Share of female sole proprietors in Jamaica
Jamaica: Share of female sole proprietors was 57.7% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of female sole proprietors in Jamaica, 2014–2024
Source: World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026. Measured in % of sole proprietors.
Analysis
In 2024, share of female sole proprietors in Jamaica stood at 57.7%. That is the highest value across all 11 years on record.
That represents a change of up 3.5% on the previous year and up 17.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of female sole proprietors in Jamaica peaked at 57.7% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 44.6%, in 2017.
That places Jamaica 3rd out of 78 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 11 years of available data.
Share of female sole proprietors in Jamaica, year by year
| Year | % of sole proprietors | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 49.3% | — |
| 2015 | 47.9% | -2.8% |
| 2016 | 47.4% | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 44.6% | -5.9% |
| 2018 | 47.4% | +6.2% |
| 2019 | 48.3% | +2.1% |
| 2020 | 52.5% | +8.6% |
| 2021 | 56.7% | +8.0% |
| 2022 | 55.3% | -2.6% |
| 2023 | 55.8% | +0.9% |
| 2024 | 57.7% | +3.5% |
Jamaica compared with similar countries
- Jamaica's 57.7% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 37.6%, 1.5× the median. (27 countries reporting)
- Jamaica's 57.7% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 45.4%, 1.3× the median. (8 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 47.5% | 44.6% | 49.3% | 6 |
| 2020s | 55.6% | 52.5% | 57.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Jamaica
- 1 Marshall Islands 72.7% compare
- 2 Philippines 61.1% compare
- 4 Thailand 56.6% compare
- 5 Kazakhstan 56.5% compare
- 6 Rwanda 55.2% compare
More private sector data for Jamaica
- Merchandise trade 41.3% (2025)
- Food imports 20.5% (2023)
- Manufactures imports 51.4% (2023)
- Merchandise imports 7.68 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 30.4% (2023)
- Manufactures exports 3.0% (2023)
- Merchandise exports 1.69 billion current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 595.33 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0744 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -9.53 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of female sole proprietors in Jamaica?
- Share of female sole proprietors in Jamaica was 57.7% in 2024, according to World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026.
- What is the highest share of female sole proprietors recorded in Jamaica?
- The highest recorded value was 57.7% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of female sole proprietors recorded in Jamaica?
- The lowest recorded value was 44.6% in 2017.
- How does Jamaica rank for share of female sole proprietors?
- Jamaica ranks 3rd out of 78 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of female sole proprietors rising or falling in Jamaica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Jamaica data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank's Entrepreneurship Survey and database (https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/entrepreneurship). Downloaded on May 2, 2026, published as part of Share of female sole proprietors (% of sole proprietors). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of female sole proprietors is the proportion of female newly registered sole proprietors out of the total number of newly registered sole proprietors in the economy in the calendar year. A sole proprietorship is a business entity owned and managed by a single individual who is indistinguishable from the business and personally liable.