World Factbook
Jamaica
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
female
90.8% (2022 est.)
Languages
English, Jamaican patois
Religions
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.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.97 male(s)/female
total population
0.98 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.91 male(s)/female
Birth rate
16.08 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
7.37 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
30.1 years
total
28.8 years (2025 est.)
female
31.7 years
Population
male
1,453,759
total
2,938,503 (2025 est.)
female
1,484,744
Nationality
noun
Jamaican(s)
adjective
Jamaican
Tobacco use
male
15.1% (2025 est.)
total
9% (2025 est.)
female
3.1% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
57.4% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
0.79% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
23.8% (male 342,691/female 329,773)
15-64 years
65.7% (male 914,364/female 941,816)
65 years and over
10.4% (2024 est.) (male 140,440/female 154,629)
Ethnic groups
Black 92.1%, mixed 6.1%, East Indian 0.8%, other 0.4%, unspecified 0.7% (2011 est.)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
50.6 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
36 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
6.9 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
14.6 (2025 est.)
Physician density
0.46 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
7.2% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
19% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-6.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
1.7 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.86 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 85.4% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 91.1% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 95.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 14.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 8.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 4.6% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
5.5% of GDP (2024 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
17.9% national budget (2024 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
11.9 deaths/1,000 live births
total
14.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
9.4 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
0.25% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.91 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
population density is high throughout, but increases in and around Kingston, Montego Bay, and Port Esquivel
Life expectancy at birth
male
74.5 years
female
78.1 years
total population
76.3 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
130 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 99.4% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 98.9% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 98.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 0.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 1.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 1.4% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
1.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.25 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
3.46 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
1.66 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0.35 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
597,000 KINGSTON (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
24.7% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
21.2 years (2008 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-29
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
35.2% (2022 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
2.5% (2018 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
12 years (2015 est.)
total
13 years (2015 est.)
female
14 years (2015 est.)