Jamaica

In Jamaica, Pentecostalist-style churches dominate the religious landscape. Catholic churches almost always incorporate some element of Pentecostalist or charismatic worship, though the degree seems to vary by social class. Music is very important to worship and considered itself a religious experience. Catholicism also is deeply influenced by Afro-Jamaican cultural beliefs, particularly beliefs about witchcraft, spirits and possession.

The articles here focus Catholic life and practice in the metropolitan area around Kingston, the nation’s capital, including the civil parishes of St. Andrew and St. Catherine. About 2/3 of the island’s Catholics live in this area. The country towns in different parts of the island have long had a slightly different rhythm, and the tourist areas around Montego Bay are differently impacted by the daily influx of North American tourists. Read more...

    Religious Affiliation
    Chart source: Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project, 2010
    Total Population
    2,898,677 1
    Urban
    55.70% 1
    Rural
    44.30% 1
    Immigrants as % of Population
    0.8% 2
    Homicides
    43.21 per 100,000 people (global median 6.9) 3
    Level of Public Corruption
    83 (1=lowest, 176=highest corruption) 4
    Gender Equality in the Economy, Health, Education and Politics
    42 (1=most equal, 144=least equal) 7
    Fertility Rate
    2.03 births per adult woman 5
    Children Who Do Not Live to Age 5
    1.60% 5
    Life Expectancy at Birth
    76 years 5
    Adult Literacy Rate
    87.90% 5
    Internet Users
    41% 5
    Gross National Income per Capita
    US$5,150 5
    Population Living Below US$1.90 per Day
    1.7% 5

    These statistics are derived from the Vatican's official publication, Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2020 (Vatican City: Librera Editrice Vaticana, 2022). The numbers may differ from data reported by other sources on this site.

    Baptized Catholics
    71,000
    Baptized Catholics as % of Total Population
    2.60
    Baptisms per Year (Under age 7)
    316
    Baptisms per Year (Over age 7)
    171
    First Communions per Year
    249
    Confirmations per Year
    242
    Students Enrolled in Catholic Primary Schools
    20,580
    Students Enrolled in Catholic Secondary Schools
    16,901
    Students Enrolled in Catholic Higher Education
    1,211
    Church Marriages per Year
    53
    Church Marriages in Which Both Spouses are Catholics
    18
    Priests
    88
    Women Religious (Nuns & Sisters)
    130
    Catholics per Priest
    803
    Parishes
    63
    Mission Stations (no resident priests)
    7
    Homes for Aged, Handicapped, Invalids
    18
    • 1 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2018). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, Online Edition.
    • 2 United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Trends in International Migrant Stock: The 2015 revision.
    • 3 United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Homicide Statistics 2015.
    • 4 Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index 2016.
    • 5 UNICEF, State of the World's Children, 2016.
    • 6 Statistical Yearbook of the Church 2020 (Vatican City: Librera Editrice Vaticana, 2022).
    • 7 World Economic Forum, The Global Gender Gap Report, 2016.