Press freedom in Jamaica
Jamaica: Press freedom was 2 in 2016. ▲ Rising
Press freedom in Jamaica, 1979–2016
Source: Freedom House (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for press freedom in Jamaica is 2, measured in 2016. That is the highest value across all 36 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, press freedom in Jamaica peaked at 2 in 1988 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1979.
That places Jamaica 1st out of 194 countries with data for 2016, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 36 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1980s | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| 1990s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2000s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10 |
| 2010s | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
- 1 Andorra 2 compare
- 1 Australia 2 compare
- 1 Austria 2 compare
- 1 Bahamas 2 compare
- 1 Barbados 2 compare
- 1 Belgium 2 compare
- 1 Belize 2 compare
- 1 Canada 2 compare
- 1 Cape Verde 2 compare
- 1 Chile 2 compare
- 1 Costa Rica 2 compare
- 1 Cyprus 2 compare
- 1 Czechia 2 compare
- 1 Denmark 2 compare
- 1 Dominica 2 compare
- 1 Estonia 2 compare
- 1 Finland 2 compare
- 1 France 2 compare
- 1 Germany 2 compare
- 1 Grenada 2 compare
- 1 Iceland 2 compare
- 1 Japan 2 compare
- 1 Kiribati 2 compare
- 1 Latvia 2 compare
- 1 Lithuania 2 compare
- 1 Marshall Islands 2 compare
- 1 Mauritius 2 compare
- 1 Monaco 2 compare
- 1 Netherlands 2 compare
- 1 New Zealand 2 compare
- 1 Norway 2 compare
- 1 Palau 2 compare
- 1 Papua New Guinea 2 compare
- 1 Portugal 2 compare
- 1 Saint Kitts and Nevis 2 compare
- 1 Saint Lucia 2 compare
- 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2 compare
- 1 Samoa 2 compare
- 1 San Marino 2 compare
- 1 Sao Tome and Principe 2 compare
- 1 Slovakia 2 compare
- 1 Slovenia 2 compare
- 1 Solomon Islands 2 compare
- 1 Spain 2 compare
- 1 Suriname 2 compare
- 1 Sweden 2 compare
- 1 Switzerland 2 compare
- 1 Taiwan 2 compare
- 1 Tonga 2 compare
- 1 Trinidad and Tobago 2 compare
- 1 Tuvalu 2 compare
- 1 United Kingdom 2 compare
- 1 United States 2 compare
- 1 Uruguay 2 compare
- 1 Vanuatu 2 compare
More social development data for Jamaica
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 31 (2022)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 2,642 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.879 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.876 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.679 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.524 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.876 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is press freedom in Jamaica?
- Press freedom in Jamaica was 2 in 2016, according to Freedom House (2017) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest press freedom recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 2 in 1988.
- What is the lowest press freedom recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1979.
- How does Jamaica rank for press freedom?
- Jamaica ranks 1st out of 194 countries with data for 2016.
- Is press freedom rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Jamaica data come from?
- The figures come from Freedom House (2017) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Press freedom. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Based on the classification and data by Freedom House. It captures the legal, political, and economic environment of the press.