Jamaica Economy 2001

Economy - overview:

Key sectors in this island economy are bauxite (alumina and bauxite account for more than half of exports) and tourism. Since assuming office in 1992, Prime Minister PATTERSON has eliminated most price controls, streamlined tax schedules, and privatized government enterprises. Continued tight monetary and fiscal policies have helped slow inflation - although inflationary pressures are mounting - and stabilize the exchange rate, but have resulted in the slowdown of economic growth (moving from 1.5% in 1992 to 0.5% in 1995). In 1996, GDP showed negative growth (-1.4%) and remained negative through 1999. Serious problems include:

GDP: purchasing power parity - $9.7 billion (2000 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 0.2% (2000 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,700 (2000 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 7.4%
industry: 35.2%
services: 57.4% (1999 est.)

Population below poverty line: 34.2% (1992 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 28.9% (1996)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 8.8% (2000 est.)

Labor force: 1.13 million (1998)

Labor force - by occupation: services 60%, agriculture 21%, industry 19% (1998)

Unemployment rate: 16% (2000 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $2.23 billion
expenditures: $2.56 billion, including capital expenditures of $232.5 million (FY99/00 est.)

Industries: tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products

Industrial production growth rate: -2% (2000 est.)

Electricity - production: 6.53 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 92.28%
hydro: 1.36%
nuclear: 0%
other: 6.36% (1999)

Electricity - consumption: 6.073 billion kWh (1999)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1999)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1999)

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

Exports: $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Exports - commodities: alumina, bauxite; sugar, bananas, rum

Exports - partners: US 35.7%, EU (excluding UK) 15.8%, UK 13%, Canada 10.5% (1999)

Imports: $3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)

Imports - commodities: machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals, fertilizers

Imports - partners: US 47.8%, Caricom countries 12.4%, Latin America 7.2%, EU (excluding UK) 4.7% (1999)

Debt - external: $4.7 billion (2000 est.)

Economic aid - recipient: $102.7 million (1995)

Currency: Jamaican dollar (JMD)

Currency code: JMD

Exchange rates: Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 45.557 (January 2001), 42.701 (2000), 39.044 (1999), 36.550 (1998), 35.404 (1997), 37.120 (1996)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

NOTE: The information regarding Jamaica on this page is re-published from the 2001 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Jamaica Economy 2001 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Jamaica Economy 2001 should be addressed to the CIA.