regions > jamaica

Climate: Tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior. Terrain: Mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain. Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m Highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m Economy: The economy, which depends heavily on tourism and bauxite, has been stagnant since 1995. After five years of recession, the economy grew 0.8% in 2000 and 1.1% in 2001, but the global economic slowdown, particularly in the United States after the 11 September terrorist attacks, has stunted the economic recovery. Serious problems include: high interest rates; increased foreign competition; a pressured, sometimes sliding, exchange rate; a widening merchandise trade deficit; and a growing internal debt, the result of government bailouts to various ailing sectors of the economy, particularly the financial sector.

regions . australia . bolivia . brazil . burma . china . columbia . costa rica . cuba . dominican republic . ethiopia . guatemala . india . indonesia . jamaica . kenya . mexico . nicaragua . panama . puerto rico . tanzania