Caribbean.

GMT - 5.

10,991 sq km (4,244 sq miles).

2.8 million (CIA estimate 2007).

252.5 sq km.

Kingston. Population: 660,000.

With an area of 10,911 sq km (4,244 sq miles), Jamaica is the largest island of the Commonwealth Caribbean and the third largest of the Greater Antilles, after Cuba and Hispaniola. A largely mountainous terrain reaches 2,256m (7,402ft) at the Blue Mountain Peak in the east, descending westward in a series of ridges and forested ravines. Over 1,000km (621 miles) of coastline offers fine beaches in the north and west. At its greatest extent, Jamaica is 235km (146 miles) long with a width that varies between 35 and 82 km (22 and 51 miles). The island is a quarter the size of Estonia, half the size of the Scottish Highlands, roughly the same size of the American state of Connecticut.

Constitutional monarchy. Gained independence from the UK in 1962.

HM Queen Elizabeth II, represented locally by Governor-General Kenneth Hall.

Prime Minister Bruce Golding since 2007.

Jamaica has a stable political system. The People's National Party (PNP, social democrat) held power from February 1989 to September 2006. In October 2002 elections the PNP won a fourth consecutive term in office, giving PJ Patterson an unprecedented fourth term as prime minister. He resigned in March 2006, after 14 years in the role. Portia Simpson Miller, the newly-elected leader of the ruling PNP, automatically succeeded him, becoming Jamaica's seventh prime minister and the first female to take office. Underemployment, national debt, high interest rates, gang-related crimes and labour unrest remained the government's major challenges. In 2007, Bruce Golding led his Jamaica Labour Party to victory in a closely fought election.

The official language is English, but Patois is the conversational dialect most Jamaicans use on a day-to-day basis.

Jamaica has the most churches per capita of any country in the world. Protestant majority (Anglican, Baptist, Church of God and Methodist) with Roman Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Bahai communities. Rastafarianism, a religion based on belief in the divinity of the late Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie (Ras Tafari), is also widely practised. Jamaica also has a number of small spiritualist cults.

Electrical outlets on Jamaica do not follow a standard. Expect 110 volts or 220 volts AC (50 Cycle), 60Hz, single phase with American two-pin plugs or 220 volts AC, 50Hz, single phase, from three-pin sockets.

Away from the fast-paced capital city, Jamaica is slow and relaxed. Handshaking is the customary form of greeting. Jamaicans are hospitable and it is not uncommon to be invited into a local home where normal social conventions apply. When it comes to day attire, beachwear is only considered appropriate for the poolside or the sand and is frowned upon elsewhere. Eveningwear varies, from the formal jacket-and-tie dress codes in many top restaurants to the more relaxed casual clothing in beach bars. Marijuana, or ganja as it is known in Jamaica, is illegal to possess, use or export. Possession may lead to imprisonment and deportation.