The Jamaican Dollar, ISO Code JMD, is the official currency of Jamaica. The Jamaican dollar is divided into 100 cents. As of May 2005, the exchange rate was 61.040 Jamaican dollars to the US dollar. The first money in Jamaica was Spanish copper coins called Maravedis. Later, other silver coins were implemented, as the British began to rely on Jamaica to a large extent. Spanish pesos, reales, and British pounds, were all at one time circulating in Jamaica. In 1839, Parliament passed a law that disallowed all currencies, except for British coinage, as legal tender. From 1904, the first government distributed and authorized banknotes were introduced. In 1960, the Bank of Jamaica was given the sole responsibility of producing coins and banknotes. In the late 60's, the currency was decimalized, introducing a currency that was divided into 100 cents, and worth 10 shillings.
Sovereign Ratings for Jamaican
Jamaica is not rated.
What does it look like?
Political Structure
The Jamaican government is a constitutional parliamentary democracy. It has 14 parishes, and the Queen (Queen Elizabeth II since 1952) heads its executive branch. The Governor General, who appoints the cabinet on the advice of the prime minister, represents the Queen. There are no elections, because the monarch is hereditary. The Queen on the advice of the prime minister appoints the Governor General. The prime minister is usually, the majority leader, following an election. The legislative branch is a bicameral Parliament that includes the Senate (21 member body appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister and the leader of the opposing party) and the House of Representatives (60 member body elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms). The last election was held in October 2002, while the next election will be held in 2007. The Judicial branch includes the Supreme Court, and the Court of Appeals. The governor general, on the recommendations of the prime minister, appoints judges.
Prominent Figures
Jamaica's current prime minister is Percival James Patterson. The current governor is Howard Cooke. Governor, Derick Milton Latibeaudiere, runs the Central Bank of Jamaica.
Unique Characteristics
Economic conditions have worsened in Jamaica, partly because of the growing drug trade. The growing trade has resulted in civil unrest, and gang violence.
Key Economic Factors
Jamaica relies heavily on services, which make up 70% of the GDP. The country gets most of its profits from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Economic letdowns in the United States led to a decline in tourism; however, 2003 saw huge increases. Despite this, Jamaica has been plagued by high interest rates, increased foreign competition, sliding exchange rate, widening trade deficit, and a growing internal debt (ratio of debt to the is close to 150%) that has caused problems for various government sectors, especially the financial center. Government fiscal regulation has helped to slow inflation; however, it has consequently helped to reduce growth (1.5% in 92 to .5% in 95). Jamaica has to depend upon investment in the private sector, maintaining a solid exchange rate, stabilizing the labor environment, and regulating the rest of the fiscal problems in the country.
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