Jamaica [Updated September 23, 2021]   [open pdf - 566KB]

From the Document: "Jamaica, the most populous English-speaking Caribbean nation, has had a relatively stable parliamentary political system stemming from its history of British colonial rule, though extensive political violence often marred elections in the 1970s and 1980s. Two political parties--the center-left People's National Party (PNP) and the center-right Jamaica Labour Party (JLP)--have dominated the political system since before the country's 1962 independence. [...] The Jamaican economy, which is heavily dependent on services, especially tourism, has been hard hit by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Even before the pandemic, the World Bank characterized Jamaica as an upper-middle-income country struggling due to low growth; high public debt; exposure to natural disasters, such as hurricanes and flooding; and the effects of climate change. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the economy contracted an estimated 10.2% in 2020 and is projected to grow 1.5% in 2021 and 5.7% in 2022. Tourist arrivals fell significantly because of the pandemic. Remittances from Jamaicans abroad are an important source of income and, despite the pandemic, grew nearly 20% in 2020 to about $2.9 billion."