Bahamas vs Jamaica
Bahamas is 26% larger than Jamaica.
BahamasJamaicaBahamas moved onto Jamaica · Equal-area projection
1.26×
Bahamas is 1.26× the area of Jamaica.
 Bahamas |  Jamaica | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaBahamas: 1.26× the area | 13,878 km²#157 of 194 | 10,992 km²#161 of 194 |
| Coastline | Coast, no land border | Coast, no land border |
| Land neighbours | 0 | 0 |
| People | ||
| PopulationJamaica: 7.04× the population | 403,033#171 of 194 · 2025 | 2,837,077#138 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityJamaica: 8.89× the density | 29 / km²#154 of 194 | 258 / km²#37 of 194 |
| Urban populationBahamas: 1.37× the urban share | 81%#38 of 192 · 2025 | 59%#108 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateAbout the same births per woman | 1.37 per woman#162 of 192 · 2024 | 1.35 per woman#166 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthBahamas: 0.51 points higher | +0.44%#134 of 192 · 2025 | −0.07%#161 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateJamaica: 1.06× the birth rate | 10.8 per 1,000#129 of 192 · 2024 | 11.5 per 1,000#116 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateBahamas: 1.07× the death rate | 8.8 per 1,000#57 of 192 · 2024 | 8.2 per 1,000#68 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Jamaica: 0.8 points higher | 17.5%#135 of 192 · 2025 | 18.3%#124 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Bahamas: 3.5 points higher | 12.1%#71 of 192 · 2025 | 8.6%#87 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationBahamas: 6.2 per 1,000 higher | +2.3 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2025 | −3.9 per 1,000#168 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadBahamas: 4.26× the refugees for its size | 3.96 per 1,000#32 of 190 · 2025 | 0.93 per 1,000#62 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyBahamas: 3.1 years longer | 74.7 years#87 of 192 · 2024 | 71.6 years#120 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityJamaica: 1.48× the infant mortality | 11.1 per 1,000 births#104 of 191 · 2024 | 16.4 per 1,000 births#75 of 191 · 2024 |
| Doctors | — | 0.46 per 1,000#130 of 178 · 2023 |
| Human Development IndexBahamas: 0.100 higher | 0.820#65 of 190 · 2023 | 0.720#116 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaBahamas: 4.75× the income per person | $37,020#31 of 185 · 2024 | $7,790#90 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPJamaica: 1.43× the economy | $15.83B2024 | $22.71B2025 |
| Income group | High income | Upper-middle income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Bahamas: 3.1× the output per person | $41,258#55 of 184 · 2024 | $13,291#115 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthBahamas: 3.3 points higher | +3.4%#89 of 187 · 2024 | +0.1%#174 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationJamaica: 2.9 points higher | +1.1%#138 of 176 · 2025 | +4.0%#55 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentBahamas: 2.79× the unemployment | 9.2%#39 of 178 · 2025 | 3.3%#127 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 1.4%#79 of 149 · 2021 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 39.9#38 of 149 · 2021 |
| Jobs in agricultureJamaica: 13.1 points higher | 0.8% of jobs#175 of 178 · 2025 | 13.9% of jobs#97 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryJamaica: 2.3 points higher | 14.8% of jobs#138 of 178 · 2025 | 17.1% of jobs#112 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesBahamas: 15.5 points higher | 84.4% of jobs#5 of 178 · 2025 | 68.9% of jobs#57 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentBahamas: 0.3 points higher | 1.5% of GDP#110 of 184 · 2024 | 1.2% of GDP#122 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | 37.8% of GDP#78 of 168 · 2024 | — |
| Military spending | — | 1.4% of GDP#94 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersAbout the same share online | 93%#41 of 184 · 2024 | 90%#54 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsJamaica: 1.22× the mobile subscriptions | 97 per 100#133 of 191 · 2024 | 118 per 100#87 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaJamaica: 1.11× the forest share | 51% of land#46 of 192 · 2024 | 57% of land#37 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personBahamas: 1.28× the CO₂ per person | 3.64 t a year#71 of 185 · 2024 | 2.84 t a year#86 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyJamaica: 9.4 points higher | 1.1%#173 of 190 · 2022 | 10.5%#141 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityBahamas: 2.3 points higher | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 97.7%#120 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Jamaica: 4.09× the air pollution | 5.3 µg/m³#181 of 191 · 2023 | 21.7 µg/m³#75 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landBahamas: 14.7 points higher | 34.6% of land#24 of 191 · 2025 | 19.9% of land#83 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landJamaica: 10.7 points higher | 0.8% of land#173 of 190 · 2024 | 11.5% of land#87 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stress | — | 12.4%#82 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationJamaica: 1.59× the rain and snow | 1,292 mm#70 of 180 · 2022 | 2,051 mm#29 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityBahamas: 0.48 higher | +1.02#33 of 193 · 2025 | +0.54#67 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionBahamas: 1.13 higher | +1.04#32 of 193 · 2025 | −0.09#84 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rateJamaica: 1.53× the homicide rate | 32.2 per 100,000#9 of 146 · 2022 | 49.4 per 100,000#3 of 146 · 2023 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Constitutional monarchyparliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm | Constitutional monarchyparliamentary democracy (Parliament) under a constitutional monarchy; a Commonwealth realm |
| Capital | Nassau | Kingston |
| Currency | Bahamian dollar (BSD) | Jamaican dollar (JMD) |
| Official languages | English | English, Jamaican Patois |
| Traffic drives | On the left | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC−5, summer time UTC−4 | UTC−5 |
| Calling code | +1 242 | +1 876 |
| Region | Caribbean, North America | Caribbean, North America |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Bahamas sits at about 24° N and is stretched to 1.2× its true area; Jamaica at 18° N is stretched to 1.11×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Bahamas bigger than Jamaica?
- Yes. Bahamas is 26% larger than Jamaica. Bahamas covers 13,878 km² and Jamaica covers 10,992 km².
- How many times does Jamaica fit into Bahamas?
- About 1.3 times: Bahamas has 1.26× the area of Jamaica.
- Why do Bahamas and Jamaica look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Bahamas is drawn about 1.2× its true area there and Jamaica about 1.11×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Bahamas or Jamaica?
- Jamaica: 2,837,077 people against 403,033. Density: Bahamas 29 per km², Jamaica 258 per km².
- Which is richer, Bahamas or Jamaica?
- By gross national income per person, Bahamas: $37,020 against $7,790 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2024) — 4.75× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Bahamas or Jamaica?
- In Bahamas: life expectancy at birth is 74.7 years, against 71.6 — 3.1 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Bahamas and Jamaica have?
- The same form of government, by constitution: constitutional monarchy (CIA World Factbook).