Countries of the World (The Americas) - Jamaica
First country from the Western Hemisphere in my new geography series. One thing you will notice is I will be starting at different points in each list - I DON'T want this to become an overview of all the "A" countries at the same time (like reading the encyclopedia, for those who remember actually using physical encyclopedias!). Again, I'm going to play with the format on these first few and see what I like, then try to be as consistent with my content going forward as I can.
Jay LeBlanc
12/17/20254 min read
Section I - Basic Info on Jamaica
Official Name: Jamaica
Population: 2,823,713 (137th largest in the world, 23rd largest in the Americas)
Area/Size: 4,244 square miles (half the size of New Jersey)
Capital: Kingston (600,000 - sister city of Kalamazoo, MI and Birmingham, AL)
Spoken Languages: English (official) and Jamaican patois (informal)
Religions: Protestant (60%), other Christian (20%), Spiritist (11%)
Life Expectancy: 76.3 years Literacy Rate: 89%
Per Capita Income: $11,475 Unemployment: 4.4%
What do they Export?: Minerals (alumina/bauxite), refined petroleum, rum
Export Partners: United States (57%), Russia (5%), Latvia (5%), Iceland (5%)
Import Partners: United States (36%), China (12%), Trinidad and Tobago (6%)
Government Type: Constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary democracy (last election in Sep 2025 freely held)
Section II - Images of Jamaica
5 Key Dates in Jamaican History
Probably no surprise to teachers, but most of the time the "key dates" will drive what the present-day issues are in the country. However in the case of Jamaica, a relatively-peaceful history and good present-day relationship within the British Commonwealth has avoided the post-colonial issues of many other areas of the world.
c. 800 A.D. - while the island may have been occupied for hundreds of years, the Taino people migrated to this area (probably from South America) around this time and became the primary indigenous group.
1655-1670 - Christopher Columbus initially claims Jamaica for Spain in 1492, but a series of wars between Spain and Britain during this time (and the capture of Jamaica by the British in 1655) culminate in the Treaty of Madrid and Spain formally ceding Jamaica to England.
1831-1832 - in the Great Jamaican Slave Revolt some 500 people are killed in a rebellion involving up to 60,000 of the 300,000 slaves in Jamaica. The revolt, though militarily unsuccessful, plays a major part in the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire (abolished in Jamaica in 1838).
Aug 6, 1962 - after 4 years within the British-sponsored Federation of the West Indies, Jamaica formally withdraws from the federation and declares independence (while maintaining the British monarchy as the official head of state).
2022 - 2026 - Jamaica is actively transitioning from a constitutional monarchy to a republic, aiming to replace the British monarch with a Jamaican President, a process accelerated after Barbados's similar move and the death of Queen Elizabeth II, and fueled by post-colonial identity. A national referendum was planned for late 2025, but has not taken place yet.
Other Non-Political Issues
Section III - Issues of Jamaica
General Information on Jamaica:
“Jamaica", One World Nations Online, Jan 2025, https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/jamaica.htm
“Jamaica", Wikipedia, Sep 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica or https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamaica
"Jamaica", National Geographic Kids, https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/geography/countries/article/jamaica
"Visit Jamaica" (national tourism site), Jamaica Tourism Board, 2025, https://www.visitjamaica.com/
“The World Factbook - Jamaica", Central Intelligence Agency, Dec 2025, https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jamaica/
History Links on Jamaica:
"How Did Jamaica Become A Country?" (video), Captivating History, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT0qnFO4gm0
"The Archaeological Ensemble of 17th Century Port Royal", UNESCO World Heritage Convention, Jul 2025, https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1595/
“Port Royal: The Pirates' Lost City" (video), In Search of History - The History Channel, 2020, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4363EKIC1Q
“Port Royal: Most Economically Significant English Settlement in the Americas", Jamaica Port Royal, Jul 2025, https://jamaicaportroyal.com/index.html and https://jamaicaportroyal.com/history.html
“The history of Jamaica: everything you wanted to know" (podcast), HistoryExtra/BBC History Magazine, Oct 2023, https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-history-of-jamaica-everything-you-wanted-to-know/id256580326?i=1000632819552
Current Events Stories on Jamaica:
"From Dreams to Thriving Business: Bridging the Finance Gap for Businesses in Jamaica", World Bank Group, Apr 2025, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2025/04/29/from-dreams-to-thriving-business-bridging-the-finance-gap-for-businesses-in-jamaica
“Fifty days on, Jamaica struggles to rebuild after Hurricane Melissa’s unprecedented destruction”, United Nations News, Dec 2025, https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166621
“How Jamaica’s Preparedness Delivers After a Devastating Hurricane”, World Bank Group, Dec 2025, https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2025/12/17/jamaica-preparedness-delivers-after-devastating-hurricane
"Rebuilding Smarter in Jamaica" (podcast), State of the World from NPR, Dec 2025, https://www.npr.org/2025/12/01/nx-s1-5627170/rebuilding-smarter-in-jamaica
“The trauma after the storm: Hurricane Melissa leaves trail of emotional devastation across Jamaica”, The Guardian, Dec 2025, https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/dec/16/trauma-storm-hurricane-melissa-emotional-devastation-mental-health-ptsd-jamaica
“Will Jamaica Become a Republic?", Mises Institute, Aug 2025, https://mises.org/mises-wire/will-jamaica-become-republic
Other Interesting Links Related To Jamaica:
"6 fascinating Jamaican traditions and customs", Rough Guides, Apr 2021, https://www.roughguides.com/article/6-fascinating-jamaican-traditions-and-customs/
“Rastafari Movement", EBSCO, 2022, https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/nutrition-and-dietetics/rastafari-movement
“Reggae: Jamaica’s gift to the world", WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) Magazine, Jun 2016, https://www.wipo.int/en/web/wipo-magazine/articles/reggae-jamaicas-gift-to-the-world-39604
“Turkey's collecting of unhappy foreign athletics stars shows it knows money matters", CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp), Jun 2025, https://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/summer/athletics/opinion-morgan-campbell-turkish-athletics-federation-1.7571202