Quality of life comparison
If you lived in Jamaica instead of Guyana, you would:
Health
be 31.2% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS
In Guyana, 1.6% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2024. In Jamaica, that number is 1.1% of people as of 2024.
live 1.3 years longer
In Guyana, the average life expectancy is 70 years (67 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024. In Jamaica, that number is 72 years (69 years for men, 74 years for women) as of 2024.
be 93.2% less likely to die by suicide
Guyana has a suicide rate of 24.8 per 100,000 people as of 2021. In Jamaica, it is 1.7 per 100,000 as of 2021.
be 16.8% more likely to be obese
In Guyana, 30.1% of adults are obese as of 2024. In Jamaica, that number is 35.2% of people as of 2024.
see 34.7% less spent on your healthcare
Guyana spends $1,331 per person on healthcare as of 2023 (international dollars, adjusted for prices). Jamaica spends $869 as of 2023.
have 66.8% fewer doctors per person
Guyana has 13.9 doctors per 10,000 people as of 2020. Jamaica has 4.6 as of 2023.
Economy
be 72.5% less likely to be unemployed
In Guyana, 12.0% of the labor force is unemployed as of 2025. In Jamaica, that number is 3.3% as of 2025.
make 75.3% less money
Guyana has a GDP per capita of $32,414 as of 2025, while in Jamaica, the GDP per capita is $8,003 as of 2025.
Life
be 29.3% less likely to die during infancy
In Guyana, approximately 23.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2024. In Jamaica, on the other hand, 16.4 children do as of 2024.
be 73.3% more likely to die during childbirth
In Guyana, approximately 75.0 women die from pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births as of 2023. In Jamaica, 130.0 women do as of 2023.
have 42.4% fewer children
In Guyana, there are approximately 19.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Jamaica, there are 11.4 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.
Expenditures
spend 3.1 times more on healthcare
Guyana spends 2.5% of its total GDP on healthcare as of 2023. In Jamaica, that number is 7.6% of GDP as of 2023.
Geography
see 2.2 times more coastline
Guyana has a total of 459 km of coastline. In Jamaica, that number is 1,022 km.
Safety
be 2.6 times more likely to be murdered
Guyana has a homicide rate of 19.1 per 100,000 people as of 2023. In Jamaica, that number is 49.4 per 100,000 as of 2023.
be 17.1% more likely to die in a road accident
In Guyana, road accidents kill 15.2 people per 100,000 as of 2021. In Jamaica, they kill 17.8 per 100,000 as of 2021.
Infrastructure
find 23.5% more home broadband
Guyana has 12.9 fixed broadband subscriptions per 100 people as of 2022. Jamaica has 16.0 as of 2024.
live with 3.8 times more strain on fresh water
Guyana withdraws 3% of its available fresh water each year as of 2022. Jamaica withdraws 12% as of 2022.
Environment
be 57.7% less likely to die from air pollution
In Guyana, air pollution causes 52.0 deaths per 100,000 people as of 2019. In Jamaica, it causes 22.0 as of 2019.
emit 37.7% less CO2
Guyana emits 4.6 tonnes of CO2 per person each year as of 2024. Jamaica emits 2.8 tonnes as of 2024.
Sources: World Bank (2020–2025), United Nations SDG Indicators (2019–2021), World Health Organization (2024), The World Factbook. How we calculate this
Compare further: Guyana vs. Jamaica
Jamaica: At a glance
How big is Jamaica compared to Guyana? See an in-depth size comparison.