"Jamaica"

Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean, covering 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi). It is the third-largest island in the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean, after Cuba and the island of Hispaniola. Jamaica lies about 145 km (78 nmi) south of Cuba, 191 km (103 nmi) west of Hispaniola (the island containing Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and 215 km (116 nmi) southeast of the Cayman Islands (a British Overseas Territory). With 2.8 million people, Jamaica is the third most populous Anglophone country in the Americas and the fourth most populous country in the Caribbean. Kingston is the country's capital and largest city.

Jamaica Jumieka (Jamaican Patois)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Out of Many, One People"
Anthem: "Jamaica, Land We Love"
Capital and largest city	Kingston 17°58′17″N 76°47′35″W / 17.97139°N 76.79306°W / 17.97139; -76.79306
Official languages	English
Vernacular language	Jamaican Patois
Ethnic groups	76.3% African 15.1% Mixed 3.4% Indian 3.2% White 1.2% Chinese 0.8% others
Religion	68.9% Christianity 64.8% Protestantism 4.1% other Christian 21.3% no religion 1.1% Rastafari 6.5% other 2.3% unanswered
Demonym	Jamaican
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Charles III
• Governor-General	Patrick Allen
• Prime Minister	Andrew Holness
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	House of Representatives
Independence  from the United Kingdom
• Granted	6 August 1962
Area
• Total	10,991 km2 (4,244 sq mi) (160th)
• Water (%)	1.5
Population
• 2024 estimate	2,824,913
• 2011 census	2,697,983
• Density	266/km2 (688.9/sq mi) (52nd)
GDP (PPP)	2024 estimate
• Total	$33.775 billion (143rd)
• Per capita	$12,283 (134th)
GDP (nominal)	2024 estimate
• Total	$20.586 billion (119th)
• Per capita	$7,487 (95th)
Gini (2021)	40.2 medium inequality
HDI (2023)	0.720 high (117th)
Currency	Jamaican dollar (JMD)
Time zone	UTC-5:00 (EST)
Calling code	+1
ISO 3166 code	JM
Internet TLD	.jm

The indigenous Taíno peoples of the island gradually came under Spanish rule after the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1494. Many of the indigenous people either were killed or died of diseases, after which the Spanish brought large numbers of Africans to Jamaica as slaves. The island remained a possession of Spain, under the name Santiago, until 1655, when England (part of what would become the Kingdom of Great Britain) conquered it and named it Jamaica. It became an important part of the colonial British West Indies. Under Britain's colonial rule, Jamaica became a leading sugar exporter, with a plantation economy dependent on continued importation of African slaves and their descendants. The British fully emancipated all slaves in 1838, and many freedmen chose to have subsistence farms rather than to work on plantations. Beginning in the 1840s, the British began using Chinese and Indian indentured labourers for plantation work. Jamaicans achieved independence from the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962.

Jamaica is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy, with power vested in the bicameral Parliament of Jamaica, consisting of an appointed Senate and a directly elected House of Representatives. Andrew Holness has served as Prime Minister of Jamaica since March 2016. Jamaica is a Commonwealth realm, with Charles III as its king; the appointed representative of the Crown is the Governor-General of Jamaica, the office having been held by Patrick Allen since 2009. Because of a high rate of emigration for work since the 1960s, there is a large Jamaican diaspora, particularly in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Most Jamaicans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry, with significant European, East Asian (primarily Chinese), Indian, Lebanese, and mixed-race minorities.

Jamaica is an upper-middle-income country with an economy heavily dependent on tourism; it has an average of 4.3 million tourists a year. The country has a global influence that belies its small size; it was the birthplace of the Rastafari religion and reggae music (and such associated genres as dub, ska, and dancehall); and it is internationally prominent in sports, including cricket, sprinting, and athletics. Jamaica has sometimes been considered the world's least populous cultural superpower.