Jamaicas Population
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While most of the Jamaica peoples are descended from the nations of Africa, there are people of other cultures including those of mixed descent, East Indian people, and even Caucasian people—often called White Jamaicans. Of course, the latter of these are few and far between.
It's all in the History
The first settlers on the island were Amerindians or "Tainos" who were Arawak speaking people from somewhere in South America. These were the natives who greeted Columbus when he arrived in 1494.
The Spanish settled first in the area of St Ann's bay and then moved to what is now "Spanish Town", west of present day Kingston. Then in the 1650's the British captured Jamaica from the Spanish and developed the island into a busy and wealthy island, one of the most important in the Caribbean.
Interestingly the Spanish, in a last ditch effort to beat the British, set their own slaves free and these people moved to the interior and became what today are called the "Maroons". This group continuously defied any of the island colonizers, and their descendants still exist today.
The British built and oversaw large Sugar Plantations which, at that time, produced 22% of the world cane sugar crop. African slaves were brought to work these plantations, and after frequent slave uprisings the Emancipation act of 1834 was passed and put into place by 1838, when slavery was finally abolished.
Many of these plantation workers moved to other parts of the island and new plantation workers were recruited from China and India, many of whom set up homes and started families.
In 1866 Jamaica became a Crown Colony and independence was granted in 1962. Thus we have the weaving of several cultural groups into Jamaicas population. The Amerindians, Spanish, British, Africans, Chinese and Indian: and let's not forget the "Maroons".
According to the estimated census of 2007, the ethnic breakdown of Jamaicas population was as follows:
Black 90.9%, East Indian 1.3%, White 0.2%, Chinese 0.2%, Mixed Races 7.3%, Others 0.1%
It also mentions that there were 257 people per square Kilometer of which 61.3% were Protestant, 4% were Catholic and 34.7% were Others!
[I am not sure whether I would want to be an "others" or not!]
Urban Jamaica
While it may not seem as such for anyone who has never visited this little island nation, the majority of Jamaican natives are found in rather densely populated urban areas. A major percentage of this population, about 30 percent, are below the age of 14 years old and a small percentage are above the age of 65 years old—just a mere 7 percent. This is due to issues in health care, living styles, and other issues that are hot in Jamaica today.
The capital city of Jamaica is Kingston, which is where the most dense population of Jamaican natives are found. For this reason, Kingston has often been regarded as one of the more dangerous cities in Jamaica, complete with gang violence and all.
Many say that anywhere that there are so many people so close together would result in violence, but as of yet Kingston has still managed to remain a rather popular tourist attraction, harboring a major airport and major tourist resorts within its boundaries.
Jamaica Population Control through Education
There has been a certain amount of population control in effect with regards to the Jamaica population, but nothing near what other countries are doing. Controlling the Jamaica population through sex education, birth control, and AIDS education is the stance being taken.
Major funding from several organizations are going directly toward educating the Jamaica population and educating the people on different methods of contraception and family planning.
Beautiful Scenery, Friendly Jamaican People
The popular Jamaican motto, especially with the tourists is 'No Problem,' and that is for a good reason. Jamaican people have had a lot to deal with over the past few years. They have issues with government, with weather, with health, and with living tough lives on a day to day basis, many of them depending on tourism as their sole means of survival and income.
Yet and still, the Jamaica population as a whole manages to remain optimistic and friendly, which is one of the reasons why Jamaica is such a popular tourist destination.
Friendly people, the famous 'no problem' attitude, a fun atmosphere, beautiful weather and even more beautiful scenery make the little Jamaican island a hot spot for vacationers all around the world, but the Jamaica people and culture is what keeps people coming back.
Famous Jamaicans
...and some infamous ones as well!
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