USA, Canada and UK topped list of countries for migrating Jamaicans in 2025 – PIOJ

The United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom continue to be the leading destinations for Jamaicans migrating abroad, as detailed in the 2025 edition of the Economic and Social Survey Jamaica by the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ). These countries are the main recipients of Jamaican migrants granted permanent residence or citizenship.

In 2025, migration to the USA experienced a notable increase of 7.3 percent compared to the previous year, with 18,347 Jamaicans entering the country. Canada followed as the second most popular destination, granting permanent resident status to 2,980 migrants, although this represented a 19.8 percent decrease from 2024. The United Kingdom was the third major destination, with 2,396 Jamaicans obtaining British citizenship through naturalization or registration, a 16.7 percent decline from 2024.

The survey indicates that most Jamaican emigrants fall within the working-age bracket of 15 to 64 years, constituting 74.7 percent of the total. The 30–34 age group represented the largest proportion of permanent resident admissions. For those with a known occupation, the largest group, at 7.0 percent, were classified as “professionals, senior officials and technicians.” Service workers and shop and market sales workers followed at 2.3 percent.

Interestingly, the occupation of 85.8 percent of permanent emigrants was listed as “unknown/other.” In contrast, individuals who obtained temporary work visas were predominantly employed in “elementary occupations,” accounting for 79.6 percent of this category. Overall, Jamaica's population grew by a modest 600 people in 2025, reaching a total of 2,764,200, largely due to outward migration.