Military spending as a share of GDP in Jamaica
Jamaica: Military spending as a share of GDP was 1.4% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Military spending as a share of GDP in Jamaica, 1962–2019
Source: Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
Jamaica recorded 1.4% for military spending as a share of gdp in 2019. That is the highest value across all 58 years on record.
The figure is up 14.0% on the previous year and up 157.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, military spending as a share of gdp in Jamaica peaked at 1.4% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1962.
That places Jamaica 82nd out of 172 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 58 years of available data.
Military spending as a share of GDP in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 0.1% | — |
| 1963 | 0.3% | +184.1% |
| 1964 | 0.3% | +10.0% |
| 1965 | 0.3% | +3.6% |
| 1966 | 0.3% | -6.5% |
| 1967 | 0.3% | +2.4% |
| 1968 | 0.3% | -9.1% |
| 1969 | 0.3% | -12.5% |
| 1970 | 0.3% | +11.9% |
| 1971 | 0.3% | +7.9% |
| 1972 | 0.3% | +5.8% |
| 1973 | 0.4% | +23.4% |
| 1974 | 0.4% | +1.7% |
| 1975 | 0.5% | +12.1% |
| 1976 | 0.6% | +25.7% |
| 1977 | 0.6% | +7.0% |
| 1978 | 0.6% | -5.5% |
| 1979 | 0.6% | -1.6% |
| 1980 | 0.6% | +1.2% |
| 1981 | 0.7% | +13.0% |
| 1982 | 0.8% | +12.4% |
| 1983 | 0.7% | -9.2% |
| 1984 | 0.5% | -26.4% |
| 1985 | 0.5% | -12.7% |
| 1986 | 0.5% | +3.5% |
| 1987 | 0.5% | -3.2% |
| 1988 | 0.5% | +0.8% |
| 1989 | 0.4% | -3.7% |
| 1990 | 0.4% | -8.8% |
| 1991 | 0.3% | -16.1% |
| 1992 | 0.3% | +2.8% |
| 1993 | 0.4% | +4.1% |
| 1994 | 0.3% | -3.1% |
| 1995 | 0.3% | -4.4% |
| 1996 | 0.3% | +2.5% |
| 1997 | 0.4% | +19.6% |
| 1998 | 0.4% | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 0.4% | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 0.4% | -5.7% |
| 2001 | 0.4% | +5.3% |
| 2002 | 0.5% | +8.7% |
| 2003 | 0.4% | -11.2% |
| 2004 | 0.4% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 0.4% | -4.1% |
| 2006 | 0.4% | +9.0% |
| 2007 | 0.6% | +34.0% |
| 2008 | 0.6% | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 0.5% | -6.4% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | +17.1% |
| 2011 | 0.7% | +17.6% |
| 2012 | 0.8% | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | -3.0% |
| 2014 | 0.7% | -8.0% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | +1.5% |
| 2016 | 0.8% | +11.2% |
| 2017 | 0.9% | +13.9% |
| 2018 | 1.2% | +38.0% |
| 2019 | 1.4% | +14.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 8 |
| 1970s | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9% | 0.6% | 1.4% | 10 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
More economy & growth data for Jamaica
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 1.76 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 1.6 Percent per annum (2029)
- Manufacturing, value added (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0769 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (current US$), per capita 615.69 current US$ per person (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (current LCU), per unit of GDP 12.24 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (current LCU), per capita 97,953 current LCU per person (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant 2015 US$), per unit of GDP 0.0612 constant 2015 US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant 2015 US$), per capita 489.66 constant 2015 US$ per person (2025)
- Manufacturing, value added (constant LCU), per capita 57,275 constant LCU per person (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added (current US$), annual 1.93 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is military spending as a share of gdp in Jamaica?
- Military spending as a share of gdp in Jamaica was 1.4% in 2019, according to Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 1.4% in 2019.
- What is the lowest military spending as a share of gdp recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1962.
- How does Jamaica rank for military spending as a share of gdp?
- Jamaica ranks 82nd out of 172 countries with data for 2019.
- Is military spending as a share of gdp rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 157.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Jamaica data come from?
- The figures come from Barnum et al. - Global Military Spending Dataset (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Military spending as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 58 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Military spending measured as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).