01.03.04. Poverty and inequality | Jamaica
01.03.04. Poverty and inequality | Jamaica
24 Sep 2022
As of 2017, 19.3% of the Jamaican population lived below the poverty line (see table 5) (STATIN, 2018) with a GINI coefficient of 35- placing Jamaica at a global ranking of 97 for this measure (CIA, 2019). Additionally, Jamaica’s inequality income was reported at 32% in 2018 as compared to the regional average of 34% (UNDP, 2019).
Table 5: Poverty Incidence by Region
Region | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 |
Kingston Metropolitan Area | 19.7 | 17.8 | 15.3 | 14.3 | 11.9 | 17.1 |
Other Towns | 16.6 | 20 | 16.2 | 14.7 | 16 | 20.1 |
Rural Areas | 21.3 | 31.3 | 24.9 | 28.5 | 20.5 | 20.1 |
Jamaica | 19.9 | 24.6 | 20.0 | 21.2 | 17.1 | 19.3 |
Source, Statistical Institute of Jamaica, 2018, https://statinja.gov.jm/living_conditions_poverty.aspx
References:
CIA. (2019). Central America: Jamaica — The World Factbook. https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/jamaica/
Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN). (2019). Living Conditions and Poverty: Table Incidence of Poverty by Region: 1994-2014. Available from: https://statinja.gov.jm/living_conditions_poverty.aspx
UNDP. (2019). Human development Report 2019: Beyond Income, Beyond Averages, Beyond Today: Inequalities in Human Development in the 21st century. Available from: https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2019