In the late 1980s, annual production of alumina amounted to some 1.6 million metric tons. Along with established food and beverage industries, plants manufacturing such products as printed fabrics, clothing, footwear, paints, agricultural machinery, cement, transistor radios, and fertilizers have been set up. A petroleum refinery in Kingston produces fuel sufficient to meet about half the national demand. The Bank of Jamaica, established in 1960, is the central bank and bank of issue. Several commercial banks are also in operation.
Foreign trade is primarily with the United States, Great Britain, Venezuela, and Canada.
Tourism is vital to the economy and provides a large portion of foreign-exchange earnings. Numerous international airlines and Air Jamaica serve the island, and internal flights are provided by Trans-Jamaican Airlines. Jamaica has two broadcasting companies, one public and one privately owned. In the late 1980s the employed labor force exceeded 1 million. The Jamaican constitution, promulgated in 1962, established a parliamentary system of government patterned after that of Great Britain.