Long-form name: none

Type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Kingston

Administrative divisions: 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland

Independence: 6 August 1962 (from UK)

Constitution: 6 August 1962

Legal system: based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

National holiday: Independence Day (first Monday in August), 7 August 1989

Branches: Cabinet headed by prime minister; bicameral legislature--21-member Senate (13 nominated by the prime minister, eight by opposition leader); 60-member elected House of Representatives; judiciary follows British tradition under a chief justice

Leaders: @m5Chief of State--Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Sir Florizel A. GLASSPOLE (since 2 March 1973); @m5Head of Government--Prime Minister Michael MANLEY (since 9 February 1989)

Suffrage: universal over age 18

Elections: at discretion of governor general upon advice of prime minister but within five years; last held 9 February 1989

Political parties and leaders: People's National Party (PNP), Michael Manley; Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), Edward Seaga; Workers' Party of Jamaica (WPJ), Trevor Munroe

Voting strength: (9 February 1989 general elections) 60 seats total--PNP 45 seats (57%), JLP 15 seats (43%); as of March 1989 the JLP plans to contest five seats

Communists: Workers' Party of Jamaica (Marxist-Leninist)

Other political or pressure groups: New World Group (Caribbean regionalists, nationalists, and leftist intellectual fraternity); Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists); New Creation International Peacemakers Tabernacle (leftist group); Workers Liberation League (a Marxist coalition of students/labor)

Member of: CARICOM, CCC, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBA, IBRD, ICAO, ICO, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Keith JOHNSON; Chancery at Suite 355, 1850 K Street NW, Washington DC 20006; telephone (202) 452-0660; there are Jamaican C

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Keith JOHNSON; Chancery at Suite 355, 1850 K Street NW, Washington DC 20006; telephone (202) 452-0660; there are Jamaican Consulates General in Miami and New York; US--Ambassador Michael SOTIRHOS; Embassy at 3rd Floor, Jamaica Mutual Life Center, 2 Oxford Road, Kingston; telephone Õ809å 929-4850

Flag: diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles--green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and fly side)

NOTE: The information regarding Jamaica on this page is re-published from the 1989 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Jamaica Government 1989 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Jamaica Government 1989 should be addressed to the CIA.