Country page · Latin America & Caribbean
If you were born in Jamaica
1 in 4,130 babies · 0.02% of births · about 32,485 a year
Right now, about 0.02% of the world's babies are born in Jamaica — 1 in 4,130, or roughly 32,485 a year and 89 a day. Life expectancy there is 71.6 years.
How the 1 in 4,130 is calculated
This number is not based on population. It uses births: Jamaica has about 32,485 births a year, and the world has about 134,147,481. Divide one by the other and you get 0.02% — 1 in 4,130. Using population instead would understate young countries and overstate ageing ones, so every draw is weighted by births.
Life in Jamaica, in numbers
| Indicator | Value | World rank |
|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy women 74.1 · men 69.1 | 71.6 years | 106th highest of 172 countries |
| Chance of dying before 5 17.8 / 1,000 | 1.8% | 97th lowest of 170 countries |
| Chance of dying before 1 16.4 / 1,000 | 1.6% | 99th lowest of 170 countries |
| Mothers who die giving birth per 100,000 births | 130 | 118th lowest of 170 countries |
| Children per woman | 1.35 | 26th lowest of 172 countries |
| Expected years of schooling | 12.3 years | 99th highest of 168 countries |
| Tertiary enrollment | 26.2% | 102nd highest of 168 countries |
| Income per person (PPP) GDP per capita, PPP | $13,291 | 102nd highest of 170 countries |
| Income inequality closer to 0 = more equal | 39.90 | 44th highest of 157 countries |
| People living in cities | 59.4% | 99th highest of 172 countries |
| People working in farming | 13.9% | 77th lowest of 171 countries |
| People using the internet | 90.1% | 47th highest of 172 countries |
| Homicide per 100,000 people | 49.4 | 155th lowest of 155 countries |
| Health costs paid out of pocket share of health spending | 20.2% | 52nd lowest of 168 countries |
| Adults living with HIV | 1.10% | 34th highest of 142 countries |
| People who smoke | 11.5% | — |
How to read these numbers
Income is shown in purchasing-power-parity dollars, so it compares what money buys locally rather than market exchange rates. The under-5 rate is the share of babies who die before their fifth birthday; the maternal mortality ratio is per 100,000 live births. A Gini index closer to 0 means a more equal income distribution, and a higher number means a more unequal one.
Each indicator uses the most recent year with a non-empty value, which can differ by country; the rank compares this country with the other 171 in the dataset, not with every country on Earth. Where a value is missing, the page shows a dash rather than an estimate.
Jamaica compared with Latin America & Caribbean
Life expectancy in Jamaica is 71.6 years, against a Latin America & Caribbean average of 75.1. The under-5 death rate is 1.8%, versus 1.6% across the region. Income per person is $13,291, against $26,587 regionally; expected schooling is 12.3 years against 13.2. 59.4% of people live in cities, against 71.1% in the region.
| Indicator | Jamaica | Latin America & Caribbean | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 71.6 yrs | 75.1 yrs | 73.3 yrs |
| Under-5 deaths | 1.8% | 1.6% | 2.6% |
| Income per person (PPP) | $13,291 | $26,587 | $30,311 |
| Expected schooling | 12.3 yrs | 13.2 yrs | 13.0 yrs |
| People in cities | 59.4% | 71.1% | 61.6% |
What a life there looks like
Put those numbers together and you get a life: about 71.6 years on average, with roughly 17.8 of every 1,000 babies dying before their fifth birthday. A child can expect 12.3 years of school, and income per person is around $13,291. These are averages — every life still lands somewhere on the distribution.
If you play as someone born in Jamaica
The game draws Jamaica in about 1 of every 4,130 births. From there the life runs year by year: 71.6 years of life expectancy on average, a 1.8% chance of dying before five, and an income of about $13,291 per person. Choices move the odds; the starting statistics do not.
Nearby and similar countries
- Chance of being born in Uruguay — 1 in 4,043
- Chance of being born in Costa Rica — 1 in 2,606
- Chance of being born in Puerto Rico — 1 in 7,390
- All 172 countries
Frequently asked questions
What are the odds of being born in Jamaica?
What is life expectancy in Jamaica?
How many babies are born in Jamaica each year?
Is Jamaica a good country to be born in, in the game?
Source: World Bank World Development Indicators, with UN World Population Prospects 2024 and UN IGME for births and mortality. Values are the most recent non-empty year for each indicator; the year is noted where it differs. Page updated 24 Oct 2026.