Jamaica

Jamaica is located in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba. It is the third largest island and the second largest country in the Caribbean, a tropical land of high, forested mountains that slope down to more than a thousand miles of sandy beaches. Although formally part of the British Commonwealth, Jamaicans are by and large the descendents of African slaves, and they have built a rich heritage and a relaxed culture.

The island has a population of 2.76 million, growing at 0.8 percent annually. The birth rate is 20.82 per 1,000 people and the death rate 6.52 per 1,000 people. The migration rate is negative, with minus 6.27 migrants per 1,000 people. About 1 million Jamaicans have left the island over the past few decades, resettling in other parts of the British Commonwealth or in the United States; this movement is known as the Jamaican diaspora.

The majority of Jamaicans live in the cities along the coast; the urbanization rate is 52 percent and the population density is high at 241 people per square kilometer. The national economy is increasingly based on tourism, but also relies on strong exports in bauxite and agricultural products. Per capita income is $2,900, and less than 2 percent of the population lives on less than $1 a day.

About 93 percent of Jamaicans have access to clean water and 80 percent can access sanitary facilities. Combined with a well-developed monitoring system, this has led to significant decreases in common infectious diseases.

Life expectancy at birth is 71.54 for men and 75.03 for women, with a healthy life expectancy estimated at 64.2 for men and 65.9 for women. The infant mortality rate is fairly low at 15.98 per 1,000 people. Immunization rates for children are high. The fertility rate is 2.41 children per woman, and 66 percent of women use birth control. Maternal mortality is low, with 120 deaths per 100,000 live births. A trained attendant monitors 95 percent of births.

The Ministry of Health oversees a network of 30 hospitals spread out across the island. There are 2,253 doctors working within the country, along with 4,374 nurses. The government allocates about $83 per capita on healthcare.

Jamaicans have a fairly healthy indigenous diet based on root crops, fish, chicken, beans, and rice. Consumption of red meat is low. However, there is a high incidence of cardiovascular disease, leading to about one-third of all deaths. One in seven people smoke. Diabetes is another growing health issue, with 81,000 Jamaicans currently living with the disease. The World Health Organization estimates [Page 958]that that number will grow to 189,000 by 2030 at current rates.

HIV/AIDS affects about 1.2 percent of the population, with an estimated 20,000 Jamaicans infected with the virus. This is low compared to the infection rate elsewhere in the Caribbean but could grow in coming years. In a 2000 survey of risk behavior by the Ministry of Health, one in two respondents said they did not use condoms regularly, one in two men and one in ten women had more than one partner within a year, one in four men and one in eight women had already contracted at least one sexually transmitted disease in their lifetime. One in nine reported regular use of marijuana. The government and other national organizations are working on improving AIDS education within the country.

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