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 and stabilize the exchange rate, but have resulted in the slow-down of economic growth (moving from 1.5% in 1992 to 0.5% in 1995. In 1996, GDP was in negative growth (-1.4%) and remained so in 1997. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; the weak financial condition of business in general resulting in receiverships or closures and downsizings of companies; the shift in investment portfolios to non-productive, short-term high yield instruments; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt for government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy. Jamaica's medium-term prospects will depend upon encouraging investment in the productive sectors, maintaining a competitive exchange rate, stabilizing the labor environment, and implementing proper fiscal and monetary policies.

GDP purchasing power parity - $9.5 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate -1.4% (1996 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $3,660 (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 8%
industry: 37%
services: 55% (1996 est.)

Inflation rate - consumer price index 17% (1996 est.)

Labor force
total: 1.14 million (1996)
by occupation: services 41%, agriculture 22.5%, industry 19%, unemployed 17.5% (1989)

Unemployment rate 16% (1996 est.)

Budget
revenues: $3 billion
expenditures: $3 billion, including capital expenditures of $1.163 billion (FY97/98 est.)

Industries tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures

Industrial production growth rate NA%

Electricity - capacity 1.182 million kW (1995)

Electricity - production 3.87 billion kWh (1995)

Electricity - consumption per capita 1,503 kWh (1995)

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

Exports
total value: $1.4 billion (f.o.b., 1996)
commodities: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum
partners: US 37%, UK 13%, Canada 12%, Netherlands 9%, Norway 7%

Imports
total value: $2.9 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment, construction materials, fuel, food, chemicals
partners: US 52%, Trinidad and Tobago 8%, Japan 6%, UK 4%, Canada 3%

Debt - external $3.2 billion (1997 est.)

Economic aid
recipient: ODA, $306 million (1996)

Currency 1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1 - 36.051 (November 1997), 37.120 (1996), 35.142 (1995), 33.086 (1994), 24.949 (1993)

Fiscal year 1 April - 31 March

NOTE: The information regarding Jamaica on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Jamaica Economy 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Jamaica Economy 1998 should be addressed to the CIA.