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No baby boom!
Published: Thursday | October 18, 2012 Comments 0
Gary Spaulding, Senior Gleaner Writer
There has been no baby boom in Jamaica over the past 10 years.
In fact, the reality is quite the opposite. Not surprisingly, the decline in births has triggered a marginal increase in Jamaica's population between 2001, when the penultimate census was taken, and 2011.
The figures would suggest that years of urging by the authorities that spawned the maxim 'two is better than too many', among other birth control public-education messages, has sunk into the psyche of young Jamaicans - at least in some quarters of society.
The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) revealed yesterday in its census findings that fewer than 500,000 babies were added to the Jamaica population over the past decade, falling from an average of 24.2 per 1,000 between 1991 and 2001 to 17.4 per 1,000 between 2001 and 2011.
In its own words, STATIN attributed the low growth rates to "declining numbers of births".
The figures are contained in the 2011 Population and Housing Census, launched yesterday, which revealed that the population is still less than 2.7 million.
In fact, the precise population figure is 2.678 million, an obvious surprise to some, but not to STATIN officials who had been monitoring the data.
Some Jamaicans had expressed belief that it was higher. This represents a mere 3.5 per cent increase in the nearly 10 years since the 2001 census, which indicated a population of 2.607 million. The 2011 population figure represents an annual growth rate of 0.36 per cent since 2001.
STATIN's director of censuses, demographic and social statistic, Dr Valerie Nam, attributed the slow growth rate to a significant downward trajectory of the birth rate.
This was reflected in the census data which indicated that population changes must be interpreted within the context of the three components of population change - births, deaths and migration.
MIGRANTS HARD TO NUMBER
Nam noted that the figures on births and deaths were not hard to come by - not so for those on migration.
Between 2001 and 2011, 438,318 babies were added to the local population which lost nearly 347,967 persons to death or migration.
The figures also reflect a marginal increase in the death rate, from 6.4 per 1,000 in 1991 to 7.1 in 2001.
STATIN found that the difference in the population from natural increase (difference between births and deaths) was 259,065 over the decade.
"The very low growth rate of 0.356 per cent was only the second time since census taking began in Jamaica in the late 19th century that the rates have been so low," the report stated. "The previous period was between 1911 and 1921 and the low rate at that time attributable to the high levels of migration."
gary.spaulding@gleanerjm.com
Population growth slows due to low rate of births
Change in parish population over 10 years
Parish
Kingston
St. Andrew
St Thomas
Portland
St Mary
St Ann
Trelawny
St James
Hanover
Westmoreland
St Elizabeth
Manchester
Clarendon
St. Catherine
2001
96,052
555,828
91,604
80,205
111,466
166,762
73,066
175,127
67,037
138,948
146,404
185,801
237,024
482,308
2011
89,057
573,369
93,902
81,744
113,615
172,362
75,164
183,811
69,533
144,103
150,205
189,797
245,103
516,218
How we havegrown since 1911
Babies born
Census year
1921
1943
1960
1970
1982
1991
2001
2011
Number
370,200
765,300
855,500
676,500
747,788
505,844
603,090
438,318
Census year
1911
1921
1943
1960
1970
1982
1991
2001
2011
Population
831,383
858,118
1,237,063
1,609,814
1,848,512
2,190,357
2,380,666
2,607,632
2,697,983
Published: Thursday | October 18, 2012 Comments 0
Gary Spaulding, Senior Gleaner Writer
There has been no baby boom in Jamaica over the past 10 years.
In fact, the reality is quite the opposite. Not surprisingly, the decline in births has triggered a marginal increase in Jamaica's population between 2001, when the penultimate census was taken, and 2011.
The figures would suggest that years of urging by the authorities that spawned the maxim 'two is better than too many', among other birth control public-education messages, has sunk into the psyche of young Jamaicans - at least in some quarters of society.
The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) revealed yesterday in its census findings that fewer than 500,000 babies were added to the Jamaica population over the past decade, falling from an average of 24.2 per 1,000 between 1991 and 2001 to 17.4 per 1,000 between 2001 and 2011.
In its own words, STATIN attributed the low growth rates to "declining numbers of births".
The figures are contained in the 2011 Population and Housing Census, launched yesterday, which revealed that the population is still less than 2.7 million.
In fact, the precise population figure is 2.678 million, an obvious surprise to some, but not to STATIN officials who had been monitoring the data.
Some Jamaicans had expressed belief that it was higher. This represents a mere 3.5 per cent increase in the nearly 10 years since the 2001 census, which indicated a population of 2.607 million. The 2011 population figure represents an annual growth rate of 0.36 per cent since 2001.
STATIN's director of censuses, demographic and social statistic, Dr Valerie Nam, attributed the slow growth rate to a significant downward trajectory of the birth rate.
This was reflected in the census data which indicated that population changes must be interpreted within the context of the three components of population change - births, deaths and migration.
MIGRANTS HARD TO NUMBER
Nam noted that the figures on births and deaths were not hard to come by - not so for those on migration.
Between 2001 and 2011, 438,318 babies were added to the local population which lost nearly 347,967 persons to death or migration.
The figures also reflect a marginal increase in the death rate, from 6.4 per 1,000 in 1991 to 7.1 in 2001.
STATIN found that the difference in the population from natural increase (difference between births and deaths) was 259,065 over the decade.
"The very low growth rate of 0.356 per cent was only the second time since census taking began in Jamaica in the late 19th century that the rates have been so low," the report stated. "The previous period was between 1911 and 1921 and the low rate at that time attributable to the high levels of migration."
gary.spaulding@gleanerjm.com
Population growth slows due to low rate of births
Change in parish population over 10 years
Parish
Kingston
St. Andrew
St Thomas
Portland
St Mary
St Ann
Trelawny
St James
Hanover
Westmoreland
St Elizabeth
Manchester
Clarendon
St. Catherine
2001
96,052
555,828
91,604
80,205
111,466
166,762
73,066
175,127
67,037
138,948
146,404
185,801
237,024
482,308
2011
89,057
573,369
93,902
81,744
113,615
172,362
75,164
183,811
69,533
144,103
150,205
189,797
245,103
516,218
How we havegrown since 1911
Babies born
Census year
1921
1943
1960
1970
1982
1991
2001
2011
Number
370,200
765,300
855,500
676,500
747,788
505,844
603,090
438,318
Census year
1911
1921
1943
1960
1970
1982
1991
2001
2011
Population
831,383
858,118
1,237,063
1,609,814
1,848,512
2,190,357
2,380,666
2,607,632
2,697,983
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