Jamaicans
Jamaicans are the citizens of Jamaica and their descendants in the Jamaican diaspora. Vast majority of Jamaicans are of African descent, with minorities of Europeans, East Indians, Chinese, Middle Eastern and others or mixed ancestry. The bulk of the Jamaican diaspora resides in other Anglophone countries, namely Australia, Canada, United States and the United Kingdom and, to a lesser extent, other Caribbean countries and Commonwealth realms. Outside of Anglophone countries, the largest Jamaican diaspora community lives in Costa Rica, where Jamaicans make up a significant percentage of the population.
Total population | |
---|---|
c. 4.4 million 2,683,707 (2011 census)[1] | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Jamaica 2,934,847[2][3] | |
United States | 1,100,000+[4] |
Canada | 309,485[5] |
United Kingdom | 800,000+[6] |
The Bahamas | 5,572[7] |
Germany | 1,671[6] |
Trinidad and Tobago | 15,000[6] |
Australia | 1,092[6] |
Other | ~2,000–5,000 |
Religion | |
Primarily Protestantism[8] |
History
Census
According to the official Jamaica Population Census of 1970, ethnic origins categories in Jamaica include: Black; Chinese; Mixed; 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 or mixed race were the second-most prominent labour group, making up 8% of the population.[9]
Self-identified ethnic origin
Responses of the 2011 official census.[10]
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[11] |
Religion
Members of Christian denominations formed TBD per cent. of those who made answer to the inquiry at the last census; non-Christian sects were TBD per cent.; and those who described themselves as of no religion TBD per cent.; whilst "indefinite" religions constituted TBD per cent.
Denomination | 2011 census[12] | |
---|---|---|
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 | - |
Jehovah's Witnesses | 50,849 | 2.0 |
Methodist | 43,336 | 2.0 |
Moravian | 18,351 | |
Pentecostal | 295,195 | |
Rastafarian | 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
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, 800,000 in the United States.
There are about 30,000 Jamaicans residing in other CARICOM member including the Bahamas (5,600), Cuba (5,000), Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago.[13] 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.[14][15]
Notable Jamaicans
See also
- Demographics of Jamaica
- Jamaican British
- Jamaican American
- Jamaican Canadian
- Jamaican Australian
- Jamaicans in Ethiopia
- Afro-Costa Rican
- Afro-Nicaraguan
- Afro-Panamanian
References
- 2011 Census of Population & Housing, Population by sex and Ethnic Origin by Parish (Page: 72) - Jamaica
- ""World Population prospects – Population division"". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- ""Overall total population" – World Population Prospects: The 2019 Revision" (xslx). population.un.org (custom data acquired via website). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- "2013 census". United States Census.
- "Census Profile, 2016 Census – Canada". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2020-04-24.
- "World Migration". iom.int. 15 January 2015.
- "The Nassau Guardian Home - The Nassau Guardian". The Nassau Guardian.
- "Jamaica - Religion", Encyclopædia Britannica online.
- Jamaica Population Census 1970.
- "2011 Census of Population & Housing, Population by sex and Ethnic Origin by Parish (P. 72)". issuu.com. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
- "2011 Census of Population & Housing, Population by sex and Ethnic Origin by Parish (P. 72)". issuu.com. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
- "2011 Census of Population by Sex and Religious Affiliation/Denomination by Parish (P. 80)". issuu.com. Retrieved April 12, 2020.
- "30,000 Jamaicans residing in other CARICOM member states". caricomnews.net. Archived from the original on 2017-06-20. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
- Schulman, Bob. "'Little Jamaica' Rocks on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica". Huffington Post. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
- 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.