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Bahamas vs Jamaica
Side-by-side comparison of Bahamas and Jamaica from official statistics: size, economy, people, trade, natural resources, health, infrastructure and military, with world ranks, years and sources.
Bahamas
Latin America & Caribbean · nation age 53 years
Jamaica
Latin America & Caribbean · nation age 64 years
In short
Bahamas scores 54.2 in the NationsTree Index (73rd in the world) and Jamaica scores 41.3 (123rd), a gap of 12.8 points. Their trees are 2.5 m and 3.5 m tall; tree height grows with real GDP and is adjusted by the index.
Jamaica has 7.0 times the population of Bahamas. Bahamas has 26% more land area than Jamaica. Jamaica has an economy 2.3 times the size of Bahamas (GDP at purchasing power parity). Population: Bahamas 403,033 and Jamaica 2.8 million (2025).
GDP per person at purchasing power parity is $41,258 in Bahamas and $13,291 in Jamaica (2025, international dollars). People in Bahamas live on average 3.1 years longer (74.7 vs 71.6 years).
Of 32 indicators reported by both countries, Bahamas ranks higher in the world on 23 and Jamaica on 9. Bahamas is clearly stronger in tourism, economy and institutions & safety. Jamaica is clearly stronger in natural resources, main industries and science & innovation.
As a nation, Jamaica is the older of the two (statehood since 1962, 64 years), compared with Bahamas (since 1973). Over the last five years Bahamas improved faster (direction score 80 vs 28 out of 100).
Where they differ most
The indicators with the biggest gap in world position between Bahamas and Jamaica.
Bahamasbetter
100.0%
1st of 215
Jamaica
97.7%
143rd of 215
Air pollution (PM2.5)Environment & energy
Bahamasbetter
5.3
17th of 200
Jamaica
21.7
125th of 200
DPT immunizationSociety & health
Bahamas
90%
104th of 193
Jamaicabetter
99%
1st of 193
UnemploymentEconomy
Bahamas
9.2%
145th of 187
Jamaicabetter
3.3%
50th of 187
InflationEconomy
Bahamasbetter
1.1%
40th of 180
Jamaica
4.0%
123rd of 180
Over time
How the two countries moved against each other, from the yearly data.
Bahamas overtook Jamaica in the NationsTree Index in 2023 and has stayed ahead since.
Bahamas overtook Jamaica in life expectancy in 2020 and has stayed ahead since.
Bahamas has been ahead of Jamaica in GDP per person (PPP) in every year since 1990.
Jamaica has been ahead of Bahamas in GDP (PPP) and population in every year since 1990.
Strength by category
Average world percentile of the indicators in each category (0–100, direction taken into account). i
BahamasJamaica All indicators
Latest available value for each country with its year and world rank. Green: the better world position of the two, red: the weaker one.
| Indicator | Bahamas | Jamaica |
|---|---|---|
| Land & people | ||
| Surface area km² | 13,878158th/216 · 2024 | 10,991163rd/216 · 2024 |
| Land area km² | 10,010163rd/216 · 2024 | 10,830160th/216 · 2024 |
| Population people | 403,033175th/217 · 2025 | 2.8 m140th/217 · 2025 |
| Population growth % | 0.44%144th/217 · 2025 | -0.07%177th/217 · 2025 |
| Population density people/km² | 40.1162nd/216 · 2024 | 262.250th/216 · 2024 |
| Urban population % | 81.3%53rd/217 · 2025 | 59.4%129th/217 · 2025 |
| Population aged 0–14 % | 17.5%147th/217 · 2025 | 18.3%137th/217 · 2025 |
| Population aged 65+ % | 12.1%85th/217 · 2025 | 8.6%111th/217 · 2025 |
| Economy | ||
| GDP USD | $15.83 bn144th/210 · 2024 | $22.70 bn126th/210 · 2025 |
| GDP (PPP) intl. USD | $16.56 bn154th/199 · 2024 | $37.71 bn142nd/199 · 2025 |
| Real GDP (PPP, constant 2021 prices) intl. USD 2021 | $14.54 bn154th/199 · 2024 | $32.22 bn142nd/199 · 2025 |
| GDP per person USD | $39,45542nd/210 · 2024 | $8,003113th/210 · 2025 |
| GDP per person (PPP) intl. USD | $41,25865th/199 · 2024 | $13,291128th/199 · 2025 |
| GNI per person (Atlas) USD | $37,02038th/201 · 2024 | $7,790104th/201 · 2025 |
| GDP growth % | 3.4%105th/210 · 2024 | 0.1%194th/210 · 2025 |
| Inflation % | 1.1%40th/180 · 2025 | 4.0%123rd/180 · 2025 |
| Unemployment % | 9.2%145th/187 · 2025 | 3.3%50th/187 · 2025 |
| Central government debt % of GDP | 71.5%40th/55 · 2024 | 97.9%47th/55 · 2020 |
| General government gross debt % of GDP | 71.7%138th/189 · 2025 | 66.0%129th/189 · 2025 |
| Government budget balance % of GDP | -0.5%48th/192 · 2025 | -2.5%92nd/192 · 2025 |
| Main industries | ||
| Agriculture, forestry, fishing % of GDP | 0.5%182nd/197 · 2024 | 8.7%79th/197 · 2025 |
| Industry incl. construction % of GDP | 9.6%187th/200 · 2024 | 16.3%154th/200 · 2025 |
| Manufacturing % of GDP | 0.6%188th/192 · 2024 | 7.7%127th/192 · 2025 |
| Services % of GDP | 77.2%13th/200 · 2024 | 59.8%85th/200 · 2025 |
| Trade | ||
| Exports of goods & services USD | $5.98 bn127th/182 · 2024 | — |
| Imports of goods & services USD | $6.56 bn132nd/182 · 2024 | — |
| Exports % of GDP | 37.8%88th/183 · 2024 | — |
| Imports % of GDP | 41.5%98th/183 · 2024 | — |
| Trade openness % of GDP | 79.2%98th/183 · 2024 | — |
| Fuel exports % of merchandise exports | 0.0%165th/170 · 2024 | 23.9%34th/170 · 2025 |
| Manufactures exports % of merchandise exports | 31.2%89th/171 · 2024 | 3.9%156th/171 · 2025 |
| Food exports % of merchandise exports | 52.2%27th/171 · 2024 | 29.5%50th/171 · 2025 |
| Ores & metals exports % of merchandise exports | 16.1%30th/171 · 2024 | 42.4%10th/171 · 2025 |
| High-tech exports % of manufactured exports | 0.0%166th/168 · 2024 | 2.6%126th/168 · 2023 |
| Current account balance % of GDP | -8.3%165th/191 · 2025 | 1.5%63rd/191 · 2025 |
| Foreign direct investment, inflows % of GDP | 1.5%120th/196 · 2024 | 1.2%133rd/196 · 2025 |
| Natural resources | ||
| Natural resource rents % of GDP | 0.0%171st/209 · 2021 | 0.5%133rd/209 · 2021 |
| Oil rents % of GDP | 0.00%120th/197 · 2021 | 0.29%63rd/197 · 2021 |
| Natural gas rents % of GDP | 0.00%100th/197 · 2021 | 0.00%100th/197 · 2021 |
| Coal rents % of GDP | 0.00%68th/195 · 2021 | 0.00%68th/195 · 2021 |
| Mineral rents % of GDP | 0.00%91st/209 · 2021 | 0.00%91st/209 · 2021 |
| Forest rents % of GDP | 0.01%145th/209 · 2021 | 0.16%100th/209 · 2021 |
| Arable land % of land area | 0.8%186th/206 · 2024 | 11.5%89th/206 · 2024 |
| Renewable freshwater per person m³ | 1,761107th/183 · 2022 | 3,81272nd/183 · 2022 |
| Tourism | ||
| International tourist arrivals arrivals | 1.8 m75th/194 · 2020 | 1.3 m85th/194 · 2020 |
| Tourism receipts USD | $1.01 bn73rd/175 · 2020 | $2.06 bn2011 |
| Tourism receipts % of exports | 59.6%14th/168 · 2020 | 48.1%2011 |
| Society & health | ||
| Life expectancy years | 74.7109th/217 · 2024 | 71.6142nd/217 · 2024 |
| Under-5 mortality per 1,000 births | 12.486th/196 · 2024 | 17.8116th/196 · 2024 |
| Physicians per 1,000 people | 1.902017 | 0.46127th/174 · 2023 |
| Hospital beds per 1,000 people | 2.284th/145 · 2023 | 1.797th/145 · 2023 |
| DPT immunization % of children 12–23 months | 90%104th/193 · 2024 | 99%1st/193 · 2024 |
| Completed lower secondary, 25+ % of adults | 96.1%24th/153 · 2022 | 77.4%76th/153 · 2022 |
| Secondary enrolment % gross | 79.5%129th/173 · 2024 | 84.5%122nd/173 · 2024 |
| Social protection coverage (incl. pensions) % of population | — | 52.8%2017 |
| Old-age dependency ratio % of working-age population | 17.2%86th/217 · 2025 | 11.7%119th/217 · 2025 |
| Health spending % of GDP | 6.3%98th/193 · 2023 | 7.6%71st/193 · 2023 |
| Adult literacy % | — | 79.9%1999 |
| Tertiary enrolment % gross | 14.8%1995 | 26.2%2015 |
| Human Development Index index 0–1 | 0.82066th/193 · 2023 | 0.720117th/193 · 2023 |
| Income inequality (Gini) index | — | 39.986th/108 · 2021 |
| Extreme poverty % of population | — | 1.4%55th/108 · 2021 |
| Infrastructure & digital | ||
| Access to electricity % of population | 100.0%1st/215 · 2024 | 97.7%143rd/215 · 2024 |
| Safely managed sanitation % of population | — | 73.6%61st/144 · 2024 |
| Internet users % of population | 92.5%42nd/186 · 2024 | 90.1%55th/186 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions per 100 people | 97146th/210 · 2024 | 11898th/210 · 2024 |
| Fixed broadband per 100 people | 25.375th/208 · 2024 | 16.098th/208 · 2024 |
| Trade & transport infrastructure quality (LPI) score 1–5 | 2.5085th/164 · 2022 | 2.4096th/164 · 2022 |
| Air passengers carried passengers | 1.5 m89th/161 · 2023 | 180,9512018 |
| Environment & energy | ||
| CO₂ emissions per person t CO₂e | 3.64123rd/203 · 2024 | 2.84108th/203 · 2024 |
| Renewable energy % of final energy use | 1.1%187th/212 · 2022 | 10.5%144th/212 · 2021 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5) µg/m³ | 5.317th/200 · 2023 | 21.7125th/200 · 2023 |
| Forest area % of land area | 50.9%55th/214 · 2024 | 56.5%42nd/214 · 2024 |
| Energy use per person kg oil eq. | 2,0072007 | 837101st/149 · 2024 |
| Institutions & safety | ||
| Government effectiveness score 0–100 | 65.658th/205 · 2025 | 56.291st/205 · 2025 |
| Control of corruption score 0–100 | 69.136th/207 · 2025 | 46.295th/207 · 2025 |
| Rule of law score 0–100 | 62.486th/207 · 2025 | 58.199th/207 · 2025 |
| Political stability score 0–100 | 83.541st/207 · 2025 | 75.177th/207 · 2025 |
| Regulatory quality score 0–100 | 54.0101st/205 · 2025 | 55.892nd/205 · 2025 |
| Voice & accountability score 0–100 | 69.360th/205 · 2025 | 68.664th/205 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate per 100,000 | 32.2136th/145 · 2022 | 49.4142nd/145 · 2023 |
| Military | ||
| Military expenditure USD | — | $286.6 m116th/156 · 2025 |
| Military expenditure % of GDP | — | 1.4%95th/156 · 2025 |
| Military expenditure % of government spending | — | 4.1%107th/154 · 2025 |
| Armed forces personnel people | 2,000154th/170 · 2020 | 6,000145th/170 · 2020 |
| Armed forces personnel % of labour force | 0.92%75th/168 · 2020 | 0.41%126th/168 · 2020 |
| Arms imports (SIPRI TIV) TIV | 12.0 m2017 | 10.0 m109th/163 · 2024 |
| Arms exports (SIPRI TIV) TIV | 02015 | — |
| Science & innovation | ||
| R&D spending % of GDP | — | 0.06%2002 |
| Patent applications by residents applications | 42017 | 3118th/137 · 2024 |
| Scientific articles articles | 15179th/197 · 2023 | 161131st/197 · 2023 |
Questions and answers
Which has more people, Bahamas or Jamaica?
Jamaica has the larger population: 2.8 m (2025) compared with 403,033 for Bahamas (2025). Source: World Bank, SP.POP.TOTL.
Which is bigger by area, Bahamas or Jamaica?
Bahamas is larger: 13,878 km² (2024) compared with 10,991 km² for Jamaica (2024). Source: World Bank, AG.SRF.TOTL.K2.
Which economy is larger, Bahamas or Jamaica?
Jamaica has the larger economy at purchasing power parity: $37.71 bn intl. (2025) compared with $16.56 bn intl. for Bahamas (2024). Source: World Bank, NY.GDP.MKTP.PP.CD.
Which is richer per person, Bahamas or Jamaica?
Bahamas has the higher GDP per person (PPP): $41,258 intl. (2024) compared with $13,291 intl. for Jamaica (2025). Source: World Bank, NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.CD.
Where do people live longer, in Bahamas or Jamaica?
Bahamas has the higher life expectancy at birth: 74.7 years (2024) compared with 71.6 years for Jamaica (2024). Source: World Bank, SP.DYN.LE00.IN.
Which ranks higher in the NationsTree Index, Bahamas or Jamaica?
Bahamas: 54.2 points (73rd in the world); Jamaica: 41.3 points (123rd). The index combines foundations, economic strength, quality of life, problems and 5-year direction from public statistics.
Barbados
Haiti
Suriname
Guyana
Nicaragua
Trinidad and TobagoSources
World Bank World Development Indicators and Worldwide Governance Indicators, compiling UN agencies, the IMF, WHO, SIPRI and national statistical offices; every row links to its world ranking with the source series. See Sources & licences and Methodology.
Cite as: NationsTree (2026). Bahamas vs Jamaica — country comparison. https://nationstree.org/compare/bahamas-vs-jamaica. Data as of 26 October 2026.