Description

Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles located in the Caribbean Sea. The island is 146 miles in length and 50 miles in width. It is northeast of Central America, south of Cuba, and west of the island of Hispaniola. Not only is Jamaica the third largest island in the Caribbean, it is also the most populous English speaking island there. The Blue Mountains are located inland and are surrounded by a narrow coastal plain. The climate is tropical with hot and humid weather.
 
The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who uses the name "Queen of Jamaica" when visiting the country or performing duties oversea on behalf of Jamaica. Jamaica is a constitutional monarchy with the monarch represented by a Governor-General who is nominated by the Prime Minister. The Parliament of Jamaica is bicameral, consisting of the Lower House, the House of Representatives, and the Upper House, the Senate. Jamaica traditionally had a two party system, the People's National Party and Jamaica Labour Party. However, in the past decade, the National Democratic Movement, a new political party, has emerged and challenged the other two parties. The NDM has become almost irrelevant as it only received 540 votes of the 800,000 votes in the last election held in Jamaica.
 
The Rastafari movement was founded in Jamaica, which is a movement that believes that Haile Selassie of Ethiopia was God incarnate, the returned black messiah. Bob Marley, who is Jamaican and a convert to the faith, spread the Rastafarian message to the world. Several movies including James Bond movies and Cocktail have been filmed in Jamaica. Jamaican sports, especially cricket, soccer and horse racing are very popular. The national cricket team competes regionally and the national soccer team qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

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