Kingston is located on the south-eastern end of the island of Jamaica. It is sheltered by the mountains from the cold northern and north-east trades. Its major towns include Constant Spring, Half-Way-Tree, Parade and New Kingston, which is one of the business hubs of the country. St. Andrew is adjacent to the parish of Kingston and it stretches from Cross Roads to Rockfort in the east and reaches up into the Blue Mountains, sharing borders with St. Thomas, Portland, St. Mary and St. Catherine. St. Andrew was known as one of the first parishes to be established by Law in 1867, having been known prior to that time as ‘Liguanea’.

Kingston, the capital of Jamaica, occupies an area of less than 22.0 sq. km (8.5 sq. mile), while St. Andrew is sited on a total of 430.7 sq. km (166.3 sq. miles). Together, Kingston and St. Andrew occupy a total of 452.4 sq. km (174.7 sq. miles). Although Kingston is the smallest parish, it is also the most densely populated of Jamaica’s fourteen (14) parishes with approximately 11,574.7 persons per sq. km (4,469) per sq. miles), while in St. Andrew it is 1,907 persons per sq. km. (1,885 per sq. mile).

The two parishes now commonly referred to by Jamaicans as the Corporate Area, are administered by one parochial board, the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC). This “Corporate Area” is divided into fifteen (15) political constituencies and 1,354 Polling Divisions. The KSAC (along with various departments and agencies of Central Government and their various contractors) provide Kingston and St. Andrew with the general services they need.