Jamaican Diaspora - Emigration Patterns

Emigration Patterns

Over the past several decades, close to a million Jamaicans have emigrated, especially to the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. Though this emigration appears to have been tapering off somewhat in recent years, the great number of Jamaicans living abroad has become known as the "Jamaican diaspora". Most Jamaican emigrants have followed a path first to the UK. Many who do not remain in the UK move on to other Commonwealth countries such as Canada. Jamaican emigrants also migrate directly to the United States, Canada, other Caribbean nations, Central & South America (mainly in Panama and Colombia), and even Africa (most notably Sierra Leone and Ethiopia). There has also been emigration of Jamaicans to Cuba and to Nicaragua.