Jamaica: Introduction

Jamaica is an island country located in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba and west of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Jamaica has a strategic location between the Cayman Trench and the Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal. The government system is a constitutional parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm. The chief of state is the Queen of the United Kingdom, and the head of government is the Prime Minister of Jamaica. Jamaica has a mixed economic system, which includes a variety of private freedoms combined with centralized economic planning and government regulation. Jamaica is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).