Many former island colonies
in the Caribbean have gained independence since the early 1960s. Despite
high standards of literacy, modernization and expansion of the fishing
industry, and development of an oil industry (especially along the coast
of Venezuela near Lake Maracaibo), most Caribbean nations remain overly
reliant on tourism and a few exports (such as bauxite, sugar, and
bananas) and depend heavily on imported food and fuel. Recent efforts to
improve and diversify the fragile economy of the region include the
founding of the Organization Of Eastern Caribbean States in 1981 and the
launching of the Caribbean Basin Initative in 1983.
Agriculture and the mining industry are dominant factors in Jamaica's
economy today. Sugar, tropical fruits, coffee, cacao, and spices are
grown in quantity for export through the ports of Kingston and Montego
Bay. Jamaica has recently developed a profitable mining industry. It
ranks among the world's top nations in the production of bauxite and
alumina, which are exported to Canada, Norway, and the United States for
refining intoaluminum. A petroleum refinery operates in Kingston. Other
industries include sugar processing, textiles, printing, and chemicals.
The lack of indigenous energy sources has slowed industrial
development in Jamaica. For a time in the mid-1980s, reduced world
demand for bauxite hurt Jamaica; political unrest and a 1988 hurricane
also hurt the economy. In 1990, Jamaica also struggled under a foreign
debt of about $4 billion, one of the largest in the world in proportion
to population.
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