Quality of life comparison

compared to

If you lived in British Virgin Islands instead of Jamaica, you would:

Health

live 3.9 years longer

In Jamaica, the average life expectancy is 76 years (74 years for men, 78 years for women) as of 2022. In British Virgin Islands, that number is 80 years (78 years for men, 81 years for women) as of 2022.

Economy

make 3.3 times more money

Jamaica has a GDP per capita of $10,300 as of 2023, while in British Virgin Islands, the GDP per capita is $34,200 as of 2017.

be 34.4% less likely to be unemployed

In Jamaica, 4.4% of adults are unemployed as of 2023. In British Virgin Islands, that number is 2.9% as of 2015.

Life

be 26.8% more likely to die during infancy

In Jamaica, approximately 11.2 children (per 1,000 live births) die before they reach the age of one as of 2022. In British Virgin Islands, on the other hand, 14.2 children do as of 2022.

have 30.1% fewer children

In Jamaica, there are approximately 15.6 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024. In British Virgin Islands, there are 10.9 babies per 1,000 people as of 2024.

Expenditures

spend 56.7% less on education

Jamaica spends 6.0% of its total GDP on education as of 2021. British Virgin Islands spends 2.6% of total GDP on education as of 2020.

Geography

see 92.2% less coastline

Jamaica has a total of 1,022 km of coastline. In British Virgin Islands, that number is 80 km.

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

British Virgin Islands: At a glance

British Virgin Islands (sometimes abbreviated BVI) is a sovereign country in Central America/Caribbean, with a total land area of approximately 151 sq km. First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency.
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How big is British Virgin Islands compared to Jamaica? See an in-depth size comparison.

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