Jamaicans Explained
| Flag: | Flag of Jamaica.svg |
| Flag Caption: | National Flag of Jamaica |
| Total: | 4.4 million
2,683,707 (2011 census) |
| Popplace: | Jamaica |
| Region1: | United States |
| Pop1: | 1,100,000+ |
| Ref1: | [1] |
| Region2: | United Kingdom |
| Pop2: | 800,000+ |
| Ref2: | [2] |
| Region3: | Canada |
| Pop3: | 309,485 |
| Ref3: | [3] |
| Region4: | Cayman Islands |
| Pop4: | 21,888 |
| Ref4: | [4] |
| Region5: | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Pop5: | 15,000 |
| Region6: | Antigua and Barbuda |
| Pop6: | 12,000 |
| Region7: | The Bahamas |
| Pop7: | 5,572 |
| Ref7: | [5] |
| Region8: | Germany |
| Pop8: | 4,000 |
| Ref8: | [6] |
| Region9: | The Netherlands |
| Pop9: | 1,971 |
| Ref9: | [7] |
| Region10: | Australia |
| Pop10: | 1,092 |
| Region11: | Japan |
| Pop11: | 945 |
| Ref11: | [8] |
| Region12: | Brazil |
| Pop12: | 704 |
| Ref12: | [9] |
| Langs: | English, Jamaican Patois |
| Rels: | Primarily Protestantism[10] |
| Related: | Caribbean people |
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, 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.[11] Outside of Anglophone countries, the largest Jamaican diaspora community lives in Central America, where Jamaicans make up a significant percentage of the population.[12]
History
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).Jamaicans who consider themselves Black (according to the United States' One-drop rule definition of Black), made up 92% of the working population. Those of non-African descent or mixed race made up the remaining 8% of the population.[13]
But according to a more precise study conducted by the local University of the West Indies - Jamaica's population is more accurately 76.3% African descent or Black, 15.1% Afro-European (or locally called the Brown Man or Browning Class), 3.4% East Indian and Afro-East Indian, 3.2% Caucasian, 1.2% Chinese and 0.8% Other.[14]
Wealth or economic power in Jamaica is disproportionately held by the White Jamaicans, Chinese Jamaicans and the Afro-European (or locally called the Brown Man or Browning Class) - i.e. despite being a minority group(s) (less than 25% of the country's population) controls most of the country's wealth.[15] [16]
Self-identified ethnic origin
Responses of the 2011 official census.
| Ethnic origin | Population | Males | Females | Percentage |
|---|
| 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 |
| 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 | |
A more precise breakdown of the Responses of the 2011 official census by the University of the West Indies [17]
| Ethnic origin | Population | Percentage |
|---|
| 2,047,668 | | 76.3 |
| Chinese | 32,224 | 1.2 |
| Afro-European or Browning Class | 405,240 | 15.1 |
| East Indian and Afro-East Indian | 91,246 | 3.4 |
| White | 85,878 | 3.2 |
| Other | 21,470 | 0.8 |
| Total | 2,683,707 | 100.0% |
|---|
| source | |
Religion
| 2011 census[18] |
|---|
| Number | Percentage |
|---|
| Christian | | |
| 74,891 | |
| 180,640 | |
| 23,647 | |
| 20,872 | - |
| 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)[19] | 6,718 | align=right | - |
| 50,849 | 2.0 |
| 43,336 | 2.0 |
| 18,351 | |
| 295,195 | |
| 29,026 | |
| 36,296 | |
| 57,946 | |
| 322,228 | - |
| 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
See 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.[20]
There are about 30,500 Jamaicans residing in other CARICOM member including the Bahamas, Antigua & Barbuda (12,000),[21] Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago.[22] 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.[23] [24]
Notable Jamaicans
See main article: List of Jamaicans.
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: 2013 census . . 2016-06-16 . 2020-02-12 . https://archive.today/20200212212204/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_13_1YR_B04003&prodType=table . dead.
- Web site: World Migration . 15 January 2015 . iom.int . 20 December 2015 . 1 May 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190501120652/https://www.iom.int/world-migration . dead.
- Web site: Census Profile, 2016 Census – Canada. Statistics Canada. 2020-04-24. 2018-04-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20180422053324/http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&Data=Count&SearchText=Canada&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Ethnic%20origin&TABID=1. live.
- Web site: Labour Force Survey Spring 2022. 2023-06-15. 2023-07-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20230720010230/https://www.eso.ky/UserFiles/page_docums/files/uploads/the_cayman_islands_labour_force_survey_r-14.pdf. live.
- Web site: The Nassau Guardian Home - The Nassau Guardian . The Nassau Guardian . 2017-06-10 . 2016-10-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20161017103749/http://www.thenassauguardian.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=35308&Itemid=27 . dead .
- Web site: Immigrant and Emigrant Populations by Country of Origin and Destination . 2023-10-31 . 2021-04-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210414153852/https://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/charts/immigrant-and-emigrant-populations-country-origin-and-destination/ . live .
- http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/publication/?DM=SLNL&PA=37325&D1=0&D2=a&D3=0&D4=0&D5=a&D6=l&HDR=G2,G3&STB=G1,G5,T,G4&VW=T Bevolking; herkomstgroepering, generatie, geslacht en leeftijd, 1 januari
- Web site: 在留外国人統計 . ja . 15 December 2023 . 28 April 2024 . 28 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240428211402/https://www.e-stat.go.jp/stat-search/files?cycle=1&data=1&layout=datalist&metadata=1&page=1&tclass1=000001060399&tclass2val=0&toukei=00250012&tstat=000001018034 . live .
- https://www.nepo.unicamp.br/observatorio/bancointerativo/numeros-imigracao-internacional/sincre-sismigra/ Immigrants in Brazil (2024, in Portuguese)
- https://www.britannica.com/place/Jamaica/Religion "Jamaica - Religion"
- Web site: Demographic Characteristics. 2022-08-01. 2022-07-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20220731033040/https://www.eso.ky/user_images/census_2021/Section_4.pdf. live.
- Web site: THE STORY BEHIND JAMAICANS IN COSTA RICA. www.linkedin.com. 2022-04-18. 2023-08-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20230803105838/https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/story-behind-jamaicans-costa-rica-k-enis-davis-lewars. live.
- Book: Jamaica Population Census 1970.
- Web site: Jamaica The University of the West Indies . 2024-07-31 . www.uwi.edu . 2024-08-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240801140215/https://www.uwi.edu/jamaica.php#:~:text=Population:2,824,913%20(2024%20est.,%25%20Chinese%20and%200.8%25%20Other.&text=History:%20When%20Christopher%20Columbus%20first,by%20Arawak%20(Taino)%20Indians . live .
- Web site: Stratification and political change in Trinidad and Jamaica. Carl. Stone. August 1, 1972. Beverly Hills [Calif.] Sage Publications. Internet Archive.
- Web site: Essays on Power and Change in Jamaica. August 1, 1977. Internet Archive.
- Web site: Jamaica | the University of the West Indies . 2024-07-21 . 2024-07-21 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240721233932/https://www.uwi.edu/jamaica.php#:~:text=Population%3A2%2C824%2C913%20(2024%20est.,%25%20Chinese%20and%200.8%25%20Other.&text=History%3A%20When%20Christopher%20Columbus%20first,by%20Arawak%20(Taino)%20Indians. . live .
- Web site: 2011 Census of Population by Sex and Religious Affiliation/Denomination by Parish (P. 80). issuu.com. April 12, 2020. April 14, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200414175913/https://issuu.com/digjamaica/docs/1_pdfsam_general_report_census_2011/112?ff. live.
- Web site: Statistics and Church Facts Total Church Membership . 2023-04-14 . newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org . en . 2023-04-01 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230401141041/https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/jamaica . live .
- Web site: Article: Jamaica: From Diverse Beginning to Diaspora in the Developed World. Migration Policy. 2023-08-14. 2016-04-20. https://web.archive.org/web/20160420221909/http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/jamaica-diverse-beginning-diaspora-developed-world. live.
- Web site: PM Golding Calls on Jamaicans in Antigua & Barbuda to Co-Operate with Government & People There. Jamaica Information Service. 2021-05-14. 2020-11-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20201128033751/https://jis.gov.jm/pm-golding-calls-on-jamaicans-in-antigua-barbuda-to-co-operate-with-government-people-there/. live.
- Web site: 30,000 Jamaicans residing in other CARICOM member states. caricomnews.net. 2014-04-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20170620140951/http://www.caricomnews.net/index.php/caricom/caricom-news/regional-news/1889-skilled-jamaicans-refused-entry-into-some-caricom-states. 2017-06-20 . dead.
- News: Schulman . Bob . 'Little Jamaica' Rocks on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica . Huffington Post . 22 January 2019 . 25 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190125020543/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/little-jamaica-rocks-on-t_b_8100114 . live .
- Koch . Charles W. . Jamaican Blacks and Their Descendants in Costa Rica . Social and Economic Studies . 26 . 3 . 339–361 . Jamaica . Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, University of the West Indies . 27861669 . 1977.
