Jamaicans

For other uses, see Jamaican (disambiguation).

Jamaicans are the citizens of Jamaica and their descendants in the Jamaican diaspora. The vast majority of Jamaicans are of Sub-Saharan African descent, with minorities of Europeans, East Indians, Chinese, Middle Eastern, and others of mixed ancestry. The bulk of the Jamaican diaspora resides in other Anglophone countries, namely Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Jamaican populations are also prominent in other Caribbean countries, territories and Commonwealth realms, where in the Cayman Islands, born Jamaicans, as well as Caymanians of Jamaican origin, make up 26.8% of the population.^[14] Outside of Anglophone countries, the largest Jamaican diaspora community lives in Costa Rica, where Jamaicans make up a significant percentage of the population.^[7]

Jamaicans

National Flag of Jamaica
Total population
c. 4.4 million 2,683,707 (2011 census)^[1]
Regions with significant populations
Jamaica   2,827,695^[2]^[3]
United States	1,100,000+^[4]
United Kingdom	800,000+^[5]
Canada	309,485^[6]
Costa Rica	64,000+^[7]
Cayman Islands	21,888^[8]
Trinidad and Tobago	15,000
Antigua and Barbuda	12,000^[9]
The Bahamas	5,572^[10]
Germany	4,000^[11]
The Netherlands	1,971^[12]
Australia	1,092^[5]
Ethiopia	1000+
Languages
English, Jamaican English, Jamaican Patois
Religion
Primarily Protestantism^[13]

History

Census

According to the official Jamaica Population Census of 1970, ethnic origins categories in Jamaica include: Black (Mixed); Chinese; East Indian; White; and 'Other' (e.g.: Syrian or Lebanese).^[1] Jamaicans of African descent made up 92% of the working population. Those of non-African descent or mixed race made up the remaining 8% of the population.^[15]

Self-identified ethnic origin

Responses of the 2011 official census.^[1]

Ethnic origin		Population	Males	Females	Percentage
Black		2,471,946	1,226,026	1,245,920	92.1
Chinese		5,228	2,880	2,348	0.2
Mixed		162,718	73,293	89,425	6.0
East Indian		20,066	10,491	9,575	0.7
White		4,365	2,192	2,173	0.2
Other		1,898	970	928	0.1
Not Reported		17,486	8,638	8,848	0.6
Total		2,683,707	1,324,490	1,359,217	100.0%
source^[1]

Religion

Denomination	2011 census^[1]
	Number	Percentage
Christian
Anglicanism	74,891
Baptists	180,640
Brethren	23,647
Baptists	20,872	-
Brethren	9,758	1.0
Church of God in Jamaica	129,544	-
Church of God of Prophecy	121,400	-
New Testament Church of God	192,086	-
Other Church of God	246,838	-
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (2021)^[16]	6,718	-
Jehovah's Witnesses	50,849	2.0
Methodist	43,336	2.0
Moravian	18,351
Pentecostal	295,195
Rastafari	29,026
Revivalist	36,296
Roman Catholic	57,946
Seventh-day Adventist	322,228	-
United Church	56,360
Baháʼí	269
Hinduism	1,836	-
Islam	1,513	-
Judaism	506
Other Religion/Denomination	169,014	-
Totals, specified religions		100.00
No Religion/Denomination	572,008	-
Not reported	60,326	-
Totals, Jamaica	2,683,105	100.00

Diaspora

Main article: Jamaican diaspora

Many Jamaicans now live overseas and outside Jamaica, while many have migrated to Anglophone countries, including over 400,000 Jamaicans in the United Kingdom, over 300,000 in Canada and 1,100,000 in the United States.^[17]

There are about 30,500 Jamaicans residing in other CARICOM member including the Bahamas, Cuba, Antigua & Barbuda (12,000),^[9] Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago.^[18] There are also communities of Jamaican descendants in Central America, particularly Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Panama. Most of Costa Rica's Afro-Costa Rican and Mulatto population, which combined represents about 7% of the total population, is of Jamaican descent.^[19][20]

Notable Jamaicans

Main article: List of Jamaicans

See also

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to People of Jamaica.

• Afro-Nicaraguan
• Afro-Panamanian
• Demographics of Jamaica
• Jamaicans in Ethiopia

References

1. "2011 Census of Population by Sex and Religious Affiliation/Denomination by Parish (P. 80)". issuu.com. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
2. "World Population Prospects 2022". United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
3. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX) ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
4. "2013 census". United States Census. Archived from the original on 2020-02-12. Retrieved 2016-06-16.
5. . iom.int. 15 January 2015. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
6. "Census Profile, 2016 Census – Canada". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
7. "The Story Behind Jamaicans in Costa Rica".
8. "Labour Force Survey Spring 2022" (PDF).
9. "PM Golding Calls on Jamaicans in Antigua & Barbuda to Co-Operate with Government & People There". Jamaica Information Service. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
10. "The Nassau Guardian Home - The Nassau Guardian". The Nassau Guardian.
11. "Immigrant and Emigrant Populations by Country of Origin and Destination". Retrieved 2023-10-31.
12. Bevolking; herkomstgroepering, generatie, geslacht en leeftijd, 1 januari, CBS, geraadpleegd op 5 juli 2014, 20 oktober 2018 en 9 februari 2020, 24 mei 2020.
13. "Jamaica - Religion", Encyclopædia Britannica online.
14. "Demographic Characteristics" (PDF).
15. Jamaica Population Census 1970.
16. "Statistics and Church Facts | Total Church Membership". newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
17. "Jamaica: From Diverse Beginning to Diaspora in the Developed World".
18. . caricomnews.net. Archived from the original on 2017-06-20. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
19. Schulman, Bob. "'Little Jamaica' Rocks on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica". Huffington Post. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
20. Koch, Charles W. (1977). "Jamaican Blacks and Their Descendants in Costa Rica". Social and Economic Studies. Jamaica: Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, University of the West Indies. 26 (3): 339–361. JSTOR 27861669.