Facts and Statistics

Location: Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba 

Capital: Kingston 

Population: 2,713,130 (July 2004 est.) 

Ethnic Make-up: black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, white 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, mixed 7.3%, other 0.1% 

The Language:English (official). English is the official language of Jamaica. However, Patois (Creole), a combination of English and some African languages, is spoken in rural areas and is used increasingly in urban areas. Most Jamaicans can speak or understand Patois, but it is not a written language. Jamaican speech, even in English, has a distinctive rhythmic and melodic quality.