Jamaicans abroad keep the island going: the money they send home is worth more than every export Jamaica sells and most of what tourism earns. This page tracks remittances from the Bank of Jamaica, where the money comes from and where it goes, and how many Jamaicans live overseas.
Edition 2026, compiled 11 October 2026. Next scheduled update: October 2027. Annual figures are Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) data to 2025; 2026 figures run to June 2026.
Jamaica remittance stats at a glance
| Stat | Amount | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross remittance inflows | US$3.49 billion | 2025 | BOJ |
| Net remittances (after outflows) | US$3.24 billion | 2025 | BOJ |
| Gross remittance inflows | US$3.36 billion | 2024 | BOJ |
| Remittances as a share of GDP | 16.9% | 2024 | BOJ |
| Remittances per person in Jamaica | US$1,228.90 | 2024 | BOJ |
| Remittances compared with tourist spending | 77.8% | 2024 | BOJ |
| Remittances compared with exports | 179.8% | 2024 | BOJ |
| Share from the United States | about two-thirds | 2025–26 | BOJ |
| Gross inflows, January to June | US$1.78 billion (up 4.2%) | 2026 | BOJ |
| Inflows via remittance companies after Hurricane Melissa | US$1.85 billion (up 7.7%) | Nov 2025–May 2026 | BOJ |
| Jamaican-born people in the US | 888,000 | 2024 | Migration Policy Institute |
| People of Jamaican origin in Canada | 249,070 | 2021 census | Statistics Canada |
| People of Jamaican origin in the UK | about 800,000 | estimate | IOM |
| Net migration loss | 118,776 | 2011–2022 | STATIN |
Remittances by year
| Year | Gross inflows (US$ bn) | Outflows (US$ m) | Net (US$ bn) | Change in gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 2.4 | – | – | – |
| 2020 | 2.9 | – | – | ▲ 20.8% |
| 2021 | 3.50 | 237.1 | 3.26 | ▲ 20.6% |
| 2022 | 3.44 | 235.5 | 3.20 | ▼ 1.6% |
| 2023 | 3.37 | 232.7 | 3.14 | ▼ 2.0% |
| 2024 | 3.36 | – | – | ▼ 0.4% |
| 2025 | 3.49 | – | 3.24 | ▲ 3.8% |
Remittances jumped during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Jamaicans abroad sent extra help home, peaked at US$3.5 billion in 2021, then slipped for three years before climbing back almost to that peak in 2025, boosted by money sent after Hurricane Melissa. The Gleaner described the 2025 total as a record; on the Bank of Jamaica’s revised figures it is just below 2021’s US$3.497 billion.
Sources: BOJ Remittance Bulletins (July 2024, May 2025); The Gleaner (21 May 2021, 19 March 2025, 4 March 2026); Radio Jamaica (2026). 2019 and 2020 figures are rounded. The 2025 gross figure is 3.8% above 2024.
How big remittances are for Jamaica
| Measure | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remittances per person (US$) | 1,255.80 | 1,275.40 | 1,227.40 | 1,228.90 |
| Share of GDP | 24.0% | 20.2% | 17.4% | 16.9% |
| Compared with tourist spending | 166.9% | 95.0% | 78.1% | 77.8% |
| Compared with exports | 236.2% | 180.9% | 168.3% | 179.8% |
In 2021, when tourism was still recovering from the pandemic, remittances brought in two-thirds more than tourists spent. They now equal about four-fifths of tourist spending and almost twice the value of exports. Using revised GDP figures, The Gleaner put the 2024 share at 15.3%. Source: BOJ Remittance Bulletins, July 2024 and May 2025.
Where the money comes from
| Country | Share, 2024 | Share, December 2025 | Share, January–June 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | about 67% | 66.6% | about 67% |
| United Kingdom | 12% | 12.5% | 10.8% |
| Canada | about 9% | 8.9% | 9.3% |
| Cayman Islands | 8% | 6.9% | 6.3% |
| Rest of the world | about 6% | – | – |
Source: BOJ, as reported by The Gleaner, 19 March 2025, 4 March 2026 and 19 August 2026.
Where the money goes
Hurricane Melissa, which struck in October 2025, hit the western parishes that receive much of the island’s remittances. In October 2025 remittances fell 6.6%, and 12 of the 14 parishes received less than a year earlier. Since the storm, the growth has gone mainly to Kingston and St Andrew.
| Parish | Change, Oct 2025 | Change, Nov 2025–May 2026 | Extra money, Nov–May |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kingston & St Andrew | ▲ 2.7% | ▲ 11.8% | US$79.6m |
| St James | ▼ 16.3% | 0.0% (US$82.4m) | – |
| Westmoreland | ▼ 14.5% | ▲ 8.8% | US$7.0m |
| Hanover | ▼ 14.3% | ▲ 5.5% | about US$1.0m |
| St Elizabeth | – | ▲ 4.1% | US$4.4m |
| Trelawny | – | ▲ 3.0% | about US$1.0m |
| Jamaica | ▼ 6.6% | ▲ 7.7% | US$132.5m |
Over the longer run, remittances to Kingston and St Andrew rose 15.3% between 2021 and 2025 while the rest of the island fell 4.8%; Hanover is down 22% since 2020 and St James down 12.8%. Figures cover money sent through remittance companies and record where it was collected. Source: BOJ data analysed by The Gleaner, 6 September 2026.
Remittances in 2026
| Measure | Amount | Change on 2025 | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross inflows | US$1.78 billion | ▲ 4.2% | January–June 2026 |
| Net inflows | US$862.4 million | – | January–June 2026 |
| Net inflows | US$292.8 million | ▲ 9.3% | June 2026 |
| Inflows via banks and building societies | US$36.4 million | ▲ 11.2% | June 2026 |
June 2026 was the strongest month of the year for growth. Source: BOJ, reported by The Gleaner, 19 August 2026.
The diaspora
Nobody knows exactly how many Jamaicans and people of Jamaican descent live abroad; it is commonly estimated at about 2 million, not far short of the population of the island itself. The main communities are in the United States, Britain and Canada, with smaller ones in the Cayman Islands, Panama, Costa Rica and Cuba.
| Country | Jamaican community | Measure | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 888,000 | Born in Jamaica | 2024 | Migration Policy Institute |
| United States | about 1.17 million | Jamaican ancestry | recent estimate | US Census Bureau ACS |
| United Kingdom | about 800,000 | Jamaican origin | estimate | International Organization for Migration |
| Canada | 249,070 | Jamaican ancestry | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| Canada | 101,965 | First generation (born abroad) | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
| Toronto | 140,870 | Jamaican ancestry | 2021 | Statistics Canada |
Jamaicans make up 16.9% of the 5.25 million Caribbean-born immigrants in the United States. Just over 15,000 Jamaicans moved to Canada between 2016 and 2021. Sources: Migration Policy Institute (2026); Statistics Canada; IOM Jamaica Mapping Exercise.
Waves of migration
| Period | Destination | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| 1850s–1914 | Panama | Tens of thousands worked on the Panama Railroad and both attempts to build the canal |
| 1870s–1930s | Costa Rica, Cuba, United States | Work on sugar estates, banana plantations and in US cities |
| 1948–1971 | United Kingdom | The Windrush generation, named after the Empire Windrush, which docked in June 1948 |
| 1960s onwards | United States | After US immigration reform in 1965, especially nurses and skilled workers |
| 1960s onwards | Canada | Seasonal farm workers from 1966, then families settling in Toronto |
| 2011–2022 | Mainly US, Canada, UK | A net 118,776 people left, about 11,000 a year |
What changed this year
- Back near the peak. Gross remittances rose to US$3.49 billion in 2025, ending three years of decline and almost matching the 2021 peak.
- The Melissa effect. Remittances fell in October 2025 as the hurricane disrupted the west, then surged 13.6% in December as the diaspora sent help.
- Kingston gains, the west lags. Most of the post-storm growth has gone to Kingston and St Andrew, while St James received no more than before.
- Diaspora Conference. The 11th Biennial Diaspora Conference in Montego Bay in June 2026 drew more than 1,000 people from 15 countries, the largest in its history.
How this page is updated
Jamaica Homes refreshes this page every October. We use the Bank of Jamaica’s Remittance Bulletins for remittance figures and national statistics offices in the US, UK and Canada for diaspora numbers. Monthly BOJ figures are often revised, so totals may change slightly.
| Edition | Main changes |
|---|---|
| October 2026 | First edition: remittances 2019–2025, source countries, parish impact of Hurricane Melissa, 2026 to date, diaspora by country. |
Sources: Bank of Jamaica, Remittance Bulletins (July 2024; May 2025); The Gleaner (21 May 2021; 19 March 2025; 2 January, 4 March, 19 August and 6 September 2026); Radio Jamaica News (2026); Migration Policy Institute, Caribbean Immigrants in the United States (2026); Statistics Canada, “Jamaica and Canada: Connected by people, travel and trade”; International Organization for Migration; Jamaica Observer (18 June 2026); STATIN 2022 census.