| Economy | Jamaica |
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Economy - overview:
|
The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for more than 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Remittances account for nearly 20% of GDP - roughly equivalent to tourism revenues. The economy faces serious long-term problems: a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a debt-to-GDP ratio of almost 130%. Jamaica's onerous debt burden - the fourth highest per capita - is the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably to the financial sector in the mid-to-late 1990s. It hinders government spending on infrastructure and social programs as debt servicing accounts for nearly half of government expenditures. High unemployment exacerbates the serious crime problem, including gang violence that is fueled by the drug trade. The GOLDING administration faces the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem that is hampering economic growth. Inflation rose sharply in 2008 as a result of high prices for imported food and oil, but slowed in 2009 because of the global recession. Jamaica spent the latter half of 2009 negotiating with the IMF for economic assistance and will need to introduce major fiscal reforms in 2010 in order to secure a deal. |
GDP (purchasing power parity):
|
$23.36 billion (2009 est.)
$24.33 billion (2008 est.)
$24.48 billion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars |
GDP - per capita (PPP):
|
$8,300 (2009 est.)
$8,700 (2008 est.)
$8,800 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars |
GDP (official exchange rate):
|
$11.92 billion (2009 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate:
|
-4% (2009 est.)
-0.6% (2008 est.)
1.4% (2007 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 5.7%
industry: 29.7%
services: 64.7% (2009 est.) |
Investment (gross fixed):
|
22.2% of GDP (2009 est.) |
Population below poverty line:
|
14.8% (2003 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 35.8% (2004) |
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
45.5 (2004)
37.9 (2000) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
8.6% (2009 est.)
22% (2008 est.) |
Central bank discount rate:
|
NA% (31 December 2008) |
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
|
16.83% (31 December 2008)
17.2% (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money:
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$1.253 billion (31 December 2008)
$1.369 billion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of money - per capita:
|
444 USD per capita |
Stock of quasi money:
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$4.244 billion (31 December 2008)
$4.54 billion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of quasi money - per capita:
|
1,502 USD per capita |
Stock of domestic credit:
|
$7.175 billion (31 December 2008)
$6.609 billion (31 December 2007) |
Stock of domestic credit - per capita:
|
2,539 USD per capita |
Labor force:
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1.311 million (2009 est.) |
Labor force participation rate:
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46.39 % of population |
Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture: 17%
industry: 19%
services: 64% (2006) |
Unemployment rate:
|
14.5% (2009 est.)
11% (2008 est.) |
Budget:
|
revenues: $2.898 billion
expenditures: $4.332 billion (2009 est.) |
Budget revenues per capita:
|
1,026 USD per capita |
Public debt:
|
131.7% of GDP (2009 est.)
116.3% of GDP (2008 est.) |
Industries:
|
tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications |
Industrial production growth rate:
|
-13.5% (2009 est.) |
Electricity - production:
|
7.324 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - production per capita:
|
2,592 kWh per capita |
Electricity - consumption:
|
6.345 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
Electricity - consumption - per capita:
|
2,246 kWh per capita |
Electricity - exports:
|
0 kWh (2008 est.) |
Electricity - imports:
|
0 kWh (2008 est.) |
Oil - production:
|
0 bbl/day (2008 est.) |
Oil - production per capita:
|
void |
Oil - consumption:
|
78,000 bbl/day (2008 est.) |
Oil - consumption - per capita:
|
10.07 bbl/year per capita |
Oil - exports:
|
0 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
Oil - imports:
|
77,720 bbl/day (2007 est.) |
Oil - proved reserves:
|
0 bbl (1 January 2009 est.) |
Natural gas - production:
|
0 cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - production per capita:
|
void |
Natural gas - consumption:
|
0 cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - consumption - per capita:
|
void |
Natural gas - exports:
|
0 cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - imports:
|
0 cu m (2008 est.) |
Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.) |
Agriculture - products:
|
sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks |
Current account balance:
|
$-1.349 billion (2009 est.)
$-2.745 billion (2008 est.) |
Current account balance - per capita:
|
-477 USD per capita |
Exports:
|
$1.422 billion (2009 est.)
$2.602 billion (2008 est.) |
Exports per capita:
|
504 USD per capita |
Exports - commodities:
|
alumina, bauxite, sugar, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels |
Exports - partners:
|
US 40.3%, Canada 10.6%, UK 9.2%, Netherlands 7.9%, France 5.4%, Russia 5.2% (2008) |
Imports:
|
$4.625 billion (2009 est.)
$7.185 billion (2008 est.) |
Imports per capita:
|
1,637 USD per capita |
Imports - commodities:
|
food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials |
Imports - partners:
|
US 39.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 17.5%, Venezuela 11.6% (2008) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|
$2.11 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
$1.767 billion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold - per capita:
|
747 USD per capita |
Debt - external:
|
$11.55 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
$10.65 billion (31 December 2008 est.) |
Debt - external - per capita:
|
4,088 USD per capita |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
|
void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home - per capita:
|
void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
|
void |
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad - per capita:
|
void |
Market value of publicly traded shares:
|
$7.513 billion (31 December 2008)
$12.33 billion (31 December 2007)
$12.28 billion (31 December 2006) |
Market value of publicly traded shares - per capita:
|
2,659 USD per capita |
Economic aid - donor:
|
void |
Economic aid - recipient:
|
$35.74 million |
Economic aid - recipient per capita:
|
13 USD per capita |
Currency (code):
|
Jamaican dollar (JMD) |
Exchange rates:
|
Jamaican dollars (JMD) per US dollar - 88.674 (2009), 72.236 (2008), 69.034 (2007), 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005) |
Fiscal year:
|
1 April - 31 March |
|
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