Location:   
Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba
 
Geographic coordinates:   
18 15 N, 77 30 W
 
Map references:   
Central America and the Caribbean 
 
Area:   
total: 10,991 sq km
country comparison to the world: 174
land: 10,831 sq km
water: 160 sq km
 
Area – comparative:   
slightly smaller than Connecticut
 
Land boundaries:   
0 km
 
Coastline:   
1,022 km
 
Maritime claims:   
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin
 
Climate:   
tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior
 
Terrain:   
mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain
 
Elevation extremes:   
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m
 
Natural resources:   
bauxite, gypsum, limestone
 
Land use:   
arable land: 15.83%
permanent crops: 10.01%
other: 74.16% (2005)
 
Irrigated land:   
250 sq km (2002)
 
Total renewable water resources:   
9.4 cu km (2000)
 
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):   
total: 0.41 cu km/yr (34%/17%/49%)
per capita: 155 cu m/yr (2000)
 
Natural hazards:   
hurricanes (especially July to November)
 
Environment – current issues:   
heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions
 
Environment – international agreements:   
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
 
Geography – note:   
strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal