Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Jamaica
Jamaica: Public and publicly guaranteed debt service was 5.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Jamaica, 1970–2024
Source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of GNI.
Analysis
The most recent figure for public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Jamaica is 5.2%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 21.6% on the previous year and down 23.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Jamaica peaked at 19.6% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 1.1%, in 1970.
That places Jamaica 16th out of 123 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 55 years of available data.
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | % of GNI | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 1.1% | — |
| 1971 | 1.4% | +20.3% |
| 1972 | 1.6% | +17.0% |
| 1973 | 2.1% | +29.0% |
| 1974 | 2.7% | +30.1% |
| 1975 | 2.8% | +6.1% |
| 1976 | 3.9% | +37.5% |
| 1977 | 5.0% | +28.3% |
| 1978 | 8.1% | +61.9% |
| 1979 | 9.2% | +13.1% |
| 1980 | 8.4% | -8.4% |
| 1981 | 8.5% | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 7.8% | -7.8% |
| 1983 | 7.8% | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 13.0% | +66.6% |
| 1985 | 19.6% | +50.2% |
| 1986 | 19.2% | -1.7% |
| 1987 | 14.8% | -23.0% |
| 1988 | 12.9% | -13.1% |
| 1989 | 10.0% | -22.0% |
| 1990 | 11.6% | +16.0% |
| 1991 | 15.0% | +29.0% |
| 1992 | 17.1% | +13.9% |
| 1993 | 8.1% | -52.8% |
| 1994 | 9.0% | +12.0% |
| 1995 | 8.4% | -7.5% |
| 1996 | 7.5% | -10.3% |
| 1997 | 6.7% | -11.2% |
| 1998 | 4.9% | -26.4% |
| 1999 | 6.1% | +24.4% |
| 2000 | 6.4% | +5.9% |
| 2001 | 7.7% | +19.1% |
| 2002 | 8.7% | +13.8% |
| 2003 | 9.0% | +3.3% |
| 2004 | 8.4% | -6.6% |
| 2005 | 8.6% | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 6.5% | -24.2% |
| 2007 | 8.6% | +33.0% |
| 2008 | 7.2% | -16.3% |
| 2009 | 10.9% | +51.1% |
| 2010 | 6.5% | -40.6% |
| 2011 | 8.7% | +34.8% |
| 2012 | 7.5% | -14.1% |
| 2013 | 5.6% | -26.1% |
| 2014 | 6.8% | +22.1% |
| 2015 | 7.8% | +15.1% |
| 2016 | 12.2% | +56.2% |
| 2017 | 8.1% | -33.7% |
| 2018 | 6.4% | -20.3% |
| 2019 | 11.8% | +83.7% |
| 2020 | 7.4% | -37.6% |
| 2021 | 6.6% | -11.0% |
| 2022 | 5.9% | -10.6% |
| 2023 | 6.6% | +12.3% |
| 2024 | 5.2% | -21.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.8% | 1.1% | 9.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.2% | 7.8% | 19.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.4% | 4.9% | 17.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.2% | 6.4% | 10.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.1% | 5.6% | 12.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.3% | 5.2% | 7.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
- 13 Montenegro 5.5% compare
- 14 Lao People's Democratic Republic 5.3% compare
- 15 Côte d'Ivoire 5.2% compare
- 17 Serbia 5.0% compare
- 18 Bhutan 5.0% compare
- 19 Cape Verde 4.8% compare
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)
- Net financial flows, IBRD -21.88 million NFL, current US$ (2024)
- Public and publicly guaranteed debt service 14.6% (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 5.2% 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 19.6% in 1985.
- What is the lowest public and publicly guaranteed debt service recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.1% in 1970.
- How does Jamaica rank for public and publicly guaranteed debt service?
- Jamaica ranks 16th out of 123 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 23.6%. 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 GNI). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Public and publicly guaranteed debt service to gross national 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. GNI (formerly GNP) is the sum of value added by all resident producers plus any product taxes (less subsidies) not included in the valuation of output plus net receipts of primary income (compensation of employees and property income) from abroad.