Jamaica Economy
Is Jamaica a wealthy country?
The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which accounts for more than 70% of GDP. The country derives most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Earnings from remittances and tourism each account for 14% and 20% of GDP, while bauxite/alumina exports have declined to less than 5% of GDP.
Jamaica's economy has grown on average less than 1% a year for the last three decades and many impediments remain to growth: a bloated public sector which crowds out spending on important projects; high crime and corruption; red-tape; and a high debt-to-GDP ratio. Jamaica, however, has made steady progress in reducing its debt-to-GDP ratio from a high of almost 150% in 2012 to less than 110% in 2017, in close collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The current IMF Stand-By Agreement requires Jamaica to produce an annual primary surplus of 7%, in an attempt to reduce its debt burden below 60% by 2025.
Economic growth reached 1.6% in 2016, but declined to 0.9% in 2017 after intense rainfall, demonstrating the vulnerability of the economy to weather-related events. The HOLNESS administration therefore faces the difficult prospect of maintaining fiscal discipline to reduce the debt load while simultaneously implementing growth inducing policies and attacking a serious crime problem. High unemployment exacerbates the crime problem, including gang violence fueled by advanced fee fraud (lottery scamming) and the drug trade.
Jamaica Economy Data
What is the GDP of Jamaica?
| Currency Name and Code | Jamaican Dollar (JMD) |
| GDP - Gross Domestic Product (PPP) | $25,890,000,000 (USD) |
| GDP - official exchange rate | $13,820,000,000 (USD) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 1.1% |
| GDP Per Capita | $8,800.00 (USD) |
| GDP by Sector- agriculture | 7% |
| GDP by Sector- Industry | 21.4% |
| GDP by Sector- services | 71.6% |
| GDP - composition, by end use |
household consumption: 84.8% government consumption: 14.8% investment in fixed capital: 22.2% investment in inventories: 0.4% exports of goods and services: 32.2% imports of goods and services: -54.4% |
| Population Below Poverty Line | 16.5% |
| Inflation Rate | 13% |
| Labor Force | 1,317,000 |
| Labor Force By Occupation- agriculture | 17% |
| Labor Force By Occupation- industry | 19% |
| Labor Force By Occupation- services | 64% |
| Unemployment Rate | 12.9% |
| Fiscal Year | 1 April - 31 March |
| Annual Budget | $3,611,000,000 (USD) |
| Budget Surplus or Deficit - percent of GDP | -1.8% |
| Public Debt (% of GDP) | 135% |
| Taxes and other revenues - percent of GDP | 26.6% |
| Major Industries | tourism, bauxite/alumina, textiles, agro processing, wearing apparel, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications |
| Industrial Growth Rate | -2% |
| Agriculture Products | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, vegetables, poultry, goats, milk, crustaceans, and mollusks |
| Exchange Rate per US Dollar | Jamaican dollar (JMD) |
| Child Labor - % of children ages 5-14 | 6% |
| Child Labor - # of children ages 5-14 | 38,516 |
| Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate | 17% |