Jamaica (in English: Jamaica [dʒəˈmeɪkə]; in Jamaican Creole: Jumieka) is one of the thirteen countries that make up the Insular America, Antilles or Islands of the Caribbean Sea, one of the thirty-five of the American continent. Its capital and most populous city is Kingston. It is 240 km long and a maximum of 80 km wide, located in the Caribbean Sea. It is 630 km from the Central American subcontinent, 150 km south of Cuba and 180 km west of the island of Hispaniola, which includes Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and about 621 km from Puerto Rico.

It was a Spanish possession known as "Santiago" between 1494 and 1655, when it was invaded by English troops. It then became an English possession and later a British colony, known as "Jamaica". The island achieved its independence on August 6, 1962. With 2.9 million people, it is the third most populous English-speaking country in the Americas, after the United States and Canada. It is part of the Commonwealth of Nations (from English: Commonwealth of Nations); in accordance with the system of constitutional monarchy. Executive power is held by the Prime Minister who controls the government, while the Head of State is symbolically King Charles III of the United Kingdom represented by a governor who has limited functions. The only official language is English, although Jamaican patois as the national language is spoken by a vast majority. In 2018, the teaching of Spanish as the first foreign language at school level was reinforced.​