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Jamaica

OFFICIAL NAME: Jamaica

DATE OF FORMATION: 1962

POPULATION: 2.7 million

DENSITY: 646 people per square mile

LANGUAGES: English Creole, English

RELIGIONS: Other and nonreligious 45%, Other Protestant 20%, Church of God 18%, Baptist 10%, Anglican 7%

ETHNIC MIX: Black African 75%, Mulatto (mixed race) 13%, European and Chinese 11%, East Indian 1%

GOVERNMENT: Multiparty elections

CURRENCY: Jamaican dollar

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First colonized by the Spanish and then, from 1655, by the English, Jamaica is located in the Caribbean, 145 km (90 miles) south of Cuba. It was the first of the Caribbean island countries to become independent in the postwar years, and remains an active force in regional politics. Jamaica is also influential on the world music scene: reggae, ska, and ragga (or dancehall) developed in the tough conditions of Kingston's poor districts.