Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in Belize instead of Jamaica, you would:

Health

be 14.3% less likely to be living with HIV/AIDS

In Jamaica, 1.4% of people are living with AIDS/HIV as of 2020. In Belize, that number is 1.2% of people as of 2020.

Economy

make 24.3% more money

Jamaica has a GDP per capita of $10,300 as of 2023, while in Belize, the GDP per capita is $12,800 as of 2023.

be 86.9% more likely to be unemployed

In Jamaica, 4.4% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In Belize, that number is 8.3% as of 2023.

be 2.4 times more likely to live below the poverty line

In Jamaica, 17.1% live below the poverty line as of 2016. In Belize, however, that number is 41.0% as of 2013.

Life

have 13.5% more children

In Jamaica, there are approximately 15.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In Belize, there are 17.7 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

be 31.3% more likely to die during childbirth

In Jamaica, approximately 99.0 women per 100,000 births die during labor as of 2020. In Belize, 130.0 women do as of 2020.

Basic Needs

be 24.4% less likely to have internet access

In Jamaica, approximately 82.0% of the population has internet access as of 2021. In Belize, about 62.0% do as of 2021.

Expenditures

spend 45.0% more on education

Jamaica spends 6.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. Belize spends 8.7% of total GDP on education as of 2021.

Geography

see 62.2% less coastline

Jamaica has a total of 1,022 km of coastline. In Belize, that number is 386 km.

The statistics above were calculated using the following data sources: The World Factbook.

Belize: At a glance

Belize is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 22,806 sq km. Belize was the site of several Mayan city states until their decline at the end of the first millennium A.D. The British and Spanish disputed the region in the 17th and 18th centuries; it formally became the colony of British Honduras in 1854. Territorial disputes between the UK and Guatemala delayed the independence of Belize until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992 and the two countries are involved in an ongoing border dispute. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. Current concerns include the country's heavy foreign debt burden, high unemployment, growing involvement in the Mexican and South American drug trade, high crime rates, and one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in Central America.
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How big is Belize compared to Jamaica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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