Jamaica

Jamaica

Jamaica is a beautiful Island on the caribbean sea. It is south of cuba. It is about 10,991 sq km. Approximately the size of connecticut but slightly smaller. Jamaica has many beaches along the coast. In the past few years, Jamaica has changed in many different ways, From culture to dances to even religions. Jamaica is full of unique people. It has a population of 2,803,362. Ranked 141th largest country according to population. Majority of the population lives in Kingston. Mountains cover most of the land, They can reach 7,402 ft at the highest. Rivers like the Wag water and the Milk rivers usually start in the mountains and move down swiftly. Many plains across the land.

Jamaica is divided into 14 parishes. Parishes are like states.The most populated parish is kingston,also is the capital. They have been divided into these parishes since before gaining independence. On August 6th 1962 Jamaica gained independence from Britain. Another important date leading to independence was August 1st,1962. On August 1st jamaica and 10 other caribbean islands voted for adult suffrage which led to jamaica and the other countries to gain independence. They started riots and protest until eventually Britain gave the islands a choice and allowed them to vote. They have now been independent for a total of 54 years and 7 month. Unlike the United States, Jamaica has two types of government. The two types are parliamentary democracy and monarchy. The prime minister is the head of the government and

head of the parliamentary democracy part of the government. The head of Monarchy is queen Elizabeth . She is also the head of state. She has been queen since gaining independence in 1962. IN the year of 2011, Jamaica had 3 prime ministers all in one year. The prime ministers repeatedly called elections to withdraw from their position. In the Judicial branch of the government, there are 29 pursine supreme court judges and 2 main judges. They follow a common law system. They got that idea from britain because britain also follows the common law system. The military of Jamaica is called the Jamaica Defense Force or JDF. The JDF breaks down to 3 branches. The 3 branches are ground forces,coast guard, Air wing. The chief of Military is Rocky R. Meade.

The country's main sources of imports are US, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela and Brazil. They export their goods to Canada, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and mainly The United States. Their economic growth largely depends on services and trade. The country's serious economic problems have increased.High unemployment averaging at the rate of 12.5%, growing debt, and high interest rates are the most serious economic problems. Violent crime is a serious problem, particularly in Kingston.The economy's main industry is Tourism & agriculture. Farming is big in Jamaica. Major crops are grown like sugar, bananas, ginger, cocoa, coffee and many more. Sugar is the dominant crop and is constantly exported. Jamaica's Natural resources are Bauxite, gypsum and limestone. Jamaican Miners mine to find a constant supply of these resources. The official language in jamaica is english. About ¾ of the island speaks english as a first language. Since english is the primary language of the world, Communicating with other

countries when trading or even communicating with tourists is easier. There are 2 other languages that are spoken often in Jamaica. The languages are creole and patois. About ⅓ of jamaica speaks creole as a first language. Almost the whole population speaks patois. This is the easiest to learn because patois is just speaking english with an accent. Such as broken english. Patois originated from west africa and made its way to Jamaica though