Income share held by lowest 20% in Jamaica
Jamaica: Income share held by lowest 20% was 5.7% in 2021. ▲ Rising
Income share held by lowest 20% in Jamaica, 1988–2021
Source: World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ.
Analysis
Jamaica recorded 5.7% for income share held by lowest 20% in 2021.
That represents a change of down 21.9% on the previous year and down 21.9% over five years.
Over the whole period, income share held by lowest 20% in Jamaica peaked at 7.3% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 4.8%, in 2002.
Jamaica ranks 96th of 123 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Income share held by lowest 20% in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 5.4% | — |
| 1990 | 6.2% | +14.8% |
| 1993 | 6.8% | +9.7% |
| 1996 | 6.5% | -4.4% |
| 1999 | 5.5% | -15.4% |
| 2002 | 4.8% | -12.7% |
| 2004 | 5.3% | +10.4% |
| 2018 | 7.3% | +37.7% |
| 2021 | 5.7% | -21.9% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 5.7% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 6.5%, 88% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 5.7% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 5.2%, 1.1× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5.4% | 5.4% | 5.4% | 1 |
| 1990s | 6.2% | 5.5% | 6.8% | 4 |
| 2000s | 5.0% | 4.8% | 5.3% | 2 |
| 2010s | 7.3% | 7.3% | 7.3% | 1 |
| 2020s | 5.7% | 5.7% | 5.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More poverty & inequality data for Jamaica
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.36 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 1,140 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -1.89 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 27.77 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 27.8% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is income share held by lowest 20% in Jamaica?
- Income share held by lowest 20% in Jamaica was 5.7% in 2021, according to World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ.
- What is the highest income share held by lowest 20% recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 7.3% in 2018.
- What is the lowest income share held by lowest 20% recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.8% in 2002.
- How does Jamaica rank for income share held by lowest 20%?
- Jamaica ranks 96th out of 123 countries with data for 2021.
- Where does this Jamaica data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income econ, published as part of Income share held by lowest 20%. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Percentage share of income or consumption is the share that accrues to subgroups of population indicated by deciles or quintiles. Percentage shares by quintile may not sum to 100 because of rounding.