The Economy of Jamaica

Jamaica’s GDP as of 2007 is estimated at $20.67 billion. The ratio of debt to GDP is around 135%. Inflation also has declined, standing at about 7% at the end of 2007. The population below poverty line is 14.8%. Unemployment rate is 9.9%. Foreign exchange rate is 69.034 JMD to 1 USD. The global economic slowdown, particularly after the terrorist attacks in the US on 11 September 2001, stunted economic growth. Depressed economic conditions have led to increased civil unrest, including gang violence fueled by the drug trade.

The Jamaican economy relies mainly on services, which now accounts for 62.2% of its GDP. The country continues to obtain most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances (20% of GDP), and bauxite/alumina. Tourism, centered on the north coast, is the major earner of exchange. Remittances from Jamaicans working abroad are also a major source of income. 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.

Since the late 1960s the industry has generated a greater share of the national income than agriculture. Clothing apparel is the chief export item of the manufacturing sector. Jamaica's other industries include oil refining, sugar and tobacco processing, flour milling, and the production of rum, metal, paper, chemicals, and telecommunications equipment. The nation's other agricultural exports include the famed Blue Mt. coffee, bananas, citrus fruits, and yams. Most of these crops are grown on large plantations. Small farms also produce ginger, cocoa, pimento, ackee, chickens, and goats.