Jamaica: People & Society#

Population2,970,340 (July 2016 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican
Ethnic groupsblack 92.1%, mixed 6.1%, East Indian 0.8%, other 0.4%, unspecified 0.7% (2011 est.)
LanguagesEnglish, English patois
ReligionsProtestant 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.)
Age structure0-14 years: 27.56% (male 416,421/female 402,283)
15-24 years: 21.13% (male 315,190/female 312,362)
25-54 years: 37.59% (male 551,384/female 565,279)
55-64 years: 5.78% (male 82,754/female 88,786)
65 years and over: 7.94% (male 105,593/female 130,288) (2016 est.)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 48.6%
youth dependency ratio: 35%
elderly dependency ratio: 13.6%
potential support ratio: 7.4% (2015 est.)
Median agetotal: 25.6 years
male: 25.1 years
female: 26.1 years (2016 est.)
Population growth rate0.68% (2016 est.)
Birth rate18 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
Death rate6.7 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
Net migration rate-4.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
Population distributionpopulation density is high throughout, but increases in and around Kingston, Montego Bay, and Port Esquivel
Urbanizationurban population: 54.8% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 0.9% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
Major urban areas - populationKINGSTON (capital) 588,000 (2015)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.81 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth21.2
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2008 est.)
Maternal mortality rate89 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 13.1 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 13.7 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 12.5 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 73.6 years
male: 72 years
female: 75.3 years (2016 est.)
Total fertility rate1.99 children born/woman (2016 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate72.5% (2008/09)
Health expenditures5.4% of GDP (2014)
Physicians density0.41 physicians/1,000 population (2008)
Hospital bed density1.7 beds/1,000 population (2012)
Drinking water sourceimproved:
urban: 97.5% of population
rural: 89.4% of population
total: 93.8% of population
unimproved:
urban: 2.5% of population
rural: 10.6% of population
total: 6.2% of population (2015 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved:
urban: 79.9% of population
rural: 84.1% of population
total: 81.8% of population
unimproved:
urban: 20.1% of population
rural: 15.9% of population
total: 18.2% of population (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate1.63% (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS29,000 (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths1,200 (2015 est.)
Major infectious diseases
note: active local transmission of Zika virus by Aedes species mosquitoes has been identified in this country (as of August 2016); it poses an important risk (a large number of cases possible) among US citizens if bitten by an infective mosquito; other less common ways to get Zika are through sex, via blood transfusion, or during pregnancy, in which the pregnant woman passes Zika virus to her fetus (2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate26.8% (2014)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight2.5% (2012)
Education expenditures5.4% of GDP (2015)
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 88.7%
male: 84%
female: 93.1% (2015 est.)
Child labor - children ages 5-14total number: 38,516
percentage: 6% (2005 est.)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24total: 37.8%
male: 30%
female: 48.1% (2013 est.)