Jamaica - DEMOGRAPHICS - Info

DEMOGRAPHICS

The majority of Jamaicans, at least 90%, are of primarily black ancestory (CIA Factbook). People of mixed Chinese, East Indian, and Black and white ancestry make up the second largest group. Those who are East Indian, Chinese, European (chiefly British, and Irish), and Christian Syrian and Lebanese make up a smaller but influential number. The language of government and education is English, although the patois form Jamaican Creole is widely spoken. There are also small numbers of people that speak Hindi, Chinese, Hebrew, Arabic and Spanish. According to adherants.com, 80.0% of Jamaica's 2.7 million people are Christian – the vast majority of them from various Protestant denominations, which is evident of Jamaica's Anglo past. Roman Catholicism also enjoys a significant presence on the island. The top 5 denominations in Jamaica are: Church of God: 21.2%, Seventh-day Adventist: 9.0%, Baptist: 8.8%, Pentecostal: 7.6%, and Anglican: 5.0% Non-Christian religions are numerous, the largest being Rastafari, which is very strongly related to Christianity. Hinduism, and Buddhism are significant and growing due to immigration from India and China. Islam and Judaism number less than half a per cent combined.