Country Profile
Key Facts
Commissioner
Name: The indigenous people, the Taíno, called it Xaymaca in Arawakan, meaning the “Land of Wood and Water” or the “Land of Springs”. Colloquially Jamaicans refer to their home island as the “Rock.” Slang names such as “Jamrock”, “Jamdown” (“Jamdung” in Jamaican Patois), or briefly “Ja”, have derived from this.
Date of Membership in CCLEC: (1997 – Miami)
Motto: “Out of Many, One People”
Status: Independent – 6th August 1962
Area: 10,991 km2 (4,244 miles2)
GDP: 2016 estimate – $25.437 billion
Population: 2015 est. : 2,950,210
Capital City: Kingston
Official Language: English
Currency: Jamaican Dollar (JMD)
