Overview: The economy is based on sugar, bauxite, and tourism. In September 1988, Hurricane Gilbert inflicted severe damage on crops and the electric power system, a sharp but temporary setback to the economy. By October 1989 the economic recovery from the hurricane was largely complete, and real growth was up to about 3% for 1989. In 1991, however, growth dropped to 0.2% as a result of the US recession, lower world bauxite prices, and monetary instability. In 1992, growth was 1.2%, supported by a recovery in tourism and stabilization of the Jamaican dollar in the second half of 1992.

National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $8 billion (1992 est.)

National product real growth rate: 1.2% (1992 est.)

National product per capita: $3,200 (1992 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30% (1992 est.)

Unemployment rate: 15.4% (1992)

Budget:
revenues: $600 million
expenditures: $736 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY91 est.)

Exports: $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities: alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum
partners: US 40%, UK 14%, Germany 10%, Canada 10%, Norway 7%

Imports: $1.5 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities: fuel, other raw materials, construction materials, food, transport equipment, other machinery and equipment
partners: US 53%, UK 5%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 5%, Japan 4.0%

External debt: $4.5 billion (1992 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 2% (1990); accounts for almost 25% of GDP

Electricity:
capacity: 1,127,000 kW
production: 2.736 trillion kWh
consumption per capita: 1,090 kWh (1992)

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

Agriculture: accounts for about 7% of GDP, 23% of work force, and 17% of exports; commercial crops - sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, potatoes, vegetables; livestock and livestock products include poultry, goats, milk; not self-sufficient in grain, meat, and dairy products

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for cocaine from Central and South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation of cannabis; government has an active cannabis eradication program

Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $1.2 billion; other countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.6 billion

Currency: 1 Jamaican dollar (J$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Jamaican dollars (J$) per US$1 -32.758 (31 December 1993), 22.960 (1992), 12.116 (1991), 7.184 (1990), 5.7446 (1989)

Fiscal year: 1 April - 31 March

NOTE: The information regarding Jamaica on this page is re-published from the 1995 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Jamaica Economy 1995 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Jamaica Economy 1995 should be addressed to the CIA.