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Durrant Pate/Contributor

Changes in Jamaica’s demographic features, such as a decline in household size highlights the findings of the latest Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions (JSLC), which was recently completed and tabled in parliament last week.

The JSLC, which is a joint effort between the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) and the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), also found a small increase in Jamaica’s per capita income and a marginal improvement in the quality of housing in the country, citing positive changes in inequality and the depth and severity of poverty.

The 2023 report, which is the latest edition, represents the 32nd edition in the series of analyses on the findings of the survey, which sampled 4,442 individuals from 1,719 households. The data were collected using Computer-Assisted Personal Interviews (CAPI) over the period July 2023 to March 2024.

The report presents analysis of the data in six chapters: Demographic Characteristics, Household Consumption and Poverty, Health, Education, Housing, and Social Protection. Each chapter examines the data for 2023 and compares it with the previous survey period, which in this case is 2021. Time series data are also included and cover different periods as deemed appropriate and where data are available.

Findings in detail

The average household size in 2023 was found to be 2.6 individuals compared with 3.0 individuals in 2017. This was influenced mainly by a decline in the average number of children in the household to 0.5 from 0.8. Consistent with the decline in average household size is an increase in the proportion of one-member households to 35.3% from 29.0% in 2017. 

Regarding household consumption expenditure, on average, an individual consumed more in 2023 than in 2021. The mean nominal per capita consumption expenditure for the year was $545,249, an increase of 5.3% (in real dollars) compared with 2021. 

Increases were observed in all regions, quintiles and in both male- and female-headed households. Overall, 8.2% of the population was classified as poor, that is, on average, they spent below the poverty line, compared with 16.7% in 2021.  

By region, 3.0% individuals in the Greater Kingston Metropolitan Area (GKMA) were classified as poor, 9.0% in Other Urban Centres (OUC), and 11.5% in Rural Areas. Positive changes were also observed in inequality and the depth and severity of poverty. 

Findings on poverty in Jamaica 

The proportion of the population that was within 10.0% above the poverty line, that is, the proportion vulnerable to poverty, increased from 2.3% to 9.5%. The data showed that one in every four individuals (23.6%) reported having at least one non-communicable disease (NCD); 7.3% of the population had two or more chronic diseases. 

The prevalence of NCDs among the elderly (60+ years) was 62.7 per cent, and 31.5 per cent had two or more. Of persons who reported an episode of illness/injury during the four-week reference period immediately preceding the survey, 61.8% sought medical care, with approximately two-thirds going exclusively to a private health facility. 

Regarding assistance with the out-of-pocket spending for health care, only 20.1% of the population had health insurance coverage, with less than 10.0% of those in the poorest quintile having coverage. 

Big improvement in education enrollment

With regard to education, gross enrolment for persons 3–16 years remained consistently high, at over 95.0%, compared with 62.8% of those 17 18 years and 17.3 per cent of those 19–24 years. Relative to 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, enrolment for the school-aged population was similar, except for those 17–18 years where enrolment fell by 3.8 %.

In 2023, full attendance during the four-week reference period was 80.7% and for those who were not sent to school every day during the school year. The main reasons were illness (49.5%), rain (18.9%) and money problems (14.8%).

For the students enrolled at the early childhood to secondary levels, 79.8% had the books recommended by the school; the comparative figure was 67.2%in 2021 and 84.9% in 2019. For individuals 14 years and older who were out of school, there were improvements in the percentage who had a certification. Generally, the improvements were observed by region, sex and socioeconomic status.

Housing Quality Index

The Housing Quality Index (HQI) registered an improvement with 80.5%, up from 75.0% in 2017, indicating an improvement in housing quality. This resulted from improvements in all six component indicators, the largest of which was the proportion of households that were not overcrowded, an increase of 11.5% to 74.2%.

Within the HQI, the proportion of households that used an indoor tap/pipe as their main drinking water source is usually ranked lowest; it was 53.6% in 2023, an increase of 2.3 percentage points relative to 2017. The overall percentage of households that used a safe source for drinking water was 78.0%, which included 53.6% of households that relied mainly on an indoor tap/pipe, and others that used another safe source for drinking water. 

There was regional disparity for the proportion of households that used a safe drinking source: 98.4% in the GKMA, 87.9% in OUC and 59.3% in Rural Areas. Of the households that used piped water, 51.7% reported at least one water lock-off during the 30-day reference period. 

The proportion of households with a working computer declined to 45.0% from 52.1% in 2021, while the proportion with access to the internet increased to 86.5% from 75.6%. The proportion of households with neither a computer nor internet declined to 13.2% from 21.0% in 2021.