Population growth in Jamaica
Jamaica: Population growth was -0.1% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Population growth in Jamaica, 1961–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, population growth in Jamaica stood at -0.1%. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 243.5% on the previous year and down 123.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population growth in Jamaica peaked at 1.5% in 1973 and was at its lowest, -0.1%, in 2025.
Jamaica ranks 177th of 218 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Population growth in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.4% | — |
| 1962 | 1.4% | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 1.4% | +0.7% |
| 1964 | 1.4% | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 1.3% | -4.8% |
| 1966 | 1.3% | -6.9% |
| 1967 | 1.2% | -5.2% |
| 1968 | 1.1% | -3.4% |
| 1969 | 1.2% | +1.0% |
| 1970 | 1.2% | +6.7% |
| 1971 | 1.4% | +9.3% |
| 1972 | 1.5% | +7.4% |
| 1973 | 1.5% | +5.1% |
| 1974 | 1.5% | -1.5% |
| 1975 | 1.4% | -6.8% |
| 1976 | 1.3% | -6.5% |
| 1977 | 1.2% | -6.9% |
| 1978 | 1.2% | -4.7% |
| 1979 | 1.2% | +0.8% |
| 1980 | 1.2% | +4.9% |
| 1981 | 1.3% | +6.2% |
| 1982 | 1.4% | +5.4% |
| 1983 | 1.4% | +1.5% |
| 1984 | 1.3% | -5.2% |
| 1985 | 1.1% | -13.3% |
| 1986 | 0.9% | -18.6% |
| 1987 | 0.8% | -18.3% |
| 1988 | 0.7% | -10.4% |
| 1989 | 0.7% | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 0.8% | +10.5% |
| 1991 | 0.9% | +15.9% |
| 1992 | 1.0% | +12.5% |
| 1993 | 1.0% | +4.7% |
| 1994 | 1.0% | -0.7% |
| 1995 | 1.0% | -2.5% |
| 1996 | 1.0% | -3.4% |
| 1997 | 0.9% | -4.7% |
| 1998 | 0.9% | -7.2% |
| 1999 | 0.8% | -9.1% |
| 2000 | 0.7% | -10.8% |
| 2001 | 0.6% | -8.7% |
| 2002 | 0.6% | -3.1% |
| 2003 | 0.6% | -1.3% |
| 2004 | 0.6% | -3.4% |
| 2005 | 0.6% | -5.4% |
| 2006 | 0.5% | -6.8% |
| 2007 | 0.5% | -8.2% |
| 2008 | 0.4% | -8.2% |
| 2009 | 0.4% | -4.4% |
| 2010 | 0.4% | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 0.4% | +2.6% |
| 2012 | 0.4% | -0.3% |
| 2013 | 0.4% | -6.1% |
| 2014 | 0.4% | -11.0% |
| 2015 | 0.3% | -13.0% |
| 2016 | 0.3% | -16.2% |
| 2017 | 0.2% | -20.9% |
| 2018 | 0.2% | -26.1% |
| 2019 | 0.1% | -26.8% |
| 2020 | 0.3% | +134.8% |
| 2021 | 0.2% | -7.3% |
| 2022 | 0.1% | -79.0% |
| 2023 | 0.0% | -56.1% |
| 2024 | -0.0% | -195.2% |
| 2025 | -0.1% | +243.5% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's -0.1% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.5%. (59 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's -0.1% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.5%. (42 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Population growth in Jamaica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | -243.5% | -0.0% | -0.1% |
| 2024 | -195.2% | 0.0% | -0.0% |
| 2020 | +134.8% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| 2022 | -79.0% | 0.2% | 0.1% |
| 2023 | -56.1% | 0.1% | 0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.4% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1% | -0.1% | 0.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More climate change data for Jamaica
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 6.29 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 927.88 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 280.05 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 647.83 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 1.06 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 23.14 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 37.75 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 35.64 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2.11 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.1345 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population growth in Jamaica?
- Population growth in Jamaica was -0.1% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest population growth recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 1.5% in 1973.
- What is the lowest population growth recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.1% in 2025.
- How does Jamaica rank for population growth?
- Jamaica ranks 177th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population growth rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 123.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Jamaica data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.