Location: 18 degrees north of the equator - 90 miles south of Cuba and 600 miles south of Miami

Capital: Kingston

Time: GMT -5 Hours

Language: English, although Patois is commonly used.

Climate: Tropical with year-round high temperatures and humid conditions. The average temperature ranges from 19 – 32 degrees Celsius (66 – 99 degrees Fahrenheit). Between May - June and September - November are the rainy seasons and occasionally hurricanes occur between June and September.

Area: 10,991 sq km (4,244 sq miles).
Population: 2.8 million (CIA estimate 2007).


Religion: Protestant majority (Anglican, Baptist, Church of God and Methodist) with Roman Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Bahai communities. Rastafarianism is also widely practiced and the country has a number of small spiritualist cults.

Electricity: 110 and 220 volts

Country telephone code: 1 876

Currency: Jamaican Dollar

Passport/visa requirements: Brits require a passport valid for at least six months and there are no visa requirements for stays of up to 90 days

National airline: Air Jamaica (www.airjamaica.com)

Airports: Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay and Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston.

Flight time: Approximately 10 hours

Public holidays: 10 per year: January 1, May 23, August 1, August 6, December 25-26, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, Easter Monday and Heroes Day (third Monday in October)

UK Tourist Office details: Jamaica Tourist Board, 1-2 Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BZ Tel: (020) 7225 9090.Website: http://www.visitjamaica.com/

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