# Demographics of Jamaica

Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean. The country had a population of 2,825,352 as of 2023, having the fourth largest population in the region.
Jamaica's annual population growth rate stood at 0.08% in 2022. As of 2023, 68.9% of Jamaicans were Christians in 2011, predominantly Protestant.
The racial demographics in the island of Jamaica are as follows: 76.3% African, 15.1% Afro-European, 3.4% Indian or Afro-Indian, 3.2% White, 1.2% Chinese or Afro-Chinese and 0.8% Others (2024 est.).
Wealth or economic power in Jamaica is disproportionately held by White Jamaicans, Chinese Jamaicans, Lebanese/Syrian Jamaicans, Indian Jamaicans and mixed-race Jamaicans (or locally called the Brown Man or Browning)— despite being minority groups (less than 25% of the country's population), they control most of the country's wealth.

## Population size and structure

According to the 2022 revision of the World Population Prospects the total population was 2,827,695 in 2021, compared to only 1,403,000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 29%, 63.1% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 7.8% was 65 years or older.
| | Total population (x 1000) | Proportion aged 0–14 (%) | Proportion aged 15–64 (%) | Proportion aged 65+ (%) |
| 1950 | 1 403 | 36.0 | 60.1 | 3.9 |
| 1955 | 1 542 | 37.1 | 58.8 | 4.1 |
| 1960 | 1 629 | 41.8 | 53.9 | 4.3 |
| 1965 | 1 760 | 43.5 | 51.1 | 5.4 |
| 1970 | 1 869 | 47.0 | 47.4 | 5.6 |
| 1975 | 2 012 | 45.3 | 48.9 | 5.8 |
| 1980 | 2 132 | 40.3 | 53.0 | 6.8 |
| 1985 | 2 297 | 37.3 | 55.7 | 7.1 |
| 1990 | 2 365 | 35.1 | 57.5 | 7.4 |
| 1995 | 2 462 | 33.8 | 58.7 | 7.5 |
| 2000 | 2 582 | 32.5 | 59.6 | 7.9 |
| 2005 | 2 682 | 30.4 | 61.5 | 8.1 |
| 2010 | 2 741 | 27.1 | 64.5 | 8.4 |
| 2015 | 2 793 | 23.6 | 67.3 | 9.1 |
| 2019 | 2 734 | 20.8 | 69.5 | 9.7 |

### Structure of the population

| Age group | Male | Female | Total | % |
| Total | 1 334 533 | 1 363 450 | 2 697 983 | 100 |
| 0–4 | 106 107 | 103 764 | 209 871 | 7.78 |
| 5–9 | 114 792 | 111 586 | 226 378 | 8.39 |
| 10–14 | 136 183 | 130 403 | 266 586 | 9.88 |
| 15–19 | 139 777 | 134 881 | 274 658 | 10.18 |
| 20–24 | 125 243 | 125 468 | 250 711 | 9.29 |
| 25–29 | 109 919 | 116 201 | 226 120 | 8.38 |
| 30–34 | 87 810 | 97 685 | 185 495 | 6.88 |
| 35–39 | 86 647 | 97 109 | 183 756 | 6.81 |
| 40–44 | 85 656 | 88 268 | 173 924 | 6.45 |
| 45–49 | 79 201 | 76 188 | 155 389 | 5.76 |
| 50–54 | 67 297 | 70 598 | 137 895 | 5.11 |
| 55–59 | 50 717 | 50 081 | 100 798 | 3.74 |
| 60–64 | 44 407 | 43 650 | 88 057 | 3.26 |
| 65–69 | 32 543 | 32 621 | 65 164 | 2.42 |
| 70–74 | 24 627 | 26 649 | 51 276 | 1.90 |
| 75–79 | 19 847 | 22 915 | 42 762 | 1.58 |
| 80–84 | 13 258 | 17 480 | 30 738 | 1.14 |
| 85–89 | 7 267 | 11 190 | 18 457 | 0.68 |
| 90–94 | 2 303 | 4 618 | 6 921 | 0.26 |
| 95–99 | 808 | 1 695 | 2 503 | 0.09 |
| 100+ | 124 | 400 | 524 | 0.02 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Percent |
| 0–14 | 357 082 | 345 753 | 702 835 | 26.05 |
| 15–64 | 876 674 | 900 129 | 1 776 803 | 65.86 |
| 65+ | 100 777 | 117 568 | 218 345 | 8.09 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | % |
| Total | 1 351 515 | 1 381 024 | 2 732 539 | 100 |
| 0–4 | 88 769 | 85 290 | 174 059 | 6.37 |
| 5–9 | 97 299 | 93 948 | 191 247 | 7.00 |
| 10–14 | 106 720 | 104 712 | 211 432 | 7.74 |
| 15–19 | 118 895 | 113 888 | 232 783 | 8.52 |
| 20–24 | 130 614 | 127 184 | 257 798 | 9.43 |
| 25–29 | 126 322 | 123 540 | 249 862 | 9.14 |
| 30–34 | 109 010 | 112 958 | 221 968 | 8.12 |
| 35–39 | 95 108 | 103 970 | 199 078 | 7.29 |
| 40–44 | 77 021 | 89 154 | 166 175 | 6.08 |
| 45–49 | 78 742 | 87 344 | 166 086 | 6.08 |
| 50–54 | 75 767 | 77 096 | 152 863 | 5.59 |
| 55–59 | 69 089 | 67 139 | 136 228 | 4.99 |
| 60–64 | 54 822 | 56 388 | 111 210 | 4.07 |
| 65-69 | 41 595 | 41 171 | 82 766 | 3.03 |
| 70-74 | 32 319 | 33 155 | 65 474 | 2.40 |
| 75-79 | 21 380 | 23 690 | 45 070 | 1.65 |
| 80+ | 28 043 | 40 397 | 68 440 | 2.50 |
| Age group | Male | Female | Total | Percent |
| 0–14 | 292 788 | 283 950 | 576 738 | 21.11 |
| 15–64 | 935 390 | 958 661 | 1 894 051 | 69.31 |
| 65+ | 123 337 | 138 413 | 261 750 | 9.58 |

## Vital statistics
### Registered births and deaths

| | Average population | Live births | Deaths | Natural change | Crude birth rate (per 1000) | Crude death rate (per 1000) | Natural change (per 1000) | TFR |
| 1900 | 750,000 | 26,800 | 16,200 | 10,600 | 35.7 | 21.6 | 14.1 |
| 1901 | 756,000 | 32,100 | 17,200 | 14,900 | 42.5 | 22.8 | 19.7 |
| 1902 | 760,000 | 29,900 | 15,000 | 14,900 | 39.3 | 19.8 | 19.5 |
| 1903 | 770,000 | 30,900 | 19,100 | 11,800 | 40.1 | 24.8 | 15.3 |
| 1904 | 780,000 | 28,500 | 19,400 | 9,100 | 36.5 | 24.9 | 11.6 |
| 1905 | 790,000 | 31,100 | 17,500 | 13,600 | 39.4 | 22.2 | 17.2 |
| 1906 | 790,000 | 30,700 | 21,200 | 9,500 | 38.9 | 26.8 | 12.1 |
| 1907 | 800,000 | 28,800 | 23,400 | 5,400 | 36.0 | 29.2 | 6.8 |
| 1908 | 810,000 | 31,300 | 18,700 | 12,600 | 38.7 | 23.1 | 15.6 |
| 1909 | 820,000 | 32,300 | 18,600 | 13,700 | 39.4 | 22.7 | 16.7 |
| 1910 | 820,000 | 31,600 | 18,900 | 12,700 | 38.5 | 23.1 | 15.4 |
| 1911 | 831,000 | 32,500 | 18,500 | 14,000 | 39.1 | 22.3 | 16.8 |
| 1912 | 830,000 | 32,500 | 21,100 | 11,400 | 39.2 | 25.4 | 13.8 |
| 1913 | 840,000 | 30,200 | 18,600 | 11,600 | 36.0 | 22.1 | 13.9 |
| 1914 | 840,000 | 33,400 | 18,400 | 15,000 | 39.8 | 21.9 | 17.9 |
| 1915 | 840,000 | 29,800 | 18,600 | 11,200 | 35.5 | 22.1 | 13.4 |
| 1916 | 840,000 | 28,700 | 19,400 | 9,300 | 34.2 | 23.1 | 11.1 |
| 1917 | 850,000 | 29,900 | 23,600 | 6,300 | 35.2 | 27.8 | 7.4 |
| 1918 | 850,000 | 30,100 | 29,100 | 1,000 | 35.4 | 34.2 | 1.2 |
| 1919 | 850,000 | 29,700 | 19,500 | 10,200 | 34.9 | 22.9 | 12.0 |
| 1920 | 860,000 | 36,200 | 22,500 | 13,700 | 42.1 | 26.2 | 15.9 |
| 1921 | 858,000 | 29,900 | 24,300 | 5,600 | 34.9 | 28.3 | 6.6 |
| 1922 | 870,000 | 32,500 | 20,000 | 12,500 | 37.4 | 23.0 | 14.4 |
| 1923 | 890,000 | 34,400 | 20,500 | 13,900 | 38.7 | 23.0 | 15.7 |
| 1924 | 910,000 | 33,700 | 19,900 | 13,800 | 37.0 | 21.9 | 15.1 |
| 1925 | 930,000 | 32,500 | 20,100 | 12,400 | 34.9 | 21.6 | 13.3 |
| 1926 | 950,000 | 36,500 | 19,500 | 17,000 | 38.4 | 20.5 | 17.9 |
| 1927 | 960,000 | 33,300 | 20,300 | 13,000 | 34.7 | 21.1 | 13.6 |
| 1928 | 980,000 | 35,100 | 19,300 | 15,800 | 35.8 | 19.7 | 16.1 |
| 1929 | 1,000,000 | 34,200 | 18,400 | 15,800 | 34.2 | 18.4 | 15.8 |
| 1930 | 1,020,000 | 38,300 | 17,600 | 20,700 | 37.5 | 17.3 | 20.2 |
| 1931 | 1,030,000 | 36,400 | 19,500 | 16,900 | 35.3 | 18.9 | 16.4 |
| 1932 | 1,047,000 | 34,200 | 18,200 | 16,000 | 32.7 | 17.4 | 15.3 |
| 1933 | 1,067,000 | 35,600 | 21,000 | 14,600 | 33.4 | 19.7 | 13.7 |
| 1934 | 1,081,000 | 34,247 | 18,731 | 15,516 | 31.7 | 17.3 | 14.4 |
| 1935 | 1,096,000 | 37,379 | 19,706 | 17,673 | 34.1 | 18.0 | 16.1 |
| 1936 | 1,111,000 | 36,561 | 19,629 | 16,932 | 32.9 | 17.7 | 15.2 |
| 1937 | 1,123,000 | 35,352 | 17,481 | 17,871 | 31.5 | 15.6 | 15.9 |
| 1938 | 1,142,000 | 37,970 | 19,124 | 18,846 | 33.3 | 16.8 | 16.5 |
| 1939 | 1,162,000 | 37,474 | 17,536 | 19,938 | 32.3 | 15.1 | 17.2 |
| 1940 | 1,183,000 | 36,462 | 18,243 | 18,219 | 30.8 | 15.4 | 15.4 |
| 1941 | 1,205,000 | 37,829 | 17,317 | 20,512 | 31.4 | 14.4 | 17.0 |
| 1942 | 1,227,000 | 40,165 | 17,545 | 22,620 | 32.7 | 14.3 | 18.4 |
| 1943 | 1,248,000 | 39,371 | 17,558 | 21,813 | 31.5 | 14.1 | 17.4 |
| 1944 | 1,260,000 | 41,772 | 18,976 | 22,796 | 33.2 | 15.1 | 18.1 |
| 1945 | 1,266,000 | 37,954 | 18,874 | 19,080 | 30.0 | 14.9 | 15.1 |
| 1946 | 1,292,000 | 39,918 | 17,272 | 22,646 | 30.9 | 13.4 | 17.5 |
| 1947 | 1,321,000 | 43,267 | 18,770 | 24,497 | 32.8 | 14.2 | 18.5 |
| 1948 | 1,345,000 | 41,463 | 17,869 | 23,594 | 30.8 | 13.3 | 17.5 |
| 1949 | 1,365,000 | 44,377 | 16,859 | 27,518 | 32.5 | 12.4 | 20.2 |
| 1950 | 1,403,000 | 46,459 | 16,677 | 29,782 | 33.1 | 11.9 | 21.2 |
| 1951 | 1,437,000 | 48,561 | 17,250 | 31,311 | 34.0 | 12.1 | 21.9 |
| 1952 | 1,468,000 | 48,902 | 16,695 | 32,207 | 33.6 | 11.5 | 22.1 |
| 1953 | 1,496,000 | 51,131 | 15,442 | 35,689 | 34.4 | 10.4 | 24.0 |
| 1954 | 1,521,000 | 53,630 | 16,302 | 37,328 | 36.5 | 11.1 | 25.4 |
| 1955 | 1,542,000 | 55,767 | 15,328 | 40,439 | 37.5 | 10.3 | 27.2 |
| 1956 | 1,560,000 | 58,177 | 14,670 | 43,507 | 38.5 | 9.7 | 28.8 |
| 1957 | 1,576,000 | 60,445 | 14,129 | 46,316 | 39.4 | 9.2 | 30.2 |
| 1958 | 1,592,000 | 63,517 | 14,813 | 48,704 | 40.6 | 9.5 | 31.1 |
| 1959 | 1,609,000 | 63,874 | 16,549 | 47,325 | 39.9 | 10.3 | 29.6 |
| 1960 | 1,629,000 | 68,413 | 14,321 | 54,092 | 42.5 | 8.9 | 33.6 |
| 1961 | 1,652,000 | 66,128 | 14,193 | 51,935 | 40.5 | 8.7 | 31.8 |
| 1962 | 1,679,000 | 64,913 | 14,167 | 50,746 | 39.1 | 8.5 | 30.6 |
| 1963 | 1,707,000 | 66,189 | 15,159 | 51,030 | 39.0 | 8.9 | 30.1 |
| 1964 | 1,735,000 | 68,359 | 13,267 | 55,092 | 39.3 | 7.6 | 31.7 |
| 1965 | 1,760,000 | 69,768 | 14,084 | 55,684 | 39.6 | 8.0 | 31.6 |
| 1966 | 1,783,000 | 71,364 | 14,288 | 57,076 | 40.0 | 8.0 | 32.0 |
| 1967 | 1,804,000 | 67,438 | 13,295 | 54,143 | 37.4 | 7.4 | 30.0 |
| 1968 | 1,824,000 | 65,402 | 14,557 | 50,845 | 35.9 | 8.0 | 27.9 |
| 1969 | 1,845,000 | 64,668 | 14,094 | 50,574 | 35.1 | 7.6 | 27.4 |
| 1970 | 1,869,000 | 64,375 | 14,352 | 50,023 | 34.4 | 7.7 | 26.8 |
| 1971 | 1,896,000 | 66,277 | 14,078 | 52,199 | 34.9 | 7.4 | 27.5 |
| 1972 | 1,925,000 | 66,219 | 13,970 | 52,249 | 34.3 | 7.2 | 27.1 |
| 1973 | 1,955,000 | 61,857 | 14,157 | 47,700 | 31.6 | 7.2 | 24.3 |
| 1974 | 1,984,000 | 61,506 | 14,374 | 47,132 | 30.9 | 7.2 | 23.7 |
| 1975 | 2,012,000 | 61,462 | 14,004 | 47,458 | 30.3 | 6.9 | 23.4 |
| 1976 | 2,037,000 | 60,658 | 14,671 | 45,987 | 29.6 | 7.2 | 22.4 |
| 1977 | 2,059,000 | 60,423 | 14,245 | 46,178 | 29.1 | 6.9 | 22.3 |
| 1978 | 2,081,000 | 58,189 | 12,148 | 46,041 | 27.9 | 5.8 | 22.1 |
| 1979 | 2,105,000 | 59,126 | 13,297 | 45,829 | 28.0 | 6.3 | 21.7 |
| 1980 | 2,132,000 | 58,589 | 12,706 | 45,883 | 27.5 | 6.0 | 21.5 | 3.56 |
| 1981 | 2,165,000 | 59,435 | 13,315 | 46,120 | 27.5 | 6.2 | 21.3 | 3.50 |
| 1982 | 2,200,000 | 61,477 | 12,698 | 48,779 | 27.9 | 5.8 | 22.2 | 3.40 |
| 1983 | 2,237,000 | 61,417 | 12,588 | 48,829 | 27.4 | 5.6 | 21.8 | 3.21 |
| 1984 | 2,270,000 | 57,533 | 13,405 | 44,128 | 25.2 | 5.9 | 19.4 | 2.73 |
| 1985 | 2,297,000 | 56,210 | 13,918 | 42,292 | 24.3 | 6.0 | 18.3 | 2.56 |
| 1986 | 2,317,000 | 54,067 | 13,341 | 40,726 | 23.1 | 5.7 | 17.4 | 2.40 |
| 1987 | 2,332,000 | 52,270 | 12,352 | 39,918 | 22.2 | 5.3 | 17.0 | 2.27 |
| 1988 | 2,342,000 | 53,623 | 12,167 | 41,456 | 22.7 | 5.2 | 17.6 | 2.31 |
| 1989 | 2,353,000 | 59,104 | 14,315 | 44,789 | 24.7 | 6.0 | 18.7 | 2.43 |
| 1990 | 2,365,000 | 59,606 | 12,174 | 47,432 | 25.2 | 5.1 | 20.1 | 2.45 |
| 1991 | 2,381,000 | 59,879 | 13,319 | 46,560 | 25.2 | 5.6 | 19.6 | 2.44 |
| 1992 | 2,399,000 | 56,276 | 13,225 | 43,051 | 23.5 | 5.5 | 17.9 | 2.34 |
| 1993 | 2,419,000 | 58,627 | 13,927 | 44,700 | 24.2 | 5.8 | 18.5 | 2.44 |
| 1994 | 2,440,000 | 57,404 | 13,503 | 43,901 | 23.5 | 5.5 | 18.0 | 2.38 |
| 1995 | 2,462,000 | 57,607 | 12,776 | 44,831 | 23.4 | 5.2 | 18.2 | 2.37 |
| 1996 | 2,485,000 | 57,370 | 14,854 | 42,516 | 23.1 | 6.0 | 17.1 | 2.33 |
| 1997 | 2,509,000 | 59,385 | 15,967 | 43,418 | 23.7 | 6.4 | 17.3 | 2.42 |
| 1998 | 2,534,000 | 56,937 | 16,150 | 40,787 | 22.5 | 6.4 | 16.1 | 2.29 |
| 1999 | 2,559,000 | 56,911 | 17,550 | 39,361 | 22.2 | 6.9 | 15.4 | 2.29 |
| 2000 | 2,582,000 | 54,035 | 16,400 | 37,635 | 20.9 | 6.4 | 14.6 | 2.13 |
| 2001 | 2,605,000 | 49,291 | 16,615 | 32,676 | 18.9 | 6.4 | 12.5 | 1.92 |
| 2002 | 2,620,000 | 47,464 | 16,728 | 30,736 | 18.2 | 6.4 | 11.8 | 1.84 |
| 2003 | 2,629,000 | 45,559 | 17,267 | 28,292 | 17.4 | 6.6 | 10.8 | 1.77 |
| 2004 | 2,639,000 | 44,843 | 16,332 | 28,511 | 17.0 | 6.2 | 10.8 | 1.73 |
| 2005 | 2,644,000 | 46,370 | 17,413 | 28,957 | 17.5 | 6.6 | 11.0 | 1.81 |
| 2006 | 2,653,000 | 43,243 | 18,960 | 24,283 | 16.3 | 7.2 | 9.2 | 1.70 |
| 2007 | 2,662,000 | 43,385 | 20,550 | 22,835 | 16.3 | 7.7 | 8.6 | 1.71 |
| 2008 | 2,672,000 | 43,112 | 19,966 | 23,146 | 16.1 | 7.5 | 8.7 | 1.70 |
| 2009 | 2,681,000 | 42,782 | 18,555 | 24,227 | 16.0 | 7.0 | 8.9 | 1.68 |
| 2010 | 2,691,000 | 40,508 | 21,503 | 19,005 | 15.1 | 8.0 | 7.1 | 1.57 |
| 2011 | 2,700,000 | 39,673 | 16,926 | 22,747 | 14.7 | 6.3 | 8.4 | 1.54 |
| 2012 | 2,708,000 | 39,553 | 16,998 | 22,555 | 14.5 | 6.3 | 8.3 | 1.55 |
| 2013 | 2,715,000 | 36,746 | 15,427 | 21,319 | 13.5 | 5.7 | 7.8 | 1.52 |
| 2014 | 2,721,000 | 36,996 | 18,320 | 18,676 | 13.6 | 6.7 | 6.9 | 1.51 |
| 2015 | 2,723,000 | 37,900 | 19,249 | 18,651 | 13.9 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 1.53 |
| 2016 | 2,727,000 | 36,160 | 19,761 | 16,399 | 13.3 | 7.2 | 6.1 | 1.50 |
| 2017 | 2,728,000 | 34,423 | 19,661 | 14,762 | 12.6 | 7.2 | 5.4 | 1.46 |
| 2018 | 2,731,000 | 34,209 | 19,762 | 14,447 | 12.5 | 7.2 | 5.3 | 1.42 |
| 2019 | 2,734,000 | 34,632 | 20,937 | 13,695 | 12.7 | 7.7 | 5.0 | |
| 2020 | 2,735,000 | 33,941 | 20,238 | 13,703 | 12.4 | 7.4 | 5.0 | |
| 2021 | 2,737,000 | 33,126 | 26,974 | 6,152 | 12.1 | 9.8 | 2.3 | |
| 2022 | 2,738,000 | 31,276 | 21,390 | 9,886 | 11.4 | 7.8 | 3.6 | |

### Life expectancy at birth

| Period | Life expectancy in Years | Period | Life expectancy in Years |
| 1950–1955 | 58.6 | 1985–1990 | 72.1 |
| 1955–1960 | 62.7 | 1990–1995 | 72.0 |
| 1960–1965 | 65.7 | 1995–2000 | 72.1 |
| 1965–1970 | 67.2 | 2000–2005 | 72.8 |
| 1970–1975 | 69.0 | 2005–2010 | 74.2 |
| 1975–1980 | 70.7 | 2010–2015 | 75.5 |
| 1980–1985 | 72.0 | | |
Source: UN World Population Prospects

## Ethnic groups

76.3% African, 15.1% Afro-European, 3.4% Indian or Afro-Indian, 3.2% White, 1.2% Chinese or Afro-Chinese and 0.8% Others (2024 est.)

### Historical

| Year | Population | White | % W | Black | % B |
| 1661 | 3,874 | N/A | 86.7% | N/A | 13.3% |
| 1673 | 17,272 | N/A | 45% | N/A | 55% |
| 1730 | 83,008 | N/A | 9.2% | N/A | 90.8% |
| 1774 | 209,617 | N/A | 6.1% | N/A | 93.9% |

## Languages

English, Jamaican Patois

## Religion

Protestant 64.8% (includes Seventh Day Adventist 12.0%, Pentecostal 11.0%, Other Church of God 9.2%, New Testament Church of God 7.2%, Baptist 6.7%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.5%, Anglican 2.8%, United Church 2.1%, Methodist 1.6%, Revived 1.4%, Brethren 0.9%, and Moravian 0.7%), Roman Catholic 2.2%, Jehovah's Witness 1.9%, Rastafarian 1.1%, other 6.5%, none 21.3%, unspecified 2.3% (2011 est.)