Key facts
Date of Membership in CARICOM: 1 Aug 1973
Also Known as:Land of Wood and Water (Root: Xaymaca (Arawak))
Status of Independence:Independent 1962/08/06
Area: 10,991 km2 (4,244 miles2)
Capital City: Kingston
Population: 2,687,200 (2008)
Currency: Jamaica Dollar
Highest National Award: Order of the National Hero
Economy
GDP: EC$41,275 Mn (2012)
GDP Growth: 0.5% p.a. 1990–2012
GNI: US$13.7bn
GNI PC: US$5,220
Key dates in history
SOME KEY DATES IN HISTORY
1494 Arrival of Columbus on island Arawak Indians called `Xaymaca’ (meaning land of wood and water)
1509 Occupation by Spain
1655 Captured by Britain
1692 Famous buccaneer town, Port Royal, destroyed by earthquake
1907 Capital, Kingston, severely damaged by another earthquake
1930 Framework for modern political system laid
1958 Joined the West Indies Federation
1962 Independence achieved. Rt Excellent Sir William Alexander Bustamante, first Prime Minister