Jamaica

Updated December 9, 2021

Jamaica

Political and Economic Environment

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 centerleft 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.

country’s high levels of public debt. As a result, public debt

fell below 100% of GDP in 2019 and was expected to

decline to below 60% by 2026, according to the World

Bank. The pandemic set back Jamaica’s austerity plans, as

the government moved to protect the economy and

vulnerable groups through increased spending and

increased financing provided by the IMF, World Bank, and

IDB. Although public debt increased to over 100% of GDP

in 2020, it declined to an estimated 94% of GDP in 2021

and is expected to fall further as the economy recovers.

Figure 1. Jamaica Map

Jamaica at a Glance

Population: 2.7 million (2020, IMF est.).

Area: 4,244 million square miles, slightly smaller than

Connecticut.

GDP: $13.97 billion (2020, current prices, IMF).

Real GDP Growth (constant prices): 1.0% (2019); -10.0%

(2020); 4.6%, (2021, projected). (IMF)

Per Capita GDP: $5,103 (2020, current prices, IMF est.).

U.S. Trade: U.S. Imports, $384 million; U.S. Exports, $1.7

billion (2020, DOC)

Legislature: Bicameral Parliament, with 63-member elected

House of Representatives and 21-member appointed Senate.

Source: CRS.

Current Prime Minister Andrew Holness of the JLP was

first elected in 2016 when his party defeated the PNP, led

by then-Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller, who had led

the government since 2011. Holness and the JLP won a

second term in September 2020 in which the party

substantially increased its representation in parliament from

a slim majority to control 49 out of 63 seats in the House of

Representatives. Although turnout was low, Holness’s

popularity reportedly helped secure the JLP’s victory.

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% in 2020

and is projected to grow 4.6% in 2021. Tourist arrivals fell

significantly because of the pandemic. Remittances from

Jamaicans abroad are an important source of income and,

despite the pandemic and its economic fallout, grew nearly

20% in 2020 to the equivalent of about $2.9 billion.

Jamaica had been making progress since 2013 in

implementing an ambitious economic reform program—

supported by the IMF, World Bank, and Inter-American

Development Bank (IDB)—that helped reduce the

Sources: International Monetary Fund (IMF) and U.S.

Department of Commerce (DOC), as presented by Trade

Data Monitor.

As of December 8, 2021, Jamaica reported over 2,400

deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with a

mortality rate of 81 per 100,000, according to Johns

Hopkins University. The country experienced a third wave

of cases in July 2021 that only began to decline in

September. Vaccine accessibility and rollout in Jamaica

have been slow compared with most other Caribbean

countries. As of December 8, Jamaica had fully vaccinated

almost 18% of its population. To date, Jamaica has received

almost 1.1 million vaccine doses through the COVID-19

Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility, a mechanism

developed by global health organizations to facilitate

equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccine

hesitancy has been a significant challenge.

High rates of crime and violence have plagued Jamaica for

many years. Since the 1990s, much of the violent crime has

been associated with drug trafficking and related intra-gang

and inter-gang feuds. The inflow of illegal firearms also has

been a factor. In 2020, although Jamaica’s 1,301 homicides

were a slight decline from the previous year and a

significant improvement from earlier years, the country still

had the highest homicide rate—45.5 per 100,000 people—

in all of Latin America and the Caribbean, according to

Insight Crime. Violent crime has increased further in 2021.

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Jamaica

Since 2017, the Holness government has used zones of

special operations in certain communities to contain the

rise in crime and violence; these zones include enhanced

powers for the security forces and social programs to help

vulnerable populations in areas affected by high crime. In

2018, the government began using more stringent states of

emergency (SOEs) to curb crime, but Jamaica’s Supreme

Court ruled these unconstitutional in 2020; the government

is appealing the ruling. In November 2021, Prime Minister

Holness announced the imposition of SOEs in seven high

crime areas. These SOEs were short-lived, however, since

the opposition PNP did not support their extension after an

initial 14-day period permitted by law.

U.S.-Jamaica Relations

U.S. relations with Jamaica are close, characterized by

significant economic and cultural linkages and by

cooperation on a range of bilateral and transnational issues,

including efforts to enhance regional security and stability

through the Organization of American States. In December

2020, the United States and Jamaica held an inaugural

Strategic Dialogue and issued a joint statement in which

they agreed to hold annual high-level meetings to advance

shared interests in security, prosperity, and democracy in

the Western Hemisphere. According to the State

Department, the dialogue’s various include enhancing

security cooperation; addressing climate change; and

accelerating private-sector growth in clean energy, digital

industries, and green infrastructure projects.

In April 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in a

virtual roundtable with Caribbean Community

(CARICOM) foreign ministers to demonstrate the U.S.

commitment to work with all countries in the region to

advance bilateral and regional interests. Blinken

emphasized the strong U.S. partnership with the Caribbean,

including plans to respond to the pandemic and promote

Caribbean regional recovery; cooperation on increasing

climate resilience; and continued collaboration on

strengthening security, democratic values, and human

rights. Prime Minister Holness participated in the April

2021 White House-sponsored virtual Leaders’ Summit on

Climate, where he spoke about the special needs of small

island developing states in accessing climate finance.

Economic Linkages. A majority of the millions of tourists

visiting Jamaica each year come from the United States,

including both stopover and cruise-ship visitors. The large

Jamaican-American community in the United States,

concentrated in New York and Florida, sends billions of

dollars in remittances to Jamaica annually. U.S. foreign

direct investment on a historical-cost basis in Jamaica was

estimated at $118 million in 2020, according to the

Department of Commerce, and more than 100 U.S.

companies have offices in Jamaica.

The United States is Jamaica’s most important trading

partner, accounting for about 44% of Jamaica’s total trade.

Because Jamaica has a services-based economy, it

traditionally runs a large trade deficit in goods. In 2020, the

United States exported almost $1.7 billion in goods to

Jamaica, with petroleum exports accounting for about 28%.

The United States imported $384 million in goods from

Jamaica in 2020, with aluminum ores and oxides

accounting for 44%. Jamaica has been a beneficiary of the

Caribbean Basin Initiative, a U.S. preferential trade

program for Caribbean imports, since its inception in 1984.

The country is also a beneficiary of the Caribbean Basin

Trade Partnership Act, a program begun in 2000 that

provides tariff preferences for apparel imports. The United

States and CARICOM countries signed a trade and

investment framework agreement in 2013 as a forum for

discussions on commercial issues.

Antidrug Efforts. Jamaica is the largest Caribbean supplier

of marijuana to the United States and a transit point for

cocaine trafficked to the United States and other markets,

according to the State Department’s 2021 International

Narcotics Control Strategy Report. Marijuana is also

trafficked to other Caribbean countries, especially Haiti, in

exchange for firearms and other contraband. The State

Department reported that anti-drug cooperation between the

United States and Jamaica remains strong but also noted

that significant progress will depend on Jamaica’s efforts to

target high-level drug traffickers, combat corruption,

increase extraditions, finalize and implement a national

drug strategy, and strengthen the judicial system so

traffickers are held accountable.

U.S. Foreign Aid. Total U.S. foreign assistance to Jamaica

for FY2020 (obligations, partially reported) amounted to

$24.2 million to support various security, economic

development, health, education, and environmental

projects. According to the U.S. Agency for International

Development (USAID), U.S. aid to Jamaica has included

promoting greater transparency and good governance

practices, fostering Jamaican participation in regional

security, strengthening basic education, supporting clean

energy, decreasing vulnerability to the impacts of climate

change, and reducing the prevalence of HIV/AIDS. In July

2021, USAID announced it was partnering with the World

Bank to issue a catastrophe bond to provide Jamaica with

financial protection of up to $185 million for tropical

storms through 2023.

Under the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, the United

States has provided Jamaica with support since FY2010 to

reduce illicit trafficking and advance public safety and

security. The support has included training, equipment, and

technical assistance to increase capabilities to interdict

suspect sea vessels, investigate and seize criminal assets,

counter public corruption, enhance the work of prosecutors

and criminal courts, and support community policing and

youth workforce programs. (Also see CRS In Focus

IF10789, Caribbean Basin Security Initiative.)

With regard to COVID-19 support, the U.S. Embassy in

Jamaica reports the United States has contributed over $12

million in support of virus protection and control

throughout the country, including the donation of a field

hospital and a host of medical supplies. To date, the United

States has donated 413,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses to

Jamaica, and additional donations are expected.

Mark P. Sullivan, Specialist in Latin American Affairs

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Jamaica

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