Economy
Jamaica's most important export crop is sugarcane, from which rum and molasses are also made. The nation's other agricultural
exports include the famed Blue Mt. coffee, bananas, citrus fruits, ginger, cocoa, pimento, and tobacco. Most of these crops are
grown on large plantations. Small peasant farms produce some ginger, bananas, and sugarcane for export but mainly raise such
subsistence crops as yams, breadfruit, and cassava. Mining is a major source of wealth; since large, easily accessible deposits
of bauxite were discovered in 1942, Jamaica has become one of the world's leading suppliers of this ore. Along with the alumina
made from it, bauxite accounts for almost half of Jamaica's foreign exchange.
Tourism, centered on the north coast, is the biggest earner of exchange. Among Jamaica's internationally known resort areas
are Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Negril. Clothing constitutes the chief export item of the manufacturing sector. Jamaica's other
industries (mainly concentrated in the Kingston area) include oil refining, sugar and tobacco processing, flour milling, and the
production of chemicals, cement, textiles, and processed foods. Since the late 1960s industry has generated a greater share of
the national income than agriculture. Remittances from Jamaicans working abroad are also a major source of income. The
United States, Great Britain, and Canada, Jamaica's top trading partners, also provide much-needed capital for economic
development.
Land and People
Although largely a limestone plateau more than 3,000 ft (914 m) above sea level, Jamaica has a mountainous backbone that
extends across the island from the west and rises to the Blue Mts. in the east; Blue Mt. (7,402 ft/2,256 m) is the highest point.
Rainfall is heavy in this region (where there are extensive timber reserves) but diminishes westward across the plateau, which is
a rugged area deeply dissected by streams and underlain by subterranean rivers. The heart of the plateau, known as the
Cockpits, is used mostly for livestock grazing. A narrow plain along the northern coast and several larger plains near the south
shore are Jamaica's major agricultural zones. The north coast also has fine beaches and is the focus of the tourist industry. The
Rio Grande and the Black River are the country's chief waterways, but neither is navigable for long distances. The coastal bands
widened by broad river valleys, as well as the mountain slopes, support the bulk of Jamaica's export crops.
In addition to Kingston, important cities are Spanish Town and Montego Bay. Slightly more than one half of the population is
urban, and migration to the cities continues; the greatest urban concentration is around Kingston. People of African descent
predominate in Jamaica. The small upper class is largely of European descent. Afro-Europeans and such Middle Eastern and
Asian groups as Lebanese, Syrians, Chinese, and Indians, make up the rest of the population. Although English is the official
language, most Jamaicans also speak a creole English. The chief religion is Protestantism, although there is considerable
religious variety (including Roman Catholic and spiritualist minorities) on the island.
Bibliography
See E. Brathwaite, The Development of Creole Society in Jamaica, 1770–1820 (1971); F. Cundall, Historic Jamaica (1915, repr.
1971); R. M. Nettleford, Identity, Race and Protest in Jamaica (1972); I. Kaplan et al., Area Handbook for Jamaica (1976); E. H.
Stephens, Democratic Socialism in Jamaica (1986); R. E. Looney, The Jamaican Economy in the 1980s: Economic Decline and
Structural Adjustment (1987).