Wikipedia

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, 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 Central America, where Jamaicans make up a significant percentage of the population.[15]

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 States1,100,000+[4]
United Kingdom800,000+[5]
Canada309,485[6]
Cayman Islands21,888[7]
Trinidad and Tobago15,000
Antigua and Barbuda12,000[8]
The Bahamas5,572[9]
Germany4,000[10]
The Netherlands1,971[11]
Australia1,092[5]
Japan945[12]
Languages
English, Jamaican Patois
Religion
Primarily Protestantism[13]
Related ethnic groups
Caribbean people

History

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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 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.[16]

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.[17]

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.[18][19]

Self-identified ethnic origin

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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]


A more precise breakdown of the Responses of the 2011 official census by the University of the West Indies [20]

Ethnic origin Population Percentage
Black 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 [20]

Religion

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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)[21] 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

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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.[22]

There are about 30,500 Jamaicans residing in other CARICOM member including the Bahamas, Antigua & Barbuda (12,000),[8] Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago.[23] 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.[24][25]

Notable Jamaicans

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Main article: List of Jamaicans

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to People of Jamaica.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "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. ^ a b "World Migration". 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. ^ "Labour Force Survey Spring 2022" (PDF).
  8. ^ a b "PM Golding Calls on Jamaicans in Antigua & Barbuda to Co-Operate with Government & People There". Jamaica Information Service. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
  9. ^ "The Nassau Guardian Home - The Nassau Guardian". The Nassau Guardian. Archived from the original on 2016-10-17. Retrieved 2017-06-10.
  10. ^ "Immigrant and Emigrant Populations by Country of Origin and Destination". Retrieved 2023-10-31.
  11. ^ Bevolking; herkomstgroepering, generatie, geslacht en leeftijd, 1 januari, CBS, geraadpleegd op 5 juli 2014, 20 oktober 2018 en 9 februari 2020, 24 mei 2020.
  12. ^ "在留外国人統計" (in Japanese). 15 December 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Jamaica - Religion", Encyclopædia Britannica online.
  14. ^ "Demographic Characteristics" (PDF).
  15. ^ "THE STORY BEHIND JAMAICANS IN COSTA RICA". www.linkedin.com.
  16. ^ Jamaica Population Census 1970.
  17. ^ "Jamaica | The University of the West Indies". www.uwi.edu. Retrieved 2024-07-31.
  18. ^ Stone, Carl (August 1, 1972). "Stratification and political change in Trinidad and Jamaica". Beverly Hills [Calif.] Sage Publications – via Internet Archive.
  19. ^ "Essays on Power and Change in Jamaica". August 1, 1977 – via Internet Archive.
  20. ^ a b "Jamaica | the University of the West Indies".
  21. ^ "Statistics and Church Facts | Total Church Membership". newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  22. ^ "Article: Jamaica: From Diverse Beginning to Diaspora in the Developed World". Migration Policy.
  23. ^ "30,000 Jamaicans residing in other CARICOM member states". caricomnews.net. Archived from the original on 2017-06-20. Retrieved 2014-04-24.
  24. ^ Schulman, Bob. "'Little Jamaica' Rocks on the Caribbean Coast of Costa Rica". Huffington Post. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  25. ^ Koch, Charles W. (1977). "Jamaican Blacks and Their Descendants in Costa Rica". Social and Economic Studies. 26 (3). Jamaica: Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies, University of the West Indies: 339–361. JSTOR 27861669.
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