Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day in Jamaica
Jamaica: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day was 84.6% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day in Jamaica, 1988–2021
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in Jamaica stood at 84.6%. That is the lowest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of down 3.5% on the previous year and down 3.5% over five years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in Jamaica peaked at 99.4% in 1993 and was at its lowest, 84.6%, in 2021.
That places Jamaica 65th out of 120 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the middle of the range.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 96.8% | — |
| 1990 | 97.2% | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 99.4% | +2.2% |
| 1996 | 96.8% | -2.6% |
| 1999 | 92.6% | -4.3% |
| 2002 | 90.9% | -1.8% |
| 2004 | 91.1% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 87.7% | -3.7% |
| 2021 | 84.6% | -3.5% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 84.6% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 90.5%, 94% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 84.6% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 84.3%, 1.0× the median. (18 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 96.8% | 96.8% | 96.8% | 1 |
| 1990s | 96.5% | 92.6% | 99.4% | 4 |
| 2000s | 91.0% | 90.9% | 91.1% | 2 |
| 2010s | 87.7% | 87.7% | 87.7% | 1 |
| 2020s | 84.6% | 84.6% | 84.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More poverty & inequality data for Jamaica
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ 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 poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in Jamaica?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day in Jamaica was 84.6% in 2021, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 99.4% in 1993.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 84.6% in 2021.
- How does Jamaica rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $30 a day?
- Jamaica ranks 65th out of 120 countries with data for 2021.
- Where does this Jamaica data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Poverty: Share of population living on less than $30 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $30 per day.