Jamaica 🇯🇲

Jamaica is a country in North America with a population of 2,827,377. Its capital is Kingston. The official currency is JMD, and the main languages are English.

Quick facts

Capital: Kingston
Continent: North America
Population: 2,827,377
Area: 10,991 km²
Density: 257 people per km²
Currency: JMD
Languages: English
ISO code: JM

Where Jamaica sits

Jamaica 🇯🇲 is one of 23 countries in North America, with its capital at Kingston. It covers 10,991 square kilometres — 161st in the world — and is home to about 2,827,377 people, 137th globally.

The countries it shares a continent with include United States, Mexico, Canada, Guatemala and Haiti. If you are learning geography region by region — which works far better than alphabetically, because memory for places is spatial — those are the ones to learn alongside it.

How Jamaica compares

Raw figures are hard to hold on their own, so it helps to anchor them. In population, Jamaica sits closest to Albania and Armenia. In land area, its nearest counterparts are Kosovo and Gambia.

At 257 people per square kilometre it is about 4.3 times the world average of 59.4. It ranks higher by population than by area, so it is more crowded than its size alone suggests.

English is an official language in 58 countries here, among them Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas and Barbados, and 53 others. The JMD is used by Jamaica and no one else.

To see Jamaica next to every other country, sort the country rankings by population, area or density; its currency and languages are listed alongside every other country's in world currencies and world languages.

How to remember Jamaica

Kingston, the capital and largest city, is on the southeast coast, facing a natural harbour. Don't confuse it with Kingstown in Saint Vincent. For the flag, picture a gold X with no red, white or blue anywhere.

The flag of Jamaica: green, gold and black

🇯🇲 The flag is a gold diagonal cross dividing the flag into four triangles, green at the top and bottom and black at the sides. Green stands for hope, plants and farming, black for hardships overcome and still to face, and gold for sunshine and natural resources. Jamaica's is the only flag of a sovereign country with no white, red or blue in it.

Region and neighbours

Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean, the third-largest island in the Greater Antilles after Cuba and Hispaniola. As an island country it has no land neighbours.

Three facts about Jamaica

Jamaica is the birthplace of reggae music and the Rastafari religion.
The island's name comes from Xaymaca, the name the Indigenous people gave it.
Jamaica became independent from the United Kingdom on 6 August 1962.

Sources: Wikipedia: Jamaica, Wikipedia: Flag of Jamaica, Wikipedia: Kingston, Jamaica, CIA World Factbook.

Quiz yourself on Jamaica

North American capitals quiz — match Jamaica to Kingston
North American flags quiz — spot the Jamaica flag among its neighbours
Island nations quiz — Jamaica is an island country

Quizzes that include Jamaica

Three angles are worth covering for any country — where it is, what its flag looks like, and what its capital is. For Jamaica those are:

North America map quiz — place it on a blank map
North America flags quiz — identify its flag among its neighbours
North America capitals quiz — match it to Kingston
Jamaica capital quiz — five quick questions starting with Jamaica
Daily Map Challenge — five countries to find on a blank world map, the same five for everyone each day

Doing all three for one continent before moving on is far more efficient than learning flags globally, then capitals globally, then the map.

Nearby countries

Antigua and Barbuda 🇦🇬 — capital Saint John's
Bahamas 🇧🇸 — capital Nassau
Barbados 🇧🇧 — capital Bridgetown
Belize 🇧🇿 — capital Belmopan
Canada 🇨🇦 — capital Ottawa
Costa Rica 🇨🇷 — capital San José
Cuba 🇨🇺 — capital Havana
Dominica 🇩🇲 — capital Roseau
Dominican Republic 🇩🇴 — capital Santo Domingo
El Salvador 🇸🇻 — capital San Salvador
Grenada 🇬🇩 — capital Saint George's
Guatemala 🇬🇹 — capital Guatemala City

Frequently asked questions

What are the colours of the Jamaica flag?

The flag of Jamaica is a gold diagonal cross dividing the flag into four triangles, green at the top and bottom and black at the sides. Green stands for hope, plants and farming, black for hardships overcome and still to face, and gold for sunshine and natural resources. Jamaica's is the only flag of a sovereign country with no white, red or blue in it.

Which countries border Jamaica?

None. Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean, the third-largest island in the Greater Antilles after Cuba and Hispaniola, so it has no land borders with other countries.