FACTS

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

Area (only Total) total: 10,991 sq km

Climate: tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior

Terrain: mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain

Population: 2,804,332 (July 2008 est.)

Main Language (only first): English

Government type: constitutional parliamentary democracy

Capital (Name): Kingston

Capital (Time Difference): UTC-5

Independence: 6 August 1962 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 August (1962)