Jamaica is a country located in the Caribbean region of the Americas. With a population of over 2.9 million people, it is the third most populous English-speaking country in the Americas. Jamaica is a parliamentary democracy and its military consists of three branches: the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), Jamaica Coast Guard (JCG) and National Reserve Corps (NRC). The JDF are responsible for defending the country’s borders and sovereignty, as well as providing security to its citizens. In terms of defense spending, Jamaica spends approximately $242 million annually on its military making it one of the highest defense spending nations in the Caribbean. The country also participates in several United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions such as those in Lebanon and Syria. Jamaica is also a member of both NATO and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and has close ties with other CARICOM members such as Cuba and Barbados. See naturegnosis to learn more about the country of Jamaica.
Defense
The defense comprises (2005) 2,800 men with 950 men in reserve and is organized into two battalions, nine patrol boats and a few small aircraft. The material is of varying origin. Defense of Jamaica costs have decreased from 0.9 to 0.6% of GDP in 1985-2005. To see related acronyms about this country, please check ABBREVIATIONFINDER where you can see that JAM stands for Jamaica.
In 1979, Manley was forced to negotiate with the IMF, but in February 1980 he interrupted the negotiations due to the tight conditions of the Monetary Fund which would drastically reduce the standard of living in the country. Instead, he printed elections ahead of time. The election campaign was very violent and marked by destabilization from both the United States and the Conservative opposition. Under these chaotic circumstances, the Conservative “Labor Party” won. The new government led by Edward Seaga expelled the Cuban ambassador and implemented a neoliberal policy, which completely opened up foreign investment. He further stated that it was possible that Jamaica would apply for admission in the United States. But his economic policy did not produce the desired results. In 1981-83, unemployment grew, bauxite production fell further, inflation increased and foreign debt doubled.
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In October 1983, Jamaica joined the small group of Caribbean countries that diplomatically supported the US invasion of Grenada. The following month, Seaga took advantage of the favorable political climate and printed elections early. The election was boycotted by the PNP, accusing the government of failing to comply with a previous pledge to renew the electoral rolls and the introduction of a voter identification system to prevent fraud. The ruling party was therefore the only one who took part in the election, and it sat in all 60 seats in parliament.
In 1984, the crisis worsened. New agreements were concluded with the IMF, which led to a significant reduction in government spending. Inflation had then risen from 4.7% in 1981 to 32% in 84. In 1985, income from bauxite exports and tourism fell further. The same year, the trade union movement criticized the lowering of living standards among workers in the Kingston Free Zone. The cut was aimed at attracting more foreign investment. At the same time, the unions pointed out that the trade union rights were not respected in the free zone.
Demography and economic geography. – Island state of Central America. At the 2011 census, the population was 2,697,983, rising to 2,798,837 in 2014, according to an estimate by UNDESA (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs). Despite a high natural increase (8.2 ‰ in 2013), demographic growth remains low due to significant emigration (6 ‰), mainly directed to the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. Jamaica suffers from serious socio-economic problems: corruption, weak administrative and judicial structure, high unemployment rate (15.3% in 2014) which feeds widespread crime linked to drug trafficking, inflation, as well as weak economic growth (less than 1% per annum). The main sources of income are tourism and emigrant remittances (30% of GDP each) and the scarce mineral resources (alumina / bauxite export, about 5% of GDP). In 2013 the IMF (International Monetary Fund) granted the country a loan of about 900 million dollars, linking it to the initiation of reforms and the restructuring of the high debt of the state.