Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Jamaica
Jamaica: Public and publicly guaranteed debt service was 14.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Jamaica, 1976–2024
Source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of exports of goods, services and primary income.
Analysis
In 2024, public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Jamaica stood at 14.6%.
The figure is down 18.3% on the previous year and down 26.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Jamaica peaked at 37.0% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 11.7%, in 1998.
Jamaica ranks 18th of 120 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 49 years of available data.
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | % of exports of goods, services and primary income | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 12.0% | — |
| 1977 | 15.7% | +31.1% |
| 1978 | 17.4% | +10.5% |
| 1979 | 17.0% | -2.2% |
| 1980 | 14.6% | -14.0% |
| 1981 | 15.9% | +8.7% |
| 1982 | 17.8% | +11.7% |
| 1983 | 20.3% | +14.5% |
| 1984 | 20.6% | +1.1% |
| 1985 | 28.1% | +36.7% |
| 1986 | 33.7% | +20.0% |
| 1987 | 26.7% | -20.9% |
| 1988 | 25.3% | -4.9% |
| 1989 | 20.2% | -20.2% |
| 1990 | 20.8% | +2.9% |
| 1991 | 24.5% | +17.5% |
| 1992 | 24.1% | -1.4% |
| 1993 | 17.0% | -29.5% |
| 1994 | 14.7% | -13.6% |
| 1995 | 14.6% | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 15.5% | +5.8% |
| 1997 | 15.2% | -1.9% |
| 1998 | 11.7% | -22.9% |
| 1999 | 14.3% | +22.0% |
| 2000 | 14.8% | +3.2% |
| 2001 | 18.8% | +27.6% |
| 2002 | 23.1% | +22.8% |
| 2003 | 21.4% | -7.6% |
| 2004 | 19.4% | -9.2% |
| 2005 | 20.9% | +7.9% |
| 2006 | 14.2% | -32.0% |
| 2007 | 18.7% | +31.7% |
| 2008 | 15.7% | -16.0% |
| 2009 | 29.2% | +85.8% |
| 2010 | 19.4% | -33.6% |
| 2011 | 27.0% | +39.0% |
| 2012 | 22.7% | -16.0% |
| 2013 | 16.8% | -26.0% |
| 2014 | 19.7% | +17.1% |
| 2015 | 24.5% | +24.7% |
| 2016 | 37.0% | +51.0% |
| 2017 | 23.9% | -35.3% |
| 2018 | 17.0% | -28.9% |
| 2019 | 30.6% | +79.7% |
| 2020 | 29.9% | -2.4% |
| 2021 | 21.4% | -28.5% |
| 2022 | 15.8% | -26.2% |
| 2023 | 17.8% | +13.0% |
| 2024 | 14.6% | -18.3% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 14.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 7.4%, 2.0× the median. (51 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 14.6% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 9.7%, 1.5× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 15.5% | 12.0% | 17.4% | 4 |
| 1980s | 22.3% | 14.6% | 33.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 17.2% | 11.7% | 24.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 19.6% | 14.2% | 29.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.9% | 16.8% | 37.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.9% | 14.6% | 29.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More external debt data for Jamaica
- IFC, private nonguaranteed 0 NFL, US$ (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per capita 0 NFL, US$ per person (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per unit of GDP 0 NFL, US$ per US$ of GDP (2024)
- IFC, private nonguaranteed (NFL, US$), per square kilometre -3,693 NFL, US$ per square kilometre (2023)
- Public and publicly guaranteed debt service 5.2% (2024)
- Net financial flows, IBRD -21.88 million NFL, current US$ (2024)
- Net financial flows, IBRD (NFL, current US$), annual growth rate 49.66 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other investment, Debt instruments 3.86 billion US dollar (2025)
- Use of IMF credit 1.74 billion DOD, current US$ (2024)
- External debt stocks, public and publicly guaranteed (PPG) 7.94 billion DOD, current US$ (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Jamaica?
- Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Jamaica was 14.6% in 2024, according to International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest public and publicly guaranteed debt service recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 37.0% in 2016.
- What is the lowest public and publicly guaranteed debt service recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.7% in 1998.
- How does Jamaica rank for public and publicly guaranteed debt service?
- Jamaica ranks 18th out of 120 countries with data for 2024.
- Is public and publicly guaranteed debt service rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 26.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Jamaica data come from?
- The figures come from International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB), published as part of Public and publicly guaranteed debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service to exports of goods, services, and income. Public and publicly guaranteed debt service is the sum of principal repayments and interest actually paid in currency, goods, or services on long-term obligations of public debtors and long-term private obligations guaranteed by a public entity. Exports of goods, services and primary income is the sum of goods (merchandise) exports, exports of (nonfactor) services and income (factor) receipts.