Jamaica

JAMAICA
1. General Information
1.11 Ethnic and Jamaica's national flag reflects the diversity
Sooiooultural Groups. of her population: "Out of many, one people.
The majority of the population is black;
whites, East Indians, and Chinese comprise
minority populations, all contributing to the
country's ethnic, racial, and cultural
pluralism.
L.12Languages English is the official language. Educated
Jamaicans speak Jamaican English which
resembles the British English spoken by
expatriates, but hao an even stress and
some idiomatic constructions. Jamaican
Creole is spoken by the majority. Chinese
and Hindi are spoken in the Chinese and
Indian communities.
1.13 Religions Many Christian churches are represented; the
Anglican Church is the largest. Revivalism
and spiritualism of Afro-Christian cults
have wide appeal among the poor. Of these,
the Rastafarian Brethren have the largest
following and espouse black awareness and
repatriation to Africa. There are several
Moslem and Hindu groups and a small Jewish
community.
.14 Geography Jamaica lies between latitudes 17' 43' and
18" 32' N and longitudes
78' 21'W, approximately
76" 11' and
160 km. west
of Haiti and 145 km. south of Cuba. Total
land mass measures 10,991 sq. km. (234 km.
east to west and about 82 km. north to
south). 885 km. of irregular coastline
feature numerous natural harbors and coves,
and stretches of white sandy beaches along
the northern coast, and black sandy beaches
along the south. Topography consists of a
highland interior formed by mountain peaks
and limestone plateaus that run along the
length of the island, surrounded by coastal
plains. The highest mountain peaks are the
Blue Mountains in the east (up to 2,600 m.).
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