Jamaicans - Settlements

Urban centers are growing rapidly as a result of migration from rural areas. About 40 percent of the population is in the Kingston-Spanish Town conurbation in the southeast, where most of the factories are located. Another 15 percent live in forty-eight small towns, and the remaining 45 percent live in over one thousand rural settlements. Sugar estates are located in low-lying areas, generally along the coast. Bauxite mining and alumina processing are concentrated in the center of the island. The tourist industry is situated largely along the north coast, from Negril in the west to Port Antonio in the east. Small farms are dispersed throughout the rugged interior.