or floods. Everything that ends up in the water changes the quality and balance of the ocean. Poor coastal water quality has adversely affected fisheries, tourism and mariculture, as well as undermining biological sustainability of the living resources of ocean and coastal habitats.<ref name=":22" /> Jamaica imports and exports many goods through their waters. Some of the imports that go into Jamaica include petroleum and petroleum products. Issues include accidents at sea; risk of spills through local and international transport of petroleum and petroleum products.<ref name=":22" /> Oil spills can disrupt the marine life with chemicals that are not normally found in the ocean. Other forms of pollution also occur in Jamaica. Solid waste disposal mechanisms in Jamaica are currently inadequate.<ref name=":22" /> The solid waste gets into the water through rainfall forces. Solid waste is also harmful to wildlife, particularly birds, fish and turtles that feed at the surface of the water and mistake floating debris for food.<ref name=":22" /> For example, plastic can be caught around birds' and turtles' necks, making it difficult to eat and breath as they begin to grow, causing the plastic to get tighter around their necks. Pieces of plastic, metal, and glass can be mistaken for the food fish eat. Each Jamaican generates 1&nbsp;kg (2&nbsp;lbs) of waste per day; only 70% of this is collected by National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) — the remaining 30% is either burnt or disposed of in gullies/waterways.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.un.org/Depts/los/consultative_process/documents/6_davis.pdf |title=MARINE DEBRIS: JAMAICA'S RESPONSE |date=6–10 June 2005 |website=www.un.org |access-date=2018-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200107223159/https://www.un.org/Depts/los/consultative_process/documents/6_davis.pdf |archive-date=7 January 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Environmental policies ===
There are policies that are being put into place to help preserve the ocean and the life below water. The goal of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) is to improve the quality of life of human communities who depend on coastal resources while maintaining the biological diversity and productivity of coastal ecosystems.<ref name=":22" /> Developing an underdeveloped country can impact the oceans ecosystem because of all the construction that would be done to develop the country. Over-building, driven by powerful market forces as well as poverty among some sectors of the population, and destructive exploitation contribute to the decline of ocean and coastal resources.<ref name=":22" /> Developing practices that will contribute to the lives of the people but also to the life of the ocean and its ecosystem. Some of these practices include: Develop sustainable fisheries practices, ensure sustainable mariculture techniques and practices, sustainable management of shipping, and promote [[sustainable tourism]] practices.<ref name=":22" />

==Demographics==
{{Further|Demographics of Jamaica|Jamaican people}}

===Ethnic origins===
[[File:Street in Montigo Bay Jamaica Photo D Ramey Logan.jpg|thumb|[[Montego Bay]], Jamaica's second-largest city]]

Breakdown of responses to the [[Census in Jamaica|2011 census]] by the University of the West Indies.<ref name="uwi.edu" />
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:left"
|-
! Ethnic origin
! Percentage
! Approx. Population
|-
| [[Afro-Jamaican|African descent]] || 76.3 || 2,047,668
|-
| [[Mulatto#Mulattoes in Jamaica|Afro-European]] || 15.1 || 405,240
|-
| [[Indo-Jamaicans|East Indian and Afro-East Indian]] ||3.4 || 91,246
|-
| [[White Jamaican|White]] ||3.2 || 85,878
|-
| [[Chinese Jamaican|Chinese]] || 1.2 || 32,224
|-
| Other || 0.8 || 21,470
|-
| Total || 100.0% || 2,683,707
|}

Jamaica's diverse ethnic roots are reflected in the national motto [[Coat of arms of Jamaica|"Out of Many One People"]]. Some dispute the appropriateness of the motto because Jamaicans are overwhelmingly of a single race. The Jamaican founding fathers were mostly White or [[Brown (racial classification)|brown]] men and unrepresentative of the views of the country's majority Black population.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09213740211014331?icid=int.sj-full-text.similar-articles.3 | doi=10.1177/09213740211014331 | title=Jamaica, Covid-19 and Black freedom | date=2021 | last1=Thame | first1=Maziki | journal=Cultural Dynamics | volume=33 | issue=3 | pages=220–232 | url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/2015/08/01/out-of-many-one-people-motto-or-myth/ | title=Out of many, one people: Motto or myth? – Jamaica Observer | date=2 August 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/focus/20240526/maziki-thame-race-and-legitimacy-jamaican-politics | title=Maziki Thame &#124; Race and legitimacy in Jamaican politics | date=26 May 2024 }}</ref>

Most of the population of 2,812,000 (July 2018 est.)<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Jamaica"/> are of African or partially African descent, with many being able to trace their origins to the West African countries of present-day [[Ghana]] and [[Nigeria]].<ref name="EBJ"/><ref>{{cite book|title=Liverpool and Transatlantic Slavery |first1=David |last1=Richardson |first2=Anthony |last2=Tibbles |first3=Suzanne |last3=Schwarz |publisher=Liverpool University Press |year=2007 |page=141 |isbn=978-1-84631-066-9 |url={{Google books|IeM1rrKiQosC|page=PA141|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref> Other major ancestral areas are [[Europe]],<ref name=tortello/> [[South Asia]], and [[East Asia]].{{citation needed|date=August 2023}} It is uncommon for Jamaicans to identify themselves by race as is prominent in other countries such as the United States, with most Jamaicans seeing Jamaican nationality as an identity in and of itself, identifying as simply being "Jamaican" regardless of ethnicity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jamaicans.com/jamaicanrace/|title=Out of Many One People, We Are A Race Apart|first=George|last=Graham|date=30 July 2007|website=Jamaicans.com|access-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616204108/http://jamaicans.com/jamaicanrace/|archive-date=16 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="jamaicans.com">{{cite web |url=http://jamaicans.com/reasons-many-jamaicans-dont-understand-racism/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304113229/http://jamaicans.com/reasons-many-jamaicans-dont-understand-racism/ |archive-date=4 March 2018 |title= 5 Reasons Many Jamaicans Don't Understand Racism |website=jamaicans.com |last=Benjamin |first=Glen|date=17 May 2016 }}</ref> A study found that the average admixture on the island was 78.3% Sub-Saharan African, 16.0% [[White Jamaican|European]], and 5.7% [[East Asians|East Asian]].<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite journal|author1=Simms, Tanya M.|author2=Rodríguez, Carol E.|author3=Rodríguez, Rosa|author4=Herrera, René J.|title=The genetic structure of populations from Haiti and Jamaica reflect divergent demographic histories|date=May 2010|doi=10.1002/ajpa.21194|pmid=19918989|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/38094802|access-date=18 May 2015|journal=Am J Phys Anthropol|volume=142|issue=1|pages=49–66|archive-date=20 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520042520/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/38094802_The_Genetic_Structure_of_Populations_from_Haiti_and_Jamaica_Reflect_Divergent_Demographic_Histories|url-status=live}}</ref>

A more precise study was conducted by the local University of the West Indies – Jamaica's population is more accurately  76.3% African descent or Black, 15.1% Afro-European (or locally called the Brown Man or Browning Class), 3.4% East Indian and Afro-East Indian, 3.2% White, 1.2% Chinese and 0.8% Other.<ref name="uwi.edu" /> The [[Jamaican Maroons]] of Accompong and other settlements are the descendants of African slaves who fled the plantations for the interior, where they set up their own autonomous communities.<ref>Michael Sivapragasam, [http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/display.do?tabs=moreTab&ct=display&fn=search&doc=BLL01019153409&indx=1&recIds=BLL01019153409&recIdxs=0&elementId=0&renderMode=poppedOut&displayMode=full&frbrVersion=&frbg=&&dscnt=0&scp.scps=scope%3A%28BLCONTENT%29&vl(2084770704UI0)=any&tb=t&vid=BLVU1&mode=Basic&srt=rank&tab=local_tab&dum=true&vl(freeText0)=michael%20sivapragasam&dstmp=1546605833202 ''After the Treaties: A Social, Economic and Demographic History of Maroon Society in Jamaica, 1739–1842''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520042522/https://l.sharethis.com/sc?event=pview&version=buttons.js&lang=en&sessionID=1621484722616.41079&hostname=explore.bl.uk&location=%2Fprimo_library%2Flibweb%2Faction%2Fdisplay.do&product=widget&fcmp=false&fcmpv2=false&publisher=ad1af46f-5d2b-4f49-aa8c-10f1ffaecf51&bsamesite=true&consent_cookie_duration=188&consent_duration=189&gdpr_domain=.consensu.org&gdpr_method=cookie&url=http%3A%2F%2Fexplore.bl.uk%2Fprimo_library%2Flibweb%2Faction%2Fdisplay.do%3Ftabs%3DmoreTab%26ct%3Ddisplay%26fn%3Dsearch%26doc%3DBLL01019153409%26indx%3D1%26recIds%3DBLL01019153409%26recIdxs%3D0%26elementId%3D0%26renderMode%3DpoppedOut%26displayMode%3Dfull%26frbrVersion%3D%26frbg%3D%26dscnt%3D0%26scp.scps%3Dscope%253A(BLCONTENT)%26vl(2084770704UI0)%3Dany%26&nbsp;tb%3Dt%26vid%3DBLVU1%26mode%3DBasic%26srt%3Drank%26tab%3Dlocal_tab%26dum%3Dtrue%26vl(freeText0)%3Dmichael%2Bsivapragasam%26dstmp%3D1546605833202&title=After%20the%20treaties%20%3A%20a%20social%2C%20economic%20and%20demographic%20history%20of%20Maroon%20society%20in%20Jamaica%2C%201739-1842.%20-%20British%20Library&sop=false&samesite=None |date=20 May 2021 }}, PhD Dissertation, African-Caribbean Institute of Jamaica library (Southampton: Southampton University, 2018), pp. 23–24.</ref><ref>E. Kofi Agorsah, "Archaeology of Maroon Settlements in Jamaica", ''Maroon Heritage: Archaeological, Ethnographic and Historical Perspectives'', ed. E. Kofi Agorsah (Kingston: University of the West Indies Canoe Press, 1994), pp. 180–81.</ref><ref name="Craton, Michael 1982, p. 70">Craton, Michael. ''Testing the Chains''. Cornell University Press, 1982, p. 70.</ref> Many Maroons continue to have their own traditions and speak their own language, known locally as [[Kromanti]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Bilby, Kenneth|year=1983|title= How the "older heads" talk: A Jamaican Maroon spirit possession language and its relationship to the creoles of Suriname and Sierra Leone |journal= New West Indian Guide / Nieuwe West-Indische Gids|volume=57|issue=1/2|pages=37–88|doi=10.1163/13822373-90002097|doi-access=free}}</ref>

Asians form the third-largest group (after the Browning Class – i.e. descendants of the mulattos during slavery and other interracial mixtures subsequent to emancipation) and include Indo-Jamaicans and Chinese Jamaicans.<ref name="cia.gov">[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jamaica/ The World Factbook] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124190707/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jamaica/ |date=24 January 2021 }} CIA (The World Factbook): Jamaica</ref> Most are descended from indentured workers brought by the British colonial government to fill labour shortages following the abolition of slavery in 1838.  Along with their Indian counterparts, [[Chinese Jamaicans]] have also played an integral part in Jamaica's community and history.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}} There are about 20,000 Jamaicans who have [[Lebanese Jamaicans|Lebanese]] and [[Syrian]] ancestry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0056.htm|title=Jamaica Gleaner: Pieces of the Past:The Arrival of the Lebanese|website=old.jamaica-gleaner.com|access-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190918051912/http://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0056.htm|archive-date=18 September 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Most were Christian immigrants who fled the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] occupation of Lebanon in the early 19th century. Eventually, their descendants became very successful politicians and businessmen.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

The first wave of English immigrants arrived on the island in 1655 after conquering the Spanish, and they have historically been the dominant group. The first Irish immigrants came to Jamaica in the 1600s as war prisoners and, later, as indentured laborers. In the 1650s, Oliver Cromwell exiled Scots prisoners of war to Jamaica, and as a result, [[Scottish people|Scots]] and [[Scottish Jamaicans]] have made a significant impact on the island, including many Jamaicans having common Scottish surnames, place names across the island of Scottish origins, the establishments of [[Presbyterian]] churches by Scots across the island in the 17th century, as well as the national flag of Jamaica taking inspiration from the [[national flag of Scotland]].<ref name="adventuresfromelle.com"/>
[[File:Northern suburbs of Kingston, Jamaica.jpg|alt=|thumb|Northern suburbs of [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]], Jamaica's capital and largest city]]
There is also a significant Jamaican population of Portuguese descent that is predominantly of [[History of the Jews in Jamaica|Sephardic Jewish heritage]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Portuguese In Jamaica {{!}} Why and When Did They Arrive? |url=https://www.my-island-jamaica.com/portuguese_in_jamaica.html |access-date=2023-05-14 |website=My-Island-Jamaica.com |archive-date=14 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514130718/https://www.my-island-jamaica.com/portuguese_in_jamaica.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mirvis |first=Stanley |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv10sm932 |title=The Jews of Eighteenth-Century Jamaica: A Testamentary History of a Diaspora in Transition |date=2020 |publisher=Yale University Press |doi=10.2307/j.ctv10sm932 |jstor=j.ctv10sm932 |isbn=978-0-300-23881-5 |s2cid=219044870 |access-date=14 May 2023 |archive-date=14 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514130717/https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv10sm932 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Community |date=2020-10-13 |title=Jews in Jamaica |url=https://jewishmuseum.org.uk/2020/10/13/jews-in-jamaica/ |access-date=2023-05-14 |website=The Jewish Museum London |language=en-US |archive-date=14 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514130718/https://jewishmuseum.org.uk/2020/10/13/jews-in-jamaica/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=PORTUGALITY in Jamaica |url=https://portugality.yolasite.com/jamaica-en.php |access-date=2023-05-14 |website=portugality.yolasite.com |archive-date=1 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221201085840/https://portugality.yolasite.com/jamaica-en.php |url-status=live }}</ref> The first Jews arrived as explorers from Spain in the 15th century after being forced to choose between expulsion or [[Converso|conversion to Christianity]]. A small number of them became slave owners or pirates.<ref>{{cite news |last=Urken |first=Ross Kenneth |title=The Forgotten Jewish Pirates of Jamaica |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/forgotten-jewish-pirates-jamaica-180959252/ |work=Smithsonian Magazine |date=7 July 2016|access-date=28 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190129181306/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/forgotten-jewish-pirates-jamaica-180959252/ |archive-date=29 January 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Judaism eventually became very influential in Jamaica and can be seen today with many Jewish cemeteries around the country. During [[the Holocaust]], Jamaica became a refuge for Jews fleeing persecution in Europe.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Newman |first=Joanna |title=Nearly the new world: the British West Indies and the flight from Nazism, 1933-1945 |date=2019 |isbn=978-1-78920-334-9| publisher=Berghahn |location=New York |pages=14 |oclc=1117311744}}</ref>

By 2015 immigration had increased, coming mainly from China, Haiti, Cuba, Colombia, and Latin America; 20,000 Latin Americans lived in Jamaica.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tozion.org/Rastafari%20Jamaica.html|title=Jamaica *Rastafari * ToZion.org *|website=www.tozion.org|date=2015-07-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180115110423/http://www.tozion.org/Rastafari%20Jamaica.html|archive-date=15 January 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2016, Prime Minister Andrew Holness suggested making Spanish Jamaica's second official language.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/PM-wants-Spanish-to-be-Jamaica-s-second-language|title=Jamaica Observer Limited|website=Jamaica Observer|access-date=2019-08-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304172406/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/PM-wants-Spanish-to-be-Jamaica-s-second-language|archive-date=4 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> About 7,000 Americans live in Jamaica.{{citation needed|date=October 2014}}

===Languages===
{{Main|Jamaican Patois|Jamaican English}}

Jamaica is regarded as a [[bilingual]] country, with two major languages used by the population.<ref>Ronald C. Morren and Diane M. Morren (2007). [http://www-01.sil.org/silewp/2007/silewp2007-009.pdf Are the goals and objectives of Jamaica's Bilingual Education Project being met?"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170516230512/http://www-01.sil.org/silewp/2007/silewp2007-009.pdf |date=16 May 2017}} – [[SIL International]] (working paper). Retrieved 31 August 2015.</ref><ref name="cia.gov"/> The official language is [[Jamaican English|(Jamaican) English]], which is "used in all domains of public life", including the government, the legal system, the media, and education. However, the primary spoken language is an [[English-based creole languages|English-based creole language]] called [[Jamaican Patois]] (or Patwa). The two exist in a dialect continuum, with speakers using a different speech register depending on the context and to whom they speak. "Pure" Patois, though sometimes perceived as merely a particularly aberrant dialect of English, is essentially mutually unintelligible with standard English and linguists consider it a distinct language, though most of its vocabulary originally derives from English.<ref name="EBJ"/> A 2007 survey by the Jamaican Language Unit found that 17.1 percent of the population were [[Monolingualism|monolingual]] in Jamaican Standard English (JSE), 36.5 percent were monolingual in Patois, and 46.4 percent were bilingual, although earlier surveys had pointed to a greater degree of bilingualism (up to 90 percent).<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jettka |first=Daniel |date=2010 |title=English in Jamaica: The Coexistence of Standard Jamaican English and the English-based Jamaican Creole |url=http://www.daniel-jettka.de/pdf/JETTKA-The_language_situation_of_Jamaica.pdf |journal=Hamburg Centre for Language Corpora |publisher=[[Hamburg University]] |access-date=31 August 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115010332/http://www.daniel-jettka.de/pdf/JETTKA-The_language_situation_of_Jamaica.pdf |archive-date=15 November 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Jamaican education system had only in about 2015 begun to offer formal instruction in Patois while retaining JSE as the "official language of instruction".<ref>Claude Robinson (30 March 2014). [http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/English-lessons-for-Jamaica_16372740 "English lessons for Jamaica"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010104228/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/English-lessons-for-Jamaica_16372740 |date=10 October 2015 }} – ''[[Jamaica Observer]]''. Retrieved 31 August 2015.</ref>

Additionally, some Jamaicans use one or more of [[Jamaican Sign Language]] (JSL), [[American Sign Language]] (ASL) or the declining indigenous [[Jamaican Country Sign Language]] (Konchri Sain).<ref name=e25jcs>{{e25|jcs|Konchri Sain}}</ref> Both JSL and ASL are rapidly replacing Konchri Sain for a variety of reasons.<ref name=e25jcs/>

===Emigration===
{{main|Jamaican diaspora}}

Many Jamaicans have [[emigrated]] to other countries, especially the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada. In the case of the United States, about 20,000 Jamaicans per year are granted permanent residence.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dhs.gov/immigrationstatistics |title=United States immigration statistics |publisher=Dhs.gov |date=23 June 2009 |access-date=4 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081204130555/http://www.dhs.gov/immigrationstatistics |archive-date=4 December 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> There has also been emigration of Jamaicans to other Caribbeans countries such as Cuba,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761569844_2/Cuba.html |title=Jamaicans to Cuba |publisher=Encarta.msn.com |access-date=4 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091029160356/http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761569844_2/Cuba.html |archive-date=29 October 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Puerto Rico, Guyana, and The Bahamas. It was estimated in 2004 that up to 2.5 million Jamaicans and Jamaican descendants lived abroad.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050427212932/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/html/20040620T150000-0500_61511_OBS_LINKING_THE_JAMAICAN_DIASPORA.asp Linking the Jamaican Diaspora]. Jamaica Observer. 20 June 2004.</ref>

About 800,000 [[British Jamaican|Jamaicans live in the United Kingdom]], making them by far the country's largest [[British African-Caribbean community|African-Caribbean group]]. Large-scale migration from Jamaica to the UK occurred primarily in the 1950s and 1960s when the country was still under British rule. There are Jamaican communities in most large UK cities.<ref name=IOMMapping>{{cite web|url=http://www.iomlondon.org/doc/mapping/IOM_JAMAICA.pdf |title=Jamaica: Mapping exercise |publisher=[[International Organization for Migration]] |location=London |date=July 2007 |access-date=27 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511105031/http://www.iomlondon.org/doc/mapping/IOM_JAMAICA.pdf |archive-date=11 May 2011 }}</ref> Concentrations of [[expatriate]] Jamaicans are quite considerable in numerous cities in the United States, including [[New York City]], [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]], the [[South Florida|Miami]] metro area, [[Atlanta, Georgia|Atlanta]], [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]], [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]], [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]], [[Washington, D.C.]], [[Philadelphia]], [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]], [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]] and [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]].<ref>Jones, Terry-Ann. ''Jamaican Immigrants in the United States and Canada: Race, Transnationalism, and Social Capital''. New York, NY: LFB Scholarly Publishing LLC, 2008. 2–3; 160–3. Print.</ref> In Canada, the Jamaican population is centred in [[Toronto]],<ref name="Toronto">{{cite web|title=Census Profile, 2016 Census – Toronto (CMA)|publisher=Statistics Canada|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CMACA&Code1=535&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=toronto&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Ethnic%20origin&TABID=1|access-date=2018-08-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813114501/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CMACA&Code1=535&Geo2=PR&Code2=35&Data=Count&SearchText=toronto&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Ethnic%20origin&TABID=1|archive-date=13 August 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> with smaller communities in cities such as [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]], [[Montreal]], [[Winnipeg]], [[Vancouver]] and [[Ottawa]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Census Profile, 2016 Census | date=8 February 2017 |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&TABID=1&B1=All&type=0&Code1=3506008&SearchText=ottawa |access-date=2020-06-21 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806063218/https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&TABID=1&B1=All&type=0&Code1=3506008&SearchText=ottawa |url-status=live }}</ref> Jamaican Canadians comprise about 30% of the entire [[Black Canadians|Black Canadian population]].<ref name=jamaicans>[http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-562/pages/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Table=2&Data=Count&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All&CSDFilter=5000 Ethnic origins, 2006 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories—20% sample data] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818195955/http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-562/pages/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Table=2&Data=Count&StartRec=1&Sort=3&Display=All&CSDFilter=5000 |date=18 August 2016 }}, Statistics Canada (2006). Retrieved on 11 August 2008.</ref><ref>[http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-562/pages/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Table=1&Data=Count&StartRec=1&Sort=2&Display=Page Visible minority groups, 2006 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories—20% sample data] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171114042710/http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-562/pages/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo=PR&Code=01&Table=1&Data=Count&StartRec=1&Sort=2&Display=Page |date=14 November 2017 }}, Statistics Canada (2006). Retrieved on 19 March 2011.</ref>
A notable though much smaller group of emigrants are [[Jamaicans in Ethiopia]]. These are mostly Rastafarians, in whose theological worldview Africa is the promised land, or "Zion", or more specifically Ethiopia, due to reverence in which former Ethiopian Emperor [[Haile Selassie]] is held.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100618/news/news4.html|first=Patrina|last=Pink|title=Jamaican Rastas Bring Cultural Diversity To 'Promised Land'|newspaper=Jamaica Gleaner|date=2010-06-18|access-date=2013-03-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730210828/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20100618/news/news4.html|archive-date=30 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Most live in the small town of [[Shashamane]] about 150 miles (240&nbsp;km) south of the capital [[Addis Ababa]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1639646.stm|first=Nita|last=Bhalla|title=The town that Rastafarians built|work=BBC News|date=2001-11-05|access-date=2013-03-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730210816/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1639646.stm|archive-date=30 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Major cities===
{{see also|List of cities and towns in Jamaica}}
{{Largest cities
| country      = Jamaica
| stat_ref     = [http://wups.statinja.gov.jm/WUP/2016Annual%20Publications_2016%20Demographic%20Statistics.pdf_STATINJa.pdf Demographic Statistics 2016], pp. 15–16 (2011 Census)
| list_by_pop  = 
| div_name     = 
| div_link     = Parishes of Jamaica{{!}}Parish

|city_1 = Kingston, Jamaica{{!}}Kingston
|div_1 = Kingston Parish{{!}}Kingston
|pop_1 = 661,862
|city_2 = Portmore, Jamaica{{!}}Portmore
|div_2 = Saint Catherine Parish{{!}}Saint Catherine
|pop_2 = 182,153
|city_3 = Spanish Town
|div_3 = Saint Catherine Parish{{!}}Saint Catherine
|pop_3 = 147,152
|city_4 = Montego Bay
|div_4 = Saint James Parish, Jamaica{{!}}Saint James
|pop_4 = 110,115
|city_5 = May Pen
|div_5 = Clarendon Parish, Jamaica{{!}}Clarendon
|pop_5 = 61,548

|city_6 = Mandeville, Jamaica{{!}}Mandeville
|div_6 = Manchester Parish{{!}}Manchester
|pop_6 = 49,695

|city_7 = Old Harbour, Jamaica{{!}}Old Harbour
|div_7 = Saint Catherine Parish{{!}}Saint Catherine
|pop_7 = 28,912

|city_8 = Savanna-la-Mar
|div_8 = Westmoreland Parish{{!}}Westmoreland
|pop_8 = 22,633

|city_9 = Ocho Rios
|div_9 = Saint Ann Parish{{!}}Saint Ann
|pop_9 = 16,671

|city_10 = Linstead
|div_10 = Saint Catherine Parish{{!}}Saint Catherine
|pop_10 = 15,231

}}

==Religion==
{{Main|Religion in Jamaica}}

[[File:Mandeville Church by AAlexander.jpg|thumb|left|Mandeville Church (est. 1816), an [[Anglican]] church in [[Manchester Parish]]. Christianity is the largest religion in Jamaica.]]

[[Christianity]] is the largest religion practised in Jamaica.<ref name="EBJ"/><ref name="CIA World Factbook – Jamaica"/> About 70% are [[Protestantism|Protestants]]; [[Catholic Church|Catholics]] are just 2% of the population.<ref name="CIA World Factbook – Jamaica"/> According to the 2001 census, the country's largest Protestant denominations are the [[Church of God (Anderson, Indiana)|Church of God]] (24%), [[Seventh-day Adventist Church]] (11%), [[Pentecostal]] (10%), [[Baptist]] (7%), [[Anglican]] (4%), [[United Church]] (2%), [[Methodist]] (2%), [[Moravian Church|Moravian]] (1%) and [[Plymouth Brethren]] (1%).<ref name="state2007">{{cite web |url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90259.htm |title=Jamaica |publisher=State.gov |date=14 September 2007 |access-date=4 July 2009 |archive-date=6 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806172333/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90259.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Bedwardism]] is a form of Christianity native to the island, sometimes viewed as a separate faith.<ref Name="Simpson">{{cite book|last =Stan Simpson and David Person|title =Home away from Home: Africans in Americas, Volume 1, Ch 19: Land of Maroons|publisher =Institute for Advanced Journalism Studies|year =2003|url =http://www.ncat.edu/iajs/research/Africans_in_Americas_Volume1/Ch19_Land_of_Maroons.pdf|access-date =2008-01-27|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090704193223/http://www.ncat.edu/iajs/research/Africans_in_Americas_Volume1/Ch19_Land_of_Maroons.pdf|archive-date =2009-07-04|url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.jnht.com/site_bedwards_tomb.php|title=Bedward's Tomb|website=www.jnht.com|access-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191130194040/http://www.jnht.com/site_bedwards_tomb.php|archive-date=30 November 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The Christian faith gained acceptance as British Christian abolitionists and Baptist missionaries joined educated former slaves in the struggle against slavery.<ref>{{cite web|title=Jamaican Christian Missions:Their Influence in the Jamaican Slave Rebellion of 1831–32 and the End of Slavery|first=Rachael|last=Elam|url=http://www.eiu.edu/~historia/archives/2005/Elam.pdf|access-date=2010-04-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327080958/http://www.eiu.edu/~historia/archives/2005/Elam.pdf|archive-date=27 March 2009}}</ref>

The [[Rastafari]] movement has 29,026 adherents, according to the 2011 census, with 25,325 Rastafarian males and 3,701 Rastafarian females.<ref name="state2007"/> The faith originated in Jamaica in the 1930s and though rooted in Christianity it is heavily Afrocentric in its focus, revering figures such as the Jamaican black nationalist [[Marcus Garvey]] and [[Haile Selassie]], the former Emperor of Ethiopia.<ref>Savishinsky, Neil J. "Transnational popular culture and the global spread of the Jamaican Rastafarian movement." NWIG: New West Indian Guide/Nieuwe West-Indische Gids 68.3/4 (1994): 259–281.</ref><ref name="EBJ"/> Rastafari has since spread across the globe, especially to areas with large black or African diasporas.<ref>[[Stephen D. Glazier]], ''Encyclopedia of African and African-American Religions'', 2001, p. 263.</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9h5KDRfZ-JgC&q=kongo+immigrants+to+jamaica+kumina&pg=PA259 |title=Afro-Caribbean Religions: An Introduction to Their Historical, Cultural, and Sacred Traditions |last=Murrell |first=Nathaniel Samuel |date=2010-01-25 |publisher=[[Temple University Press]] |isbn=9781439901755 |access-date=1 November 2020 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415014108/https://books.google.com/books?id=9h5KDRfZ-JgC&q=kongo+immigrants+to+jamaica+kumina&pg=PA259 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Various faiths and traditional religious practices derived from Africa are practised on the island, notably [[Kumina]], [[Convince]], [[Myal]] and [[Obeah]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pJPBkj4P38wC |title=Three Eyes for the Journey: African Dimensions of the Jamaican Religious Experience |last=Stewart |first=Dianne M. |date=2005-07-07 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198039082 |access-date=30 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200206202622/https://books.google.com/books?id=pJPBkj4P38wC |archive-date=6 February 2020 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=carib>{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of Caribbean Religions: Volume 1: A – L; Volume 2: M – Z |first1=Patrick |last1=Taylor |first2=Frederick |last2=Case |year=2013 |publisher=University of Illinois Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XOyYCgAAQBAJ&q=Yankipong&pg=PA476 |isbn=9780252094330 |access-date=1 November 2020 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415034448/https://books.google.com/books?id=XOyYCgAAQBAJ&q=Yankipong&pg=PA476 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Paul Easterling, "The Ifa' Diaspora: The Art of Syncretism, Part 5 – Obeah and Myal" in [http://www.afrometrics.org/africana-religious-studies-series/the-ifa-diaspora-the-art-of-syncretism-part-5-obeah-and-myal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730214923/http://www.afrometrics.org/africana-religious-studies-series/the-ifa-diaspora-the-art-of-syncretism-part-5-obeah-and-myal|date=30 July 2019}} (Afrometrics.org, 2017).</ref>

Other religions in Jamaica include [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] (2% population), the [[Bahá'í Faith in Jamaica|Bahá'í faith]], which counts perhaps 8,000 adherents<ref>{{cite web |title=Map Source: www.worldmap.org |url=http://www.worldmap.org/maps/other/profiles/jamaica/Jamaica%20Profile.doc |year=2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303170428/http://www.worldmap.org/maps/other/profiles/jamaica/Jamaica%20Profile.doc |archive-date=3 March 2016}}</ref> and 21 [[Local Spiritual Assembly|Local Spiritual Assemblies]],<ref name="4th">{{cite news |last=Bahá'í International Community |author-link=Bahá'í International Community |title=Jamaicans celebrate 4th National Baha'i Day |newspaper=Bahá'í World News Service |date=11 August 2006 |url=http://news.bahai.org/story/468 |access-date=4 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106235210/https://news.bahai.org/story/468/ |archive-date=6 November 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Mormonism]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Jamaica – LDS Statistics and Church Facts &#124; Total Church Membership |url=https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/jamaica |publisher=Mormonnewsroom.org |access-date=6 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190628013405/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/jamaica |archive-date=28 June 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Buddhism]], and [[Hinduism in Jamaica|Hinduism]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0074.html |title=Jamaica Gleaner: Pieces of the Past: Out of Many Cultures: Roads and Resistance: RELIGIOUS ICONS part 2 |website=old.jamaica-gleaner.com |access-date=2018-10-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815122842/http://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0074.html |archive-date=15 August 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.visitjamaica.com/feel-the-vibe/people/faith/ |title=Faith in Jamaica {{!}} Learn More About What We Believe |website=www.visitjamaica.com |access-date=2018-10-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513082314/https://www.visitjamaica.com/feel-the-vibe/people/faith/ |archive-date=13 May 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Hindu [[Diwali]] festival is celebrated yearly among the [[Indo-Jamaican]] community.<ref>[http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/country/?CountryID=55 religiousintelligence.co.uk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221114046/http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/country/?CountryID=55 |date=21 February 2009 }}, [http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/nationprofiles/Jamaica/rbodies.html religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090221114046/http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/nationprofiles/Jamaica/rbodies.html |date=21 February 2009 }}</ref><ref name=tortello/>

There is also a small population of about 200 [[Judaism|Jews]], who describe themselves as Liberal-Conservative.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Haruth Communications |author2=Harry Leichter |url=http://www.haruth.com/JewsJamaica.html |title=Jamaican Jews |publisher=Haruth.com |access-date=4 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091111044215/http://www.haruth.com/JewsJamaica.html |archive-date=11 November 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> The first Jews in Jamaica trace their roots back to early 15th-century Spain and Portugal.<ref>{{cite web |first=Mark |last=Dawes |title=Jews hold firm Life goes on in Old Synagogue |url=http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20030610/mind/mind2.html |work=The Gleaner |date=10 June 2003 |access-date=11 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510014048/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20030610/mind/mind2.html |archive-date=10 May 2011}}</ref> [[Shaare Shalom Synagogue|Kahal Kadosh Shaare Shalom]], also known as the United Congregation of Israelites, is a historic synagogue located in the city of [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]]. Originally built in 1912, it is the official and only Jewish place of worship left on the island. The once abundant Jewish population has voluntarily converted to Christianity over time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Korney |first=Stephanie |date=2017-02-15 |title=Jews in Jamaica: A Long History & Three "Firsts" |url=https://jamaicans.com/jews-jamaica-long-history-three-firsts/ |access-date=2025-01-01 |website=Jamaicans and Jamaica – Jamaicans.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Shaare Shalom is one of the few synagogues in the world that contains sand covered floors and is a popular tourist destination.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/jewish-footprints-in-the-caribbean-sand-1.5281292|title=A Synagogue Drawn in the Sand|first=Dana Evan|last=Kaplan|newspaper=Haaretz.com|date=10 August 2012|access-date=7 April 2020|via=Haaretz|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619190049/https://www.haaretz.com/jewish-footprints-in-the-caribbean-sand-1.5281292|archive-date=19 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/Caribbean-synagogue-sand-floor-180963581/|title=Why Sand Covers the Floor of One of the Western Hemisphere's Oldest Synagogues|website=Smithsonian Magazine|access-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416073857/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/Caribbean-synagogue-sand-floor-180963581/|archive-date=16 April 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Hussay Celebration in Jamaica.jpg|thumb|right|A historic Ashura celebration in Jamaica, which is known locally as Hussay or Hosay]]

Other small groups include [[Islam in Jamaica|Muslims]], who claim 5,000 adherents.<ref name="state2007"/> The Muslim holidays of [[Ashura]] (known locally as Hussay or [[Hosay]]) and [[Muslim holidays|Eid]] have been celebrated throughout the island for hundreds of years. In the past, every plantation in each parish celebrated Hosay. Today it has been called an Indian carnival and is perhaps most well known in Clarendon where it is celebrated each August. People of all religions attend the event, showing mutual respect.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://caribbeanmuslims.com/hosay-festival-westmoreland-jamaica |title=Hosay Festival, Westmoreland, Jamaica |website=caribbeanmuslims.com |date=14 February 2009 |access-date=3 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304054809/http://caribbeanmuslims.com/hosay-festival-westmoreland-jamaica |archive-date=4 March 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=tortello>{{cite news| last=Tortello | first=Rebecca |newspaper=Jamaica Gleaner|url=http://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0057.htm |title=Out of Many Cultures The People Who Came The Arrival of the Indians|date=3 November 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701070917/http://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0057.htm |archive-date=1 July 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Education==
{{Main|Education in Jamaica}}

The emancipation of the slaves heralded the establishment of an education system for the masses. Prior to emancipation there were few schools for educating locals and many sent their children off to England to access quality education.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}} After emancipation the West Indian Commission granted a sum of money to establish Elementary Schools, now known as ''All Age Schools''. Most of these schools were established by the churches.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jis.gov.jm/education/html/20041212T090000-0500_4438_JIS_MORAVIAN_CHURCH_CONTRIBUTING_MUCH_TO_EDUCATION.asp |title=Moravian Church Contribution to Education in Jamaica |access-date=22 December 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123064227/http://www.jis.gov.jm/education/html/20041212T090000-0500_4438_JIS_MORAVIAN_CHURCH_CONTRIBUTING_MUCH_TO_EDUCATION.asp |archive-date=23 November 2007}}</ref> This was the genesis of the modern Jamaican school system.

Presently the following categories of schools exist:
* '''Early childhood''' – Basic, infant and privately operated pre-school. Age cohort: 2 – 5 years.
* '''Primary''' – Publicly and privately owned (privately owned being called preparatory schools). Ages 3 – 12 years.
* '''Secondary''' – Publicly and privately owned. Ages 10 – 19 years. The high schools in Jamaica may be either single-sex or co-educational institutions, and many schools follow the traditional [[Sixth form|English grammar school model]] used throughout the British West Indies.
* '''Tertiary''' – Community colleges; teachers' colleges, with the Mico Teachers' College (now The MICO University College) being the oldest, founded in 1836; the Shortwood Teachers' College (which was once an all-female teacher training institution); vocational training centres, colleges and universities, publicly and privately owned. There are five local universities: the [[University of the West Indies]] (Mona Campus); the [[University of Technology, Jamaica]], formerly The College of Art Science and Technology (CAST); the [[Northern Caribbean University]], formerly West Indies College; the [[University of the Commonwealth Caribbean]], formerly the University College of The Caribbean; and the [[International University of the Caribbean]].
Additionally, there are many community and teacher training colleges.

Education is free from the early childhood to secondary levels. There are also opportunities for those who cannot afford further education in the vocational arena, through the Human Employment and Resource Training-National Training Agency (HEART Trust-NTA) programme,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.moec.gov.jm/news/speeches/ict2003.htm |title=Transforming the Jamaican Education System |access-date=22 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080520221921/http://www.moec.gov.jm/news/speeches/ict2003.htm |archive-date=20 May 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> which is opened to all working age national population<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.unevoc.unesco.org/worldtvetdatabase1.php?ct=JAM | title=Vocational Education in Jamaica | publisher=UNESCO-UNEVOC | date=August 2012 | access-date=26 May 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140528010330/http://www.unevoc.unesco.org/worldtvetdatabase1.php?ct=JAM | archive-date=28 May 2014 | url-status=dead }}</ref> and through an extensive scholarship network for the various universities.

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Jamaica}}

Jamaica is a [[mixed economy]] with both state enterprises and private sector businesses. Major sectors of the Jamaican economy include [[agriculture]], [[mining]], [[manufacturing]], tourism, [[petroleum refining processes|petroleum refining]], [[financial]] and [[insurance]] services.<ref name="EBJ"/> Tourism and mining are the leading earners of [[foreign exchange market|foreign exchange]]. Half the Jamaican economy relies on services, with half of its income coming from services such as tourism. An estimated 4.3 million foreign tourists visit Jamaica every year.<ref name="autogenerated2"/> According to the [[World Bank]], Jamaica is an upper-middle income country that, like its Caribbean neighbours, is vulnerable to the [[Climate change in the Caribbean|effects of climate change]], flooding, and hurricanes.<ref name="Jamaica country"/> In 2018, Jamaica represented the [[Caribbean Community|CARICOM Caribbean Community]] at the [[G20]] and the [[Group of Seven|G7]] annual meetings.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20181201/elizabeth-morgan-jamaica-caricom-and-g20-summit |title=Ja/Caricom and the G20 Summit |publisher=Jamaica Gleaner newspaper |access-date=21 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222042130/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20181201/elizabeth-morgan-jamaica-caricom-and-g20-summit |archive-date=22 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019 Jamaica reported its lowest unemployment rate in 50 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jis.gov.jm/features/lowest-unemployment-in-50-years/|title=Lowest Unemployment in 50 Years|publisher=[[Jamaica Information Service]] (Government of Jamaica)|access-date=21 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221112222/https://jis.gov.jm/features/lowest-unemployment-in-50-years/|archive-date=21 February 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

Supported by multilateral financial institutions, Jamaica has, since the early 1980s, sought to implement structural reforms aimed at fostering private sector activity and increasing the role of market forces in resource allocation<ref name="mof.gov.jm">{{cite web |url=http://www.mof.gov.jm/mof-media/media-centre/press/2569-goj-divestment-and-projects-programme-to-generate-billions-in-investment-opportunities-for-jamaican-capital.html |title=GOJ Divestment and Projects Programme to Generate Billions in Investment Opportunities for Jamaican Capital |publisher=Government of Jamaica Ministry of Finance and Public Services |access-date=23 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224062403/http://www.mof.gov.jm/mof-media/media-centre/press/2569-goj-divestment-and-projects-programme-to-generate-billions-in-investment-opportunities-for-jamaican-capital.html |archive-date=24 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Jamaica Observer newspaper">{{cite web |url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Holness_says_divestment_of_state_assets_good_thing_for_Jamaica |title=Holness says divestment of state assets good thing for Jamaica |publisher=Jamaica Observer newspaper |access-date=23 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224062310/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Holness_says_divestment_of_state_assets_good_thing_for_Jamaica |archive-date=24 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Jamaica Gleaner newspaper">{{cite web|url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20181114/dbj-bats-small-investors-wigton-divestment|title=DBJ Bats For Small Investors in Wigton Divestment|date=14 November 2018|publisher=Jamaica Gleaner newspaper|access-date=23 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224003542/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/news/20181114/dbj-bats-small-investors-wigton-divestment|archive-date=24 February 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 1991, the government has followed a programme of economic liberalisation and stabilisation by removing exchange controls,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.export.gov/article?id=Jamaica-Foreign-Exchange-Controls |title=Jamaica – Foreign Exchange Controls |website=export.gov |publisher=Government of the United States |access-date=23 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224002029/https://www.export.gov/article?id=Jamaica-Foreign-Exchange-Controls |archive-date=24 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/-No-legal-restrictions-on-foreign-currency-quotes-_15570664 |title=No Legal Restrictions of Foreign Currency Quotes |website=Jamaica Observer |publisher=Jamaica Observer Newspaper |access-date=23 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224002109/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/-No-legal-restrictions-on-foreign-currency-quotes-_15570664 |archive-date=24 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> floating the exchange rate,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctrc.sice.oas.org/trc/Jamaica/JamaicaTP.asp |title=Trade Reference Centre – Jamaica – Caribbean Trade Reference Centre |publisher=Trade Reference Centre – Jamaica – Caribbean Trade Reference Centre |access-date=23 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228010302/http://ctrc.sice.oas.org/trc/Jamaica/JamaicaTP.asp |archive-date=28 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="state1">{{cite web |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/e/eb/rls/othr/ics/2011/157299.htm |title=2011 Investment Climate Statement — Jamaica |publisher=U.S. Department of State |access-date=21 May 2019 |archive-date=8 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208230306/https://2009-2017.state.gov/e/eb/rls/othr/ics/2011/157299.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> cutting [[tariff]]s,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.export.gov/article?id=Jamaica-Import-Tariffs |title=Jamaica – Import Tariffs |website=export.gov |publisher=Government of the United States |access-date=23 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224001921/https://www.export.gov/article?id=Jamaica-Import-Tariffs |archive-date=24 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> stabilising the [[Jamaican dollar]], reducing [[inflation]]<ref name="Bloomberg">{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-17/no-inflation-no-cry-jamaica-turns-to-reggae-to-promote-target |title=Jamaica Turns to Reggae Videos to Promote Inflation Target |publisher=Bloomberg |access-date=22 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222151944/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-17/no-inflation-no-cry-jamaica-turns-to-reggae-to-promote-target |archive-date=22 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> and removing restrictions on [[foreign direct investment|foreign investment]].<ref name="state1"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.export.gov/article?id=Jamaica-Openness-to-Foreign-Investment |title=Jamaica – 1-Openness to & Restriction on Foreign Investment |publisher=U.S. Department of State |access-date=23 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224002016/https://www.export.gov/article?id=Jamaica-Openness-to-Foreign-Investment |archive-date=24 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Emphasis has been placed on maintaining strict fiscal discipline, greater openness to trade and financial flows, market liberalisation and reduction in the size of government. During this period, a large share of the economy was returned to private sector ownership through [[divestment]] and privatisation programmes.<ref name="mof.gov.jm"/><ref name="Jamaica Observer newspaper"/><ref name="Jamaica Gleaner newspaper"/> The free-trade zones at Kingston, Montego Bay and Spanish Town allow duty-free importation, tax-free profits, and free repatriation of export earnings.<ref name="Jamaica Economy">{{cite web |url=http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/jamaica/economy |title=Jamaica (Economy) |work=The Commonwealth |publisher=Official Commonwealth Website (UK) |access-date=23 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224001931/http://thecommonwealth.org/our-member-countries/jamaica/economy |archive-date=24 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Post–independence===

Jamaica's economy grew strongly after the years of independence,<ref name="Jamaica Economy"/> but then stagnated in the 1980s, due to the heavy falls in price of bauxite and fluctuations in the price of agriculture.<ref name="Jamaica Economy"/><ref name="EBJ"/> The financial sector was troubled in 1994, with many banks and insurance companies suffering heavy losses and liquidity problems.<ref name="EBJ"/><ref name="Jamaica Economy"/> According to the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] Secretariat, "The government set up the Financial Sector Adjustment Company (Finsac) in January 1997 to assist these banks and companies, providing funds in return for equity, and acquired substantial holdings in banks and insurance companies and related companies..." but it only exasperated the problem, and brought the country into large external debt.<ref name="Jamaica Economy"/> From 2001, once it had restored these banks and companies to financial health, Finsac divested them."<ref name="Jamaica Economy"/> The [[Government of Jamaica]] remains committed to lowering inflation, with a long-term objective of bringing it in line with that of its major trading partners.<ref name="Bloomberg"/>

In 1996 and 1997 there was a decrease in GDP largely due to significant problems in the financial sector and, in 1997, a severe island-wide drought (the worst in 70 years) and hurricane that drastically reduced agricultural production.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/y4632e/y4632e0m.htm |title=Jamaica |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |access-date=23 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217064745/http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/Y4632E/y4632e0m.htm |archive-date=17 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1997 and 1998, nominal GDP was approximately a high of about 8 percent of GDP and then lowered to 4½ percent of GDP in 1999 and 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imf.org/external/np/loi/2000/jam/01/|title=Jamaica Letter of Intent July 19, 2000|publisher=International Monetary Fund|access-date=23 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224062353/https://www.imf.org/external/np/loi/2000/jam/01/|archive-date=24 February 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The economy in 1997 was marked by low levels of [[import]] growth, high levels of private capital inflows and relative stability in the [[foreign exchange market]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp085_e.htm |title=Jamaica: October 1998 |publisher=World Trade Organization |access-date=22 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222151905/https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp085_e.htm |archive-date=22 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Recent advancements===

Recent economic performance shows the Jamaican economy is recovering. [[Agricultural]] production, an important engine of growth increased to 5.5% in 2001 compared to the corresponding period in 2000, signalling the first positive growth rate in the sector since January 1997.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/3/y4632e/y4632e0m.htm |title=Jamaica |publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |access-date=23 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224062347/http://www.fao.org/3/y4632e/y4632e0m.htm |archive-date=24 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018, Jamaica reported a 7.9% increase in [[maize|corn]], 6.1% increase in [[cooking banana|plantains]], 10.4% increase in [[banana]]s, 2.2% increase in [[pineapple]]s, 13.3% increase in [[colocasia esculenta|dasheen]], 24.9% increase in [[coconut]]s, and a 10.6% increase in whole [[milk]] production.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://jis.gov.jm/growth-in-agriculture-subsectors/ |title=Growth in Agriculture Subsectors |publisher=Government of Jamaica ([[Jamaica Information Service]]) |access-date=23 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224002115/https://jis.gov.jm/growth-in-agriculture-subsectors/ |archive-date=24 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Bauxite and alumina production increased 5.5% from January to December 1998, compared to the corresponding period in 1997. January's bauxite production recorded a 7.1% increase relative to January 1998 and continued expansion of alumina production through 2009 is planned by Alcoa.<ref>[http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/html/20070428T200000-0500_122373_OBS_NO_GAS_FROM_TRINIDAD__VENEZUELA_BY_____.asp No gas from Trinidad, Venezuela by 2009 – Jamaica Observer.com<!-- bot-generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080217022409/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/magazines/Business/html/20070428T200000-0500_122373_OBS_NO_GAS_FROM_TRINIDAD__VENEZUELA_BY_____.asp|date=17 February 2008}}
at www.jamaicaobserver.com</ref> Jamaica is the fifth-largest exporter of bauxite in the world, after Australia, China, Brazil and Guinea. The country also exports [[limestone]], of which it holds large deposits. The government is currently implementing plans to increase its extraction.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-observer/limestone-research-finds-richest-deposits-in-st-elizabeth-portland-and-trelawny_95991|title=Limestone research finds richest deposits in St Elizabeth, Portland and Trelawny|publisher=Jamaica Observer newspaper|access-date=21 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221112137/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-observer/limestone-research-finds-richest-deposits-in-st-elizabeth-portland-and-trelawny_95991|archive-date=21 February 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Tourism industry===
[[File:Negril-Beach.jpg|thumb|A beach in [[Negril]] with a hotel and restaurant]]
[[File:JamesBondBeach2.jpg|thumb|right|James Bond Beach in [[Oracabessa]]]]

Tourism, which is the largest foreign exchange earner, showed improvement as well. In 1999 the total visitor arrivals was 2 million, an increase of 100,000 from the previous year.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McDavid |first1=Hamilton |title=An Input-Output Analysis of the Jamaican Hospitality and Tourism Sector |journal=Social and Economic Studies: Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, University of the West Indies |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=161–184 |jstor=27865318 |year=2003}}</ref> Since 2017, Jamaica's tourism has risen exponentially, rising to 4.3 million average tourists per year. Jamaica's largest tourist markets are from North America, South America, and Europe. In 2017, Jamaica recorded a 91.3% increase in stopover visitors from Southern and Western Europe (and a 41% increase in stopover arrivals from January to September 2017 over the same period from the previous year) with Germany, Portugal and Spain registering the highest percentage gains.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Jamaica_sees_European_tourism_boom|title= Jamaica sees European tourism boom|newspaper= Jamaica Observer|access-date= 21 February 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190221112039/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Jamaica_sees_European_tourism_boom|archive-date= 21 February 2019|url-status= live}}</ref> 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".<ref name="Jamaica sweeps World Travel Awards">{{cite web |url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Jamaica_sweeps_World_Travel_Awards_?profile=1228 |title=Jamaica sweeps World Travel Awards |publisher=Jamaica Observer newspaper |access-date=23 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224002104/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Jamaica_sweeps_World_Travel_Awards_?profile=1228 |archive-date=24 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Jamaica Ministry of Tourism">{{cite web |url=https://www.mot.gov.jm/news-releases/jamaica-scores-big-travvy-tourism-awards |title=Jamaica Scores Big With Travvy Tourism Awards |publisher=Jamaica Ministry of Tourism |access-date=23 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190224062409/https://www.mot.gov.jm/news-releases/jamaica-scores-big-travvy-tourism-awards |archive-date=24 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> Two months later, the Travvy Tourism Awards held in New York City, awarded Jamaica's Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, with the inaugural Chairman's Award for, "Global Tourism Innovation for the Development of the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre (GTRCM)". Bartlett has also won the Pacific Travel Writer's Association's award in Germany for the, "2018 Best Tourism Minister of the Year".<ref name="Jamaica sweeps World Travel Awards"/><ref name="Jamaica Ministry of Tourism"/><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Bartlett_is_Worlds_Tourism_Minister_of_the_Year?profile=1470 |title= Bartlett is World's Tourism Minister of the Year |publisher= Jamaica Observer newspaper |access-date= 23 February 2019 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190224002135/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Bartlett_is_Worlds_Tourism_Minister_of_the_Year?profile=1470 |archive-date= 24 February 2019 |url-status= live }}</ref>

===Industries===

Jamaica's agricultural exports are [[sugar]], [[bananas]], [[cocoa bean|cocoa]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/editorial/jamaican-cocoa-could-be-sweet-again_48936 |title=Jamaican cocoa could be sweet again |publisher=Jamaica Observer newspaper |access-date=21 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221112213/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/editorial/jamaican-cocoa-could-be-sweet-again_48936 |archive-date=21 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[coconuts|coconut]], [[molasses]]<ref name="EBJE">{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Jamaica/Economy |title=Jamaica Economy |publisher=Britannica Encyclopedia |access-date=21 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221113351/https://www.britannica.com/place/Jamaica/Economy |archive-date=21 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[orange (fruit)|oranges]], [[lime (fruit)|limes]], [[grapefruit]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20170818/shortage-creates-price-surge-fresh-citrus |title=Shortage Creates Price Surge for Fresh Citrus |last=Collinder |first=Avia |date=18 August 2017 |publisher=Jamaica Gleaner newspaper |access-date=21 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190221112416/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/business/20170818/shortage-creates-price-surge-fresh-citrus |archive-date=21 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> [[rum]], [[Yam (vegetable)|yams]], [[allspice]] (of which it is the world's largest and "most exceptional quality" exporter),<ref>{{cite journal |title=Medicinal Properties of the Jamaican Pepper Plant Pimenta dioica and Allspice |journal=Current Drug Targets |volume=13 |issue=14 |pages=1900–1906 |pmc=3891794 |year=2012 |last1=Zhang |first1=L. |last2=Lokeshwar |first2=B.L. |pmid=23140298 |doi=10.2174/138945012804545641}}</ref> and [[Blue Mountain Coffee]] which is considered a world renowned gourmet brand.<ref name="EBJH"/>

Jamaica has a wide variety of industrial and commercial activities. The [[aviation]] industry is able to perform most routine aircraft maintenance, except for heavy structural repairs. There is a considerable amount of technical support for transport and agricultural aviation. Jamaica has a considerable amount of [[industrial engineering]], [[light manufacturing]], including [[metal fabrication]], metal roofing, and furniture [[manufacturing]]. Food and [[beverage]] processing, [[glassware]] manufacturing, [[software]] and [[data processing]], [[printing]] and [[publishing]], [[insurance]] underwriting, [[music]] and recording, and advanced [[education]] activities can be found in the larger urban areas. The Jamaican [[construction industry]] is entirely self-sufficient, with professional technical standards and guidance.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0070.htm |title=History of Aviation in Jamaica: Part I |publisher=Jamaica-gleaner.com |access-date=4 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090717101044/http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0070.htm |archive-date=17 July 2009}}</ref>

=== Science and technology ===
{{main|Science and technology in Jamaica|List of Jamaican inventions and discoveries}}

The Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) sector is guided by the National Commission on Science and Technology (NCST) and the Scientific Research Council (SRC). Both operate under the Ministry of Science, Energy, Telecommunications and Transport (MSETT).

Since the 1990s, the government has set an agenda to push the development of science and technology in Jamaica. Despite some successes, such as the growth of the [[nutraceutical]] industry, it has been difficult to translate the results into domestic technologies, products and services – largely because of national budgetary constraints. However, with Jamaica's improved fiscal space, coming out of its recent [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]] programme, the government has pledged to increase expenditure on research and development.<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 2019|title=IMF Lending Case Study: Jamaica|url=https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/JAM/jamaica-lending-case-study|access-date=22 October 2021|website=IMF|language=en|archive-date=22 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211022042507/https://www.imf.org/en/Countries/JAM/jamaica-lending-case-study|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=12 March 2021|title=Joel Allen {{!}} Enabling innovation critical for Jamaica's socio-economic development|url=https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20210312/joel-allen-enabling-innovation-critical-jamaicas-socio-economic|access-date=22 October 2021|website=jamaica-gleaner.com|language=en|archive-date=9 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211009002033/https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20210312/joel-allen-enabling-innovation-critical-jamaicas-socio-economic|url-status=live}}</ref>

Jamaicans have made noteworthy scientific and medical contributions. Amongst these include the discovery of [[kwashiorkor]], the pioneer of treatments for [[Pediatrics|pediatric]] [[Sickle cell disease|sickle cell anemia]] and the invention of various [[spacecraft]] support systems.

==Infrastructure==
===Transport===
{{further|Transport in Jamaica}}
[[File:Spanish Town Interchange- Highway 2000 East West.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Spanish Town]] interchange on the East–West toll road, part of [[Highway 2000 (Jamaica)|Highway 2000]]]]
The [[transportation|transport]] infrastructure in Jamaica consists of [[roadway]]s, [[railway]]s and air transport, with roadways forming the backbone of the island's internal transport system.<ref name="EBJ"/>

====Roadways====
{{main|Roads in Jamaica}}

The Jamaican road network consists of almost {{convert|21000|km|mi}} of roads, of which over {{convert|15000|km|mi}} is paved.<ref name=WorldFactbook>[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jamaica/ The CIA World Factbook – Jamaica] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210124190707/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jamaica/ |date=24 January 2021 }}. Retrieved 2015-09-16.</ref> The [[Government of Jamaica|Jamaican Government]] has, since the late 1990s and in cooperation with private investors, embarked on a campaign of infrastructural improvement projects, one of which includes the creation of a system of [[freeway]]s, the first such access-controlled roadways of their kind on the island, connecting the main population centres of the island. This project has so far seen the completion of {{convert|33|km|mi}} of freeway.{{citation needed|date=July 2019}}

====Railways====
{{main|Railways of Jamaica}}

Railways in Jamaica no longer enjoy the prominent position they once did, having been largely replaced by roadways as the primary means of transport. Of the {{convert|272|km|mi}} of railway found in Jamaica, only {{convert|57|km|mi}} remain in operation, currently used to transport bauxite.<ref name=WorldFactbook/> On 13 April 2011, a limited passenger service was resumed between May Pen, Spanish Town and Linstead.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-04-13 |title=Train coaches roll into Old Capital for test run |url=https://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110413/lead/lead3.html |access-date=2024-02-02 |website=jamaica-gleaner.com |language=en |archive-date=2 February 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240202205325/https://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20110413/lead/lead3.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Air transport====
[[File:Montego Bay plane Photo D Ramey Logan.jpg|thumb|right|A [[US Airways]] aircraft landing at Montego Bay (2013)]]
[[File:Norman Manley International Airport.jpg|thumb|Norman Manley International Airport]]
There are three international airports in Jamaica with modern [[airport terminal|terminals]], long [[runway]]s, and the navigational equipment required to accommodate the large [[jet aircraft]] used in modern and [[air travel]]: [[Norman Manley International Airport]] in [[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]]; [[Ian Fleming International Airport]] in [[Boscobel, Jamaica|Boscobel]], [[Saint Mary Parish, Jamaica|Saint Mary Parish]]; and the island's largest and busiest airport, [[Sir Donald Sangster International Airport]] in the [[resort]] city of [[Montego Bay]]. Manley and Sangster International airports are home to the country's national airline, [[Caribbean Airlines]]. In addition there are local commuter airports at [[Tinson Pen Aerodrome|Tinson Pen (Kingston)]], [[Port Antonio]], and [[Negril]], which cater to internal flights only. Many other small, rural centres are served by private airstrips on sugar estates or bauxite mines.<ref name="EBJ"/>

====Ports, shipping and lighthouses====
{{see also|Lighthouses in Jamaica}}

Owing to its location in the Caribbean Sea in the [[sea lane|shipping lane]] to the [[Panama Canal]] and relative proximity to large markets in North America and [[emerging market]]s in Latin America, Jamaica receives much traffic of [[Containerization|shipping containers]]. The [[container terminal]] at the Port of Kingston has undergone large expansion in capacity in recent years to handle growth both already realised as well as that which is projected in coming years.<ref name=nameJamaicaObserver>[http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20051117T220000-0500_92733_OBS_PORT_AUTHORITY__MAERSK_IN_MAJOR_DEAL.asp The Jamaica Observer] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926232147/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20051117T220000-0500_92733_OBS_PORT_AUTHORITY__MAERSK_IN_MAJOR_DEAL.asp |date=26 September 2007}}. Retrieved 27 June 2007.</ref> Montego Freeport in [[Montego Bay]] also handles a variety of cargo like (though more limited than) the Port of Kingston, mainly agricultural products.

There are several other ports positioned around the island, including Port Esquivel in [[Saint Catherine Parish, Jamaica|St. Catherine]] ([[WINDALCO]]), Rocky Point in [[Clarendon Parish, Jamaica|Clarendon]], Port Kaiser in [[Saint Elizabeth Parish, Jamaica|St. Elizabeth]], Port Rhoades in Discovery Bay, Reynolds Pier in [[Ocho Rios]], and Boundbrook Port in [[Port Antonio]].

To aid the navigation of shipping, Jamaica operates nine lighthouses.<ref name="ATSR">[http://www.mtw.gov.jm/general_information/reports/TransportStatisticsReport2003_2004.pdf Annual Transport Statistics Report: Jamaica in Figures 2003-2004] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130315174612/http://www.mtw.gov.jm/general_information/reports/TransportStatisticsReport2003_2004.pdf |date=2013-03-15}}, Ministry of Transport and Works, July 2005.</ref> They are maintained by the Port Authority of Jamaica,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.portjam.com/ |title=Port Authority of Jamaica |access-date=11 October 2010 |archive-date=19 October 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019134844/http://www.portjam.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> an agency of the Ministry of Transport and Works.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.mtw.gov.jm/ |title=Ministry of Transport and Works |access-date=30 July 2019 |archive-date=22 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722070810/http://www.mtw.gov.jm/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="ATSR"/>

===Energy===
{{see also|Solar power in Jamaica}}
[[File:Jamaica electricity production.svg|thumb|Jamaica electricity production by source]]
[[File:Jamaica renewable electricity production.svg|thumb|Jamaica renewable electricity production by source]]

Jamaica depends on petroleum imports to satisfy its national energy needs.<ref name=WorldFactbook/> Many test sites have been explored for oil, but no commercially viable quantities have been found.<ref name="pcj.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.pcj.com/industry_stat.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20010203232100/http://www.pcj.com/industry_stat.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=3 February 2001 |title=Petroleum Corp of Jamaica, Petroleum Industry Statistics |access-date=21 July 2007}}</ref> The most convenient sources of imported oil and motor fuels (diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel) are from [[Mexico]] and [[Venezuela]].

Jamaica's electrical power is produced by diesel ([[Bunker fuel|bunker oil]]) generators located in [[Old Harbour, Jamaica|Old Harbour]]. This facility has been further equipped with liquid natural gas capability and storage. Other smaller power stations (most owned by the Jamaica Public Service Company,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.myjpsco.com/ |title=Jamaica Public Service Company |access-date=1 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110107125651/http://www.myjpsco.com/ |archive-date=7 January 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> the island's electricity provider) support the island's electrical grid including the Hunts Bay Power Station, the Bogue Power Station [[Saint James Parish, Jamaica|Saint James]], the Rockfort Power Station [[Saint Andrew Parish, Jamaica|Saint Andrew]] and small hydroelectric plants on the White River, Rio Bueno, Morant River, Black River (Maggotty) and Roaring River.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.myjpsco.com/about_us/power_plants.php |title=JPS – JPS' Power Plants |access-date=1 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202075147/http://www.myjpsco.com/about_us/power_plants.php |archive-date=2 December 2010}}</ref> A wind farm, owned by the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica, was established at Wigton, [[Manchester Parish|Manchester]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wwfja.com |title=Wigton Wind Farm Company |access-date=25 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080417201155/http://www.wwfja.com/ |archive-date=17 April 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Jamaica has successfully operated a [[SLOWPOKE reactor|SLOWPOKE-2 nuclear reactor]] of 20&nbsp;kW capacity since the early 1980s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/non-power-nuclear-applications/radioisotopes-research/research-reactors |title=Research Reactors |date=21 May 2024 | website=world-nuclear.org |access-date=21 October 2024}}</ref>
In 2024, the Government committed to adding [[small modular reactors]] (SMR) to the country's energy mix, signing a [[memorandum of understanding]] (MOU) with [[Atomic Energy of Canada Limited]] (AECL) and [[Canadian Nuclear Laboratories Research Facilities|Canadian Nuclear Laboratories]] to promote the adoption of nuclear power in Jamaica.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://jis.gov.jm/govt-signs-mou-to-advance-nuclear-technologies-adoption-in-jamaica/ |title=Gov't Signs MOU to Advance Nuclear Technologies Adoption in Jamaica |date=23 October 2024 | publisher=[[Jamaica Information Service|The Jamaica Information Service]] |access-date=26 October 2024}}</ref>

Jamaica imports approximately {{convert|80000|oilbbl}} of oil energy products per day,<ref name="pcj.com"/> including asphalt and lubrication products. Just 20% of imported fuels are used for road transportation, the rest being used by the bauxite industry, electricity generation, and aviation. 30,000 barrels/day of crude imports are processed into various motor fuels and asphalt by the Petrojam Refinery in Kingston.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.petrojam.com/about-us/corporate-fact-sheet |title=Corporate Fact Sheet &#124; Petrojam Limited |publisher=Petrojam.com |access-date=2017-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415220606/http://www.petrojam.com/about-us/corporate-fact-sheet |archive-date=15 April 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Jamaica produces enormous quantities of [[hydrous ethanol|drinking alcohol]] (at least 5% water content), most of which appears to be consumed as beverages, and none used as motor fuel. Facilities exist to refine hydrous ethanol feedstock into [[Absolute ethanol|anhydrous ethanol]] (0% water content), but as of 2007, the process appeared to be uneconomic and the production plant was idle.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pcj.com/petrojam/associate_text.htm |title=Petroleum Corp of Jamaica, Petrojam Ethanol |access-date=21 July 2007 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20070717000252/http://www.pcj.com/petrojam/associate_text.htm |archive-date=17 July 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The facility has since been purchased by West Indies Petroleum Ltd. and repurposed for petroleum distillates.

===Communication===
{{main|Telecommunications in Jamaica}}

Jamaica has a fully [[Digital telephony|digital telephone communication system]] with a mobile penetration of over 95%.<ref name="EIU">[http://globaltechforum.eiu.com/index.asp?layout=newdebi&country_id=JM&country=Jamaica&title=Doing+eBusiness+in+Jamaica&channelid=6 Doing eBusiness in Jamaica] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928173029/http://globaltechforum.eiu.com/index.asp?layout=newdebi&country_id=JM&country=Jamaica&title=Doing+eBusiness+in+Jamaica&channelid=6 |date=28 September 2011 }}, The Economist Intelligence Unit.</ref>

The country's two mobile operators – [[Flow (brand)|FLOW Jamaica]] (formerly LIME, bMobile and Cable and Wireless Jamaica) and [[Digicel|Digicel Jamaica]] have spent millions in network upgrades and expansion. The newest operator, Digicel was granted a licence in 2001 to operate mobile services in the newly liberalised telecom market that had once been the sole domain of the incumbent FLOW (then Cable and Wireless Jamaica) monopoly. Digicel opted for the more widely used [[GSM]] wireless system, while a past operator, Oceanic (which became Claro Jamaica and later merged with Digicel Jamaica in 2011) opted for the [[CDMA]] standard. FLOW (formerly "LIME" – pre-[[Columbus Communications]] merger) which had begun with [[Digital AMPS|TDMA]] standard, subsequently upgraded to GSM in 2002, decommissioned TDMA in 2006 and only utilised that standard until 2009 when LIME launched its 3G network.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cwc.com/assets/uploads/files/Press%20Releases/3g%20launch%20in%20jamaica.pdf |title=LIME 3G launch in 2009 |access-date=23 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625182344/http://www.cwc.com/assets/uploads/files/Press%20Releases/3g%20launch%20in%20jamaica.pdf |archive-date=25 June 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Both operators currently provide islandwide coverage with HSPA+ (3G) technology. Currently, only [[Digicel]] offers LTE to its customers<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2016/06/13/digicel-jamaica-launches-lte/ |title=Digicel Jamaica launches LTE |last=TeleGeography |access-date=14 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160806170506/https://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2016/06/13/digicel-jamaica-launches-lte/ |archive-date=6 August 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> 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.

A new entrant to the Jamaican communications market, [[Columbus Communications|Flow Jamaica]], laid a new [[Submarine communications cable|submarine cable]] connecting Jamaica to the United States. This new cable increases the total number of submarine cables connecting Jamaica to the rest of the world to four. Cable and Wireless Communications (parent company of LIME) acquired the company in late 2014 and replaced their brand LIME with FLOW.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cwc.com/live/news-and-media/press-releases/new-flow-brand-unveiled-in-jamaica.html |title=Cable & Wireless Communications – New Flow Brand Unveiled in Jamaica |website=www.cwc.com |access-date=23 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160625152402/http://www.cwc.com/live/news-and-media/press-releases/new-flow-brand-unveiled-in-jamaica.html |archive-date=25 June 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Flow (brand)|FLOW Jamaica]] currently has the most broadband and cable subscribers on the island and also has 1 million mobile subscribers,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Flow-celebrates-hitting-one-million-customers_61486 |title=Flow celebrates hitting one million customers |website=Jamaica Observer |access-date=23 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160524044859/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Flow-celebrates-hitting-one-million-customers_61486 |archive-date=24 May 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> second to Digicel (which had, at its peak, over 2 million mobile subscriptions on its network).

Digicel entered the broadband market in 2010 by offering WiMAX broadband,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2010/08/23/digicel-launches-wimax-to-non-business-users/ |title=Digicel launches WiMAX to non-business users |last=TeleGeography |website=www.telegeography.com |access-date=23 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306013556/https://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2010/08/23/digicel-launches-wimax-to-non-business-users/ |archive-date=6 March 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> capable of up to 6&nbsp;Mbit/s per subscriber. To further their broadband share post-LIME/FLOW merger in 2014, the company introduced a new broadband service called Digicel Play,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.digicelgroup.com/jm/en/Play.html |title=Home |website=www.digicelgroup.com |access-date=23 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160521133001/http://www.digicelgroup.com/jm/en/Play.html |archive-date=21 May 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> which is Jamaica's second [[FTTx|FTTH]] offering (after LIME's deployment in selected communities in 2011<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2011/12/16/lime-jamaica-launches-100mbps-ftth-service/|title=Lime Jamaica launches 100Mbps FTTH service|last=TeleGeography|access-date=23 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624125845/https://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2011/12/16/lime-jamaica-launches-100mbps-ftth-service/|archive-date=24 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>). It is currently only available in the parishes of Kingston, Portmore and St. Andrew. It offers speeds of up to 200&nbsp;Mbit/s down, 100&nbsp;Mbit/s up via a pure fibre optic network. Digicel's competitor, [[Flow (brand)|FLOW Jamaica]], has a network consisting of [[ADSL]], Coaxial and Fibre to the Home (inherited from LIME) and only offers speeds up to 100&nbsp;Mbit/s. FLOW has committed to expanding its Fibre offering to more areas in order to combat Digicel's entrance into the market.

It was announced that the Office and Utilities Regulations (OUR), Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining (MSTEM) and the Spectrum Management Authority (SMA) have given approval for another mobile operator licence in January 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2016/05/05/jamaican-government-approves-third-mobile-player/|title=Jamaican government approves third mobile player|last=TeleGeography|access-date=23 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624135952/https://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2016/05/05/jamaican-government-approves-third-mobile-player/|archive-date=24 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The identity of this entrant was ascertained on 20 May 2016, when the Jamaican Government named the new carrier as Symbiote Investments Limited operating under the name [[Caricel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Caricel---first-Jamaican-company-to-get-mobile-spectrum-licence_61594|title=Caricel – first Jamaican company to get mobile spectrum licence|website=Jamaica Observer|access-date=23 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160523110812/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Caricel---first-Jamaican-company-to-get-mobile-spectrum-licence_61594|archive-date=23 May 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> The company will focus on 4G LTE data offerings and will first go live in the Kingston Metropolitan Area and will expand to the rest of Jamaica thereafter.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}

==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of Jamaica}}

[[File:Bob-Marley-in-Concert Zurich 05-30-80.jpg|thumb|[[Bob Marley]], one of the most famous reggae artists from Jamaica]]

===Music===
{{Main|Music of Jamaica}}

Jamaican culture has a strong global presence. The musical genres [[reggae]], [[ska]], [[mento]], [[rocksteady]], [[Dub music|dub]], and, more recently, [[dancehall]] and [[ragga]] all originated in the island's vibrant, popular urban recording industry.<ref>Dave Thompson (2002) ''Reggae and Caribbean Music''. Backbeat Books. p. 261. {{ISBN|0879306556}}.</ref> These have themselves gone on to influence numerous other genres, such as [[punk rock]] (through reggae and ska), [[dub poetry]], [[New wave music|New Wave]], [[2 Tone (music genre)|two-tone]], [[lovers rock]], [[reggaeton]], [[Oldschool jungle|jungle]], [[drum and bass]], [[dubstep]], [[Grime (music genre)|grime]] and American [[Hip hop music|rap]] music. Some rappers, such as [[The Notorious B.I.G.]], [[Busta Rhymes]], and [[Heavy D]], are of Jamaican descent.

[[Bob Marley]] is probably the best known Jamaican musician; with his band [[the Wailers]] he had a string of hits in 1960s–70s, popularising reggae internationally and going on to sell millions of records.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.biography.com/news/bob-marley-biography-facts |title=7 Fascinating Facts About Bob Marley |access-date=10 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010155428/https://www.biography.com/news/bob-marley-biography-facts |archive-date=10 October 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Toynbee2013">{{cite book |first=Jason |last=Toynbee |title=Bob Marley: Herald of a Postcolonial World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BkDohE6Qd3oC&pg=PA1969 |access-date=23 August 2013 |date=8 May 2013 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-7456-5737-0 |pages=1969– |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012235034/http://books.google.com/books?id=BkDohE6Qd3oC&pg=PA1969 |archive-date=12 October 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> Many other internationally known artists were born in Jamaica, including [[Toots Hibbert]], [[Millie Small]], [[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 (musician)|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 (reggae band)|Inner Circle]], [[Chalice Reggae Band]], [[Culture (band)|Culture]], Fab Five and [[Morgan Heritage]].

===Literature===
{{Main|Jamaican literature}}

The journalist and author [[H. G. de Lisser]] used his native country as the setting for his many novels.<ref name=Hughes>Michael Hughes, "De Lisser, Herbert G.", ''A Companion to West Indian Literature'', Collins, 1979, pp. 40–42.</ref> Born in [[Falmouth, Jamaica]], de Lisser worked as a reporter for the ''[[Jamaica Times]]'' at a young age and in 1920 began publishing the magazine ''[[Planters' Punch]]''. ''The White Witch of Rosehall'' is one of his better-known novels. He was named Honorary President of the Jamaican Press Association; he worked throughout his professional career to promote the Jamaican sugar industry. [[Roger Mais]], a journalist, poet, and playwright wrote many short stories, plays, and novels, including ''The Hills Were Joyful Together'' (1953), ''Brother Man'' (1954), and ''Black Lightning'' (1955).<ref name="Hawthorne 7">Hawthorne, Evelyn J. "The Writer and the Nationalist Model", ''Roger Mais and the Decolonization of Caribbean Culture'', NY: Peter Lang, 1989, p. 7.</ref>

[[Ian Fleming]], who had a home in Jamaica where he spent considerable time, repeatedly used the island as a setting in his [[James Bond]] novels, including ''[[Live and Let Die (novel)|Live and Let Die]]'', ''[[Dr. No (novel)|Doctor No]]'', "[[For Your Eyes Only (short story)|For Your Eyes Only]]", ''[[The Man with the Golden Gun (novel)|The Man with the Golden Gun]]'', and ''[[Octopussy and The Living Daylights]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ian Fleming International Airport opened in Jamaica!|url=http://www.ianfleming.com/pages/news/index.asp?NewsID=128|work=News & Press|publisher=[[Ian Fleming Publications]]|access-date=14 December 2011|date=17 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120722035913/http://www.ianfleming.com/pages/news/index.asp?NewsID=128|archive-date=22 July 2012}}</ref> [[Marlon James (novelist)|Marlon James]] (1970), novelist has published three novels: ''John Crow's Devil'' (2005), ''[[The Book of Night Women]]'' (2009) and ''[[A Brief History of Seven Killings]]'' (2014), winner of the 2015 [[Man Booker Prize]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/magazine/from-jamaica-to-minnesota-to-myself.html|title=From Jamaica to Minnesota to Myself|last=James|first=Marlon|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=10 March 2015|access-date=27 June 2018|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731160335/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/magazine/from-jamaica-to-minnesota-to-myself.html|archive-date=31 July 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Film===
{{See also|List of Jamaican films}}
Jamaica has a history in the film industry dating from the early 1960s. A look at delinquent youth in Jamaica is presented in the 1970s musical crime film ''[[The Harder They Come]]'', starring [[Jimmy Cliff]] as a frustrated (and [[psychopathic]]) reggae musician who descends into a murderous crime spree.<ref>Kenner, Rob (2009) "[https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/movies/21rhone.html Trevor Rhone, a Writer of 'The Harder They Come,' Dies at 69] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730222733/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/21/movies/21rhone.html |date=30 July 2019 }}", ''[[The New York Times]]'', 21 September 2009, retrieved 11 November 2012</ref> Other notable Jamaican films include ''[[Countryman (film)|Countryman]]'', ''[[Rockers (1978 film)|Rockers]]'', ''[[Dancehall Queen]]'', ''[[One Love (2003 film)|One Love]]'', ''[[Shottas]]'', ''[[Out the Gate (film)|Out the Gate]]'', ''[[Third World Cop]]'' and ''[[Kingston Paradise]]''. Jamaica is also often used as a filming location, such as the James Bond film ''[[Dr. No (film)|Dr. No]]'' (1962), [[Papillon (1973 film)|''Papillon'']] (1973) starring [[Steve McQueen]], ''[[Cocktail (1988 film)|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.

===Cuisine===
{{Main|Jamaican cuisine}}

[[File:Curry Goat with rice and peas (in this case kidney beans).jpg|thumb|right|Jamaican [[curry goat]] with [[rice and peas]]]]
The island is famous for its [[Jamaican jerk spice]], [[curry|curries]] and [[rice and peas]] which is integral to Jamaican cuisine. Jamaica is also home to [[Red Stripe]] beer and [[Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee]].

===Sport===
{{Main|Sport in Jamaica}}

Sport is an integral part of national life in Jamaica and the island's athletes tend to perform to a standard well above what might ordinarily be expected of such a small country.<ref name="track"/> While the most popular local sport is [[cricket]], on the international stage Jamaicans have tended to do particularly well at [[track and field athletics]].<ref name=track /><ref name="jamsports">{{cite web|title=Jamaican Sports An Overview|url=http://www.jamaicans.com/culture/sports/cricketjamaica.shtml|publisher=My Island Jamaica|access-date=11 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129180138/http://www.jamaicans.com/culture/sports/cricketjamaica.shtml|archive-date=29 November 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The country was one of the venues of [[2007 Cricket World Cup]] and the [[West Indies cricket team]] is one of 12 [[International Cricket Council|ICC]] full member teams that participate in international [[Test cricket]].<ref name="cricket">{{cite web|title=Test and ODI cricket playing nations|url=http://www.cricinfo.com/rankings/content/current/page/211271.html|publisher=Cricinfo|access-date=11 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108101831/http://www.cricinfo.com/rankings/content/current/page/211271.html|archive-date=8 November 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Jamaica national cricket team]] competes regionally, and also provides players for the West Indies team. [[Sabina Park]] is the only Test venue in the island, but the [[Greenfield Stadium (Trelawny)|Greenfield Stadium]] is also used for cricket.<ref name="cricketgrounds">{{cite web|title=Cricket Ground Information|url=http://www.windiesonline.com/west_indies_cricket_grounds|publisher=Windies Online|access-date=11 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511195543/http://www.windiesonline.com/west_indies_cricket_grounds|archive-date=11 May 2011|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref name="Greenfield">{{cite web|title=Greenfield Stadium|url=http://www.surfindia.com/cricket/greenfield-stadium.html|publisher=Surf India|access-date=11 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090803064555/http://www.surfindia.com/cricket/greenfield-stadium.html|archive-date=3 August 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

Since independence, Jamaica has consistently produced world-class athletes in track and field.<ref name=track /> Over the past six decades Jamaica has produced dozens of world-class sprinters, including Olympic and world champion [[Usain Bolt]], world record holder in the 100&nbsp;m for men at 9.58s, and 200&nbsp;m for men at 19.19s. Other noteworthy Jamaican sprinters are [[Arthur Wint]], the first Jamaican Olympic gold medalist; [[Donald Quarrie]], [[Elaine Thompson]] double Olympic champion from Rio 2016 in the 100&nbsp;m and 200&nbsp;m, Olympic champion and former 200&nbsp;m world record holder; [[Roy Anthony Bridge]], part of the International Olympic Committee; [[Merlene Ottey]]; [[Delloreen Ennis-London]]; [[Shelly-Ann Fraser|Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce]], the former world and two-time Olympic 100&nbsp;m champion; [[Kerron Stewart]]; [[Aleen Bailey]]; [[Juliet Cuthbert]]; three-time Olympic gold medalist; [[Veronica Campbell-Brown]]; [[Sherone Simpson]]; [[Brigitte Foster-Hylton]]; [[Yohan Blake]]; [[Herb McKenley]]; [[George Rhoden]], Olympic gold medalist; [[Deon Hemmings]], Olympic gold medalist; as well as [[Asafa Powell]], former 100&nbsp;m world record holder and two-time 100&nbsp;m Olympic finalist and gold medal winner in the men's 2008 Olympic {{nowrap|4 × 100 m}}. American Olympic winner [[Sanya Richards-Ross]] was also born in Jamaica.

[[File:Usain Bolt after 200 m final Beijing 2015.jpg|180px|thumb|left|[[Usain Bolt]] is widely considered the greatest sprinter of all time.]]

[[Association football]] and [[horse-racing]] are other popular sports in Jamaica. The [[Jamaica National Football Team|national football team]] qualified for the [[1998 FIFA World Cup|1998]] [[FIFA World Cup]]. Horse racing was Jamaica's first sport. Today, horse racing provides jobs for about 20,000 people including horse breeders, groomers, and trainers. Also, several Jamaicans are known internationally for their success in horse racing including Richard DePass, who once held the Guinness Book of World Records for the most wins in a day, Canadian awards winner George HoSang, and American award winners Charlie Hussey, Andrew Ramgeet, and Barrington Harvey.<ref>{{cite news |last=Tortello |first=Rebecca |title=Jamaican Horse racing History: The sport of kings |url=http://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0078.html |work=Jamaica Gleaner |location=Jamaica |access-date=22 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207044649/http://old.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0078.html |archive-date=7 February 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Race car driving is also a popular sport in Jamaica with several car racing tracks and racing associations across the country.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Graham |first=Neville |date=14 April 2017 |title=New Cars To Light Up Dover |url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170415/new-cars-light-dover |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190124102110/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/sports/20170415/new-cars-light-dover |archive-date=24 January 2019 |access-date=22 January 2019 |work=Jamaica Gleaner |location=Jamaica}}</ref>

The [[Jamaica national bobsled team]] was once a serious contender in the [[Winter Olympics]], beating many well-established teams. Chess and basketball are widely played in Jamaica and are supported by the Jamaica Chess Federation (JCF) and the Jamaica Basketball Federation (JBF), respectively. [[Netball]] is also very popular on the island, with the [[Jamaica national netball team]] called The Sunshine Girls consistently ranking in the top five in the world.<ref>{{cite web |author=IFNA |title=Current World Rankings |url=http://www.netball.org/thrilling-world-class-events/current-world-rankings |access-date=3 November 2013 |author-link=International Federation of Netball Associations |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203014509/http://www.netball.org/thrilling-world-class-events/current-world-rankings |archive-date=3 December 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Rugby league]] has been played in Jamaica since 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://rugbyleaguejamaica.com/history/|title=Jamaica Rugby league History|access-date=7 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002122248/http://rugbyleaguejamaica.com/history/|archive-date=2 October 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
The [[Jamaica national rugby league team]] is made up of players who play in Jamaica and from [[United Kingdom|UK]] based professional and semi professional clubs (notably in the [[Super League]] and [[Championship (rugby league)|Championship]]). In November 2018 for the first time ever, the Jamaican rugby league team qualified for the [[Rugby League World Cup]] after defeating the [[United States national rugby league team|USA]] and [[Canada national rugby league team|Canada]]. Jamaica will play in the [[2021 Rugby League World Cup]] in England.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-league/46250413 |title=Rugby League World Cup: Jamaica reach tournament for first time |work=BBC Sport |date=17 November 2018 |access-date=19 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119221352/https://www.bbc.com/sport/rugby-league/46250413 |archive-date=19 November 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

According to [[ESPN]], the highest paid Jamaican professional athlete in 2011 was [[Justin Masterson]], starting pitcher for the baseball team [[Cleveland Indians]] in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/7858737/floyd-mayweather-united-states-best-paid-athlete-espn-magazine |title=Best-paid athletes from 200 countries |work=[[ESPN]] |date=4 May 2012 |access-date=4 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504192643/http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7858737/floyd-mayweather-united-states-best-paid-athlete-espn-magazine |archive-date=4 May 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Jamaica|Caribbean|Countries}}

* [[List of Jamaicans]]
* [[Outline of Jamaica]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Ahmed |first=Faiz |title=The Development Path Taken by Jamaica: A brief account of the islands natural-history, economic policies, and social conditions |url=http://www.islandvulnerability.org/m/ahmedm.pdf |year=2008 |access-date=2 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003211109/http://www.islandvulnerability.org/m/ahmedm.pdf |archive-date=3 October 2012 |url-status=dead }} (pp.&nbsp;45–83)
* {{cite book |last=Arbell |first=Mordehay |title=The Portuguese Jews of Jamaica |url={{Google books|-35vXOgop6QC|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |publisher=Canoe Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-976-8125-69-9}}
* Ammar, N. "From Whence they came". ''Jamaica Journal''.
* Bahadur, Gaiutra. ''Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture''. The University of Chicago (2014), {{ISBN|978-0-226-21138-1}}
* {{cite journal |last=Bernstein |first=Antje |date=2006 |title=English in Jamaica: The Coexistence of Standard Jamaican English and the English-based Jamaican Creole |url=http://www.grin.com/en/e-book/71333/english-in-jamaica-the-coexistence-of-standard-jamaican-english-and-the |journal=English Language and Literature Studies |volume=seminar paper |access-date=31 August 2015 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924024032/http://www.grin.com/en/e-book/71333/english-in-jamaica-the-coexistence-of-standard-jamaican-english-and-the |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |last=Chapman |first=Valentine Jackson |title=The marine algae of Jamaica: Myxophyceae and Chlorophyceae |url={{Google books|uSyxbwAACAAJ|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=1961}}
* {{cite book |last=Chapman |first=Valentine Jackson |title=The marine Algae of Jamaica: Part II: Phaeophyceae and Rhodophyceae |url={{Google books|UyHEQQAACAAJ|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=1963}}
* Hall, D. "Bounties European Immigration with Special Reference of the German Settlement at Seaford Town, Parts 1 and 2". ''Jamaica Journal'', 8, (4), 48–54 and 9 (1), 2–9.
* {{cite book |last=Issa |first=Suzanne |title=Mr Jamaica, Abe Issa: a pictorial biography |url={{Google books|L1cQAAAACAAJ|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=1994 |publisher=S. Issa |isbn=978-976-8091-69-7}}
* Jacobs, H. P. (2003). Germany in Jamaica. Indian heritage in Jamaica. ''Jamaica Journal'', 10, (2,3,4), 10–19,
* {{cite journal |last1=Mullally |first1=R. |year=2003 |title='One Love' The Black Irish of Jamaica |journal=Jamaica Journal |volume=42 |pages=104–116}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Parboosingh |first1=I.S. |title=An Indo-Jamaica beginning |journal=Jamaica Journal |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=2–10, 12}}
* {{cite book |last=Senior |first=Olive |title=Encyclopedia of Jamaican Heritage |url={{Google books|URx7AAAAMAAJ|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=2003 |publisher=Twin Guinep Publishers |isbn=978-976-8007-14-8}}
* {{cite book |last1=Sherlock |first1=Philip Manderson |last2=Bennett |first2=Hazel |title=The Story of the Jamaican People |url={{Google books|Weh6AAAAMAAJ|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=1998 |publisher=Ian Randle Publishers |isbn=978-1-55876-145-2}}
* {{cite book |first=Ian |last=Thomson |title=The Dead Yard: Tales of Modern Jamaica |url={{Google books|hJliXDXchE8C|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=2009 |publisher=Nation Books |isbn=978-0-571-22761-7}}
* {{cite book |last=Williams |first=Joseph John |title=Whence the "Black Irish" of Jamaica? |url={{Google books|gyJ7AAAAMAAJ|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}} |year=1932 |publisher=L. MacVeagh, Dial Press, Inc.}}
* ''The Gleaner''. Seaford Town Advertising Feature. 14 August 2003, [https://newspaperarchive.com/kingston-gleaner-aug-14-2003-p-35/ D7] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818013550/https://newspaperarchive.com/kingston-gleaner-aug-14-2003-p-35/ |date=18 August 2019 }}-[https://newspaperarchive.com/kingston-gleaner-aug-14-2003-p-36/ D8] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190818013552/https://newspaperarchive.com/kingston-gleaner-aug-14-2003-p-36/ |date=18 August 2019 }}.
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|voy=Jamaica|d=Q766}}
* [https://www.gov.jm/ Government of Jamaica, 2025]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20260114022100/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jamaica/ Jamaica, CIA Factbook, 2024]

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