ECONOMIC INFORMATION

Population:2.6m

Population growth: 0.88%

Population density (people per sq. km): 244

UN Human Development Index ranking: 79/177

Gross national income (current US$): $7.3bn (2003)

Gross national income per capita: $2,760

PPP Gross national income: $10.0bn

PPP Gross national income per capita: $3,790

GDP growth: 1.1% (2003)

GDP breakdown Agriculture: 5.3%, Industry: 29.2%, Services: 65.5%

Inflation (12-month average): 16.7 (2003)

Gross capital formation as % of GDP: 27.0%

Final consumption expenditure as % of GDP (growth): 91.7% (9.0%)

Exports of goods & services as % of GDP: 43.1%

Top 3 export markets: US, UK, Canada

Local industries: Tourism, bauxite, textiles, food processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products

WEF Growth Competitiveness ranking *: 65/104

WEF Business Competitiveness ranking **: 54/103

WEF Quality of the Business Environment ranking: 53/103

Transparency International Corruption Perceptions ranking: 74/145

Languages : English (official)

FDI INFORMATION

Region: Central America

No. of projects (Jan-Sep 2004): 8

Market-share of projects in the region: 1.8%

Value of projects relative to GDP: 10.0%

Top 3 destination sectors: Hotels, tourism & leisure, real estate, financial services

Top 3 business functions: Construction, customer support centre, manufacturing

Top 3 source countries: US, Spain

Top 3 investors: National Assets Recovery Services, Iberostar, Verizon Global Solutions

IPA

Name: Jamaica Promotions Corporation

Web address: www.investjamaica.com

* World Economic Forum Growth Competitiveness Ranking assesses an economy’s ability to grow consistently

** World Economic Forum Business Competitiveness Ranking assesses the microeconomic factors that contribute to economic growth

*** The difficulty of hiring workers and the difficulty and expense of firing workers is reflected as an index where the higher the value the more rigid the regulations