Jamaica

Jamaica is a country on an island.

It is in the warm Caribbean Sea. People speak English and Jamaican Creole. The capital city is Kingston.

Jamaica is an island in the Caribbean Sea, about 235 kilometers long. Cuba is about 150 kilometers to the north and Haiti about 160 kilometers to the east. It is the third largest island in the Caribbean, after Cuba and Hispaniola.

The island's name comes from Xaymaca, its original Indigenous name. English is the official language, and Jamaican Creole is widely spoken. The 2022 census counted 2,774,538 people, and Kingston is the capital.

Britannica gives Jamaica a length of about 235 km and a width of 35–82 km, some 160 km west of Haiti, 150 km south of Cuba and 630 km from the nearest mainland, Cape Gracias a Dios in Central America. Columbus, who sighted it in 1494, called it Santiago, but the Indigenous name Xaymaca persisted.

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) presented preliminary results of the 2022 Population and Housing Census on October 15, 2025: 2,774,538 people, up 76,555 from 2,697,983 in 2011, an average annual growth rate of 0.24%, the lowest recorded from 1970 to 2022. In October 2025 Hurricane Melissa struck the island, and rebuilding has involved national and international organizations.

Kingston is the capital.

It has a big harbor and busy streets. Spanish Town is an older town nearby. Montego Bay and Negril have famous beaches.

Kingston, on the south coast, is the capital and biggest city. It began after a strong earthquake in 1692 wrecked the nearby town of Port Royal, and survivors built a new town across the bay. The hero photo shows New Kingston at night.

Spanish Town, near Kingston, was the Spanish capital from 1534, then called Villa de la Vega. On the north and west coasts, Montego Bay, Ocho Rios and Negril are known for beaches and marine parks.

Kingston was founded across the bay by survivors of the 1692 earthquake that devastated Port Royal, a colonial port. Spain's first permanent settlement was Sevilla la Nueva (1509) on the north coast; in 1534 the capital moved to Villa de la Vega (later Santiago de la Vega), today's Spanish Town.

Britannica notes that Jamaica's first marine park, about 15 km², was established at Montego Bay in 1992, with others at Ocho Rios and Negril. Protected areas include Cockpit Country, the Hellshire Hills and Portland Bight. The photos show New Kingston at night and Spanish Town.

Tall mountains rise in the east.

The highest is Blue Mountain Peak. In the west are hills full of caves and holes. Rain falls most in May and October.

Almost half of Jamaica is more than 300 meters above sea level. In the east, the Blue Mountains reach 2,256 meters at Blue Mountain Peak, the highest point. In the west, Cockpit Country is a maze of limestone ridges and deep hollows called cockpits, and many rivers vanish into caves.

The climate is tropical and warm, cooled by trade winds. Rain falls mainly in May and October, and the island averages about 2,100 millimeters a year. Hurricanes sometimes strike in summer and fall.

Interior mountains and plateaus span the island; the Blue Mountains peak at 2,256 m. Karst landscapes of ridges, depressions and sinkholes (cockpits) mark the John Crow and Dry Harbour mountains and Cockpit Country, about 1,300 km² in the west-central island. More than half the surface is white limestone, and many rivers disappear into sinkholes; the Rio Minho, about 100 km, is the longest.

Trade winds dominate; Kingston's daily means run from about 22 to 31 °C, and frost-level lows near 4 °C have been recorded on the high peaks. Rain averages about 2,100 mm a year, over 3,300 mm in Portland parish but little on the southern savannas. Britannica lists hurricanes in 1951, 1988, 2004 and 2007, and Hurricane Melissa struck in 2025; damaging earthquakes occurred in 1692 and 1907. The Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park dates from 1993.

Jamaica has a hummingbird with long tail streamers.

It is the national bird. Crocodiles rest in the swamps. Sea turtles swim on the reefs.

Jamaica has few native land mammals, and most of them are bats. But more than 200 kinds of birds have been seen, including about two dozen found only in Jamaica, such as the streamertail hummingbird, the national bird. The Homerus swallowtail, the largest butterfly in the Western Hemisphere, lives in the Blue and John Crow Mountains.

The American crocodile lives in coastal swamps but may be in danger. Sea turtles and many reef fish live around the island. The photos on this page were taken in other places.

Britannica notes few indigenous mammals; bats are the most numerous, and the Jamaican coney, once prized as food, has been reduced by hunting and habitat loss. Mongooses, introduced in 1872, are widespread. More than 200 bird species are recorded, including some two dozen endemics such as the streamertail hummingbird, the national bird. The native crocodile may be threatened with extinction.

The Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park (about 780 km²) protects thousands of tree and fern species and the Homerus swallowtail, the Western Hemisphere's largest butterfly. Jamaica also lies inside the IUCN-mapped native ranges of the American crocodile, American flamingo, green and hawksbill sea turtles and brown pelican.

Most Jamaicans have African ancestors.

People love reggae music and dancing. Rice and peas and spicy jerk meat are popular foods. Running fast is a famous Jamaican sport.

Most Jamaicans are descendants of Africans who were enslaved and brought to work on sugar estates. Smaller groups have European, Indian, Chinese or Middle Eastern ancestors. Jamaican Creole mixes English with words from West African languages, Spanish and French.

Reggae music, made famous worldwide by Bob Marley, comes from Jamaica. On Sundays, families often share a big meal of chicken, fish, yams, fried plantains and rice and peas, and jerk, spicy grilled meat, is a favorite. Jamaica's sprinters are famous: Usain Bolt won the Olympic 100 and 200 meters three Games in a row.

The population is predominantly descended from enslaved Africans, with smaller groups of mixed African and European descent and of British, Indian, Chinese, Middle Eastern, Portuguese and German ancestry. English is official; Jamaican Creole, English-based with West African, Spanish and some French vocabulary, is widely spoken and is a distinct language.

Britannica describes a culture shaped by British traditions and a search for African roots, visible in Creole, cuisine, proverbs, drumming and the rhythms of music and dance. Three generations often share a home. Independence (August 6) and Emancipation Day (August 1) are national holidays, and the government's Festival includes parades and arts competitions. At Rio 2016, Usain Bolt became the first man to win both the 100 and 200 meters at three consecutive Olympics.