Urbanization

Urbanization
• Meaning of urbanization
• Theories of urbanization
• Primate city
• How urban areas grow
• Urban growth in the Caribbean
• Relationship between migration
•
 What is an urban area

• Spatial concentration or agglomeration of

people whose lives are organized around
non-agricultural activities, living and
working in a place which is a central or
focal point for a much larger area.
 What defines the area
• An urban area is defined not only by its
boundaries and zones and population size ,
but by the activities or dynamism in that
geographical location
• Obligatory activities- things you do on a
daily basis
• Discretionary activities – leisure activities
 Need for standardization
• No standard population size,density or
administrative function is used to identify
an urban area
• Each country provides its own definition of
its urban area
• USA, 50,000 persons, with a population
density of 1,000 persons per sq mile
• Colombia, 1500 persons
 Preconditions for urban
development
• Shift from hunting and gathering to sedentary
lifestyle
• Reliability of a surplus of food
• Population increase
• Migration to new areas
• Technological development in farming practices –
river management, crop and animal strains, food
storage , transportation
 Theories of urban development
• Agricultural surplus- V.G. Childe (1950) The Urban
Revolution, Town Planning Review 22: 3-17

– Once farmers could provide a surplus of food they

could now support a growing sedentary
population
– Administration of the agricultural surplus required
more centralized structures of social organization
– Institutions to administer and assign rights over
resources, exact tributes, impose taxes, ownership
of property and formal exchange of goods (Knox and
McCarthy (2011)
 Hydrological factors
• Karl Wittfogel (1957) –agriculture depended on irrigation and control
over regular spring flooding
• Irrigation projects require a new division of labour
• Intensification of production /cultivation
• These changes stimulated urban development through : occupation
specialization and centralized social organization , population growth
• Not all cities depended on massive irrigation projects for their
development
– some questioned whether this complex system was necessary for
the development of irrigation
 Population pressure
• Ester Boserup (1981)- increased population
density and growing food scarcity
• Populating pressure caused some people to
move to less fertile/marginal lands
• Leading to the development of technologies
to farm these areas or the establishment of
non agricultural activities- trade, military or
religious sites
 Jamaica

• Parish capitals as well as places with a

population of 2,000 or more containing the
following facilities

• Bank, electricity, schools, library, cinema,

market, post-office, courthouse, tax office,
church, police station and health facilities.
 City v.s urban area
• Most individuals will use these terms to
mean one in the same
• City is a part of the urban area. The
economic hub of the urban area or CBD
• Urban area is the entire geographical area it
has both an economic and a residential
aspect
• What is the meaning of country ?
• The city is a very highly ordered mosaic of
distinctive regions.
• Burgess 1925, defines land use in Chicago
in terms of concentric rings
• Hoyt 1939, based on the mapping of 142
cities in USA, defines land use in terms of
sectors
• Ullman and Harris, 1945. Defined land use
in terms the Multiple nuclei
 Mercantile model
• Urban areas grow to interact between the colony
and the colonial power
• Characterized by coastal locations to facilitate
easy access to port facilities
• Located on the leeward side where ports are
sheltered from strong winds and rainfall is less
regular
• Settlement patterns are linear
• Decision to developed an urban area rested in the
power of the colonial authority.
 Port of Spain
• St . Joseph was the original capital of
Trinidad and Tobago in 1592
• New governor in 1757 relocated his
residence to Port of Spain. It was then a
small fishing village, trading in tobacco
with a small port and a population of 400
persons. Population size is now 250,000.
 Kingston
• The history dates back to 1692,
• -earthquake at Port Royal resulted in the relocation of
shipping and commercial activities
• Considered one of the first planned cities in this
hemisphere
• Parallelogram layout
• At the beginning of the 19th century described as a small
compact city , with a population of 30,000-35000
inhabitants bearing the distinct features of extremes in
wealth and poverty (Clarke ,1975)
• Over the 18th century grew mainly by immigration despite
the high mortality rates
 Kingston social and residential
segregation
• Western borders –home to the poor.
• Plague by unfavourable environmental location –
swampy land and a dump
• These unhealthy conditions lead to cholera
epidemic of 1850- outbreak began on Oxford
Street
• Report on the cholera epidemic in 1852 described
the buildings along Bond Street, Regent Street,
Tulip lane as ‘filthy and miserable’ (Clarke 1975)
• 1892- smith village –’described as a disgrace to the city’
waste thrown in the streets (Moore and Johnson)
• 1938- the Royal Commission –’conditions of squalor
beyond imagination’
• Problems of overcrowding – 1921 single rooms accounted
for 60.9% of all accommodation in Kingston
• In 1943 census the highest population densities were in
West Kingston
• 119 persons per acre –(from Spanish Town to KPH)
• In the post war period – rapid squatter settlements- Trench
town, Down hill and Kingston Pen (Back –o- Wall)
 Government housing
• Governor -SIR Edward Denham built a scheme for to
accommodate 3000
• 1/6 of the most needy inhabitants
• 1937- Housing Authority established- focused on slum
clearance and rehousing
• 1946-1951 , 1171 units constructed
• By 1950 -40000 persons resettled
• In the 1960s Rema and Tivoli Gardens
• 1951 hurricane charlie – left many squatters homeless-
Trench –Town redevelopment Scheme
• Development of ARNETT GARDENS ( Concrete Jungle’)
 Urbanization is not new
• Babylon 50,000
• Athens 80,000
• Rome 500,000
• What is new is the rapid growth and large
populations found in modern cities
 How do urban areas grow
• Natural increase. Births minus deaths

• In-migration : increase in immigrants from

rural areas
•
• Annexation. The reclassification of
geographical space.
 Factors effecting urban
development

• Agricultural revolution

• Industrial revolution

• Information / technological revolution

 Urban population

• 3.3 billion 2008

• 4.9 bill 2030
 The first urbanization wave
• took place in North America and Europe
over two centuries, from 1750 to1950
• an increase from 10 to 52 per cent urban
and
• from 15 to 423 million urbanites.
 In the second wave of
urbanization
• Concentrated in LDC
• The number of urbanites in the less
developed regions will go from 309 million
in 1950 to 3.9 billion in 2030.
• In those 80 years, these countries will
• change from 18 per cent to some 56 per cent
urban.
 At the world level, the 20th century saw an increase
from 220 million urbanites in 1900 to 2.84 billion in
2000

• At the beginning of the 20th century, the now

developed regions (150 mill )had more than twice
as many urban dwellers as the less developed (70
million).
• Despite much lower levels of urbanization, the
developing countries now have 2.6 times as many
urban dwellers as the developed regions (2.3
billion to 0.9 billion).
 Primate city
• The main or capital city within a country.
• Zipf (1949) rank size rule
• the primate city is the largest in the
country, it commands a disproportionate
share of the of the urban population, and
performs the most specialized services with
in the region
 Zipf (1949) rank size rule
• The size of the settlement is inversely
proportional to their rank
• Settlements are ranked in descending order
of population size, with the largest or
primate city placed first
• Primate city = largest
• Second city= 1/ 2 population of the largest
• Third city = 1/ 3 population of the largest
• Fourth city= 1/ 4 population of the largest
 Modernization theory
• The urban area is the the locus of
population growth, mobility and integration.
Identifying mark of development. Breaks
the obstacles of traditionalism. Encourages
freedom, openness and the development of
new attitudes.
•
 Lipton , 1977. Theory of urban bias
• Most of the advantages that come from
development projects are utilized by the
more articulate and powerful classes.
• The urban classes have been able to win
most of the struggles with the country side,
but in doing so have made the development
process very slow
 Urbanization in the third world is characterized by
uneven population growth and inequality

• These inequalities are manifested at three basic

levels
– The imbalance between life chances in the urban and
rural areas
– The concentration of limited resources in capitals and
primate cities
– Within cities, the economic disparity between the
masses and a small wealthy elite
• Michael Lipton(1977) urban bias is the major
cause of persistent poverty. Marx (1959) Weber
(1958) the country side is exploited by the city in
the process of societal development.
 Trends in Urbanization
• In 2014, Worldwide, 3.9 billion persons live in
urban areas, with (70%) of those residing in
developing countries
• The level worldwide is about 54%; while the level
in LDCs is 40%
• Latin America &Caribbean 78%
– Only Africa and Asia conform to this level around 40%
– In the remaining 4 regions i.e. N.America, Europe,
Oceania and Latin America, the level exceeds 70%
• Such high rates are characteristic of the developed
world, and where found in the developing world is
cause for concern.
http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/news/population/world-urbanization-prospects-
40
2014.html
41
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 Regional Differences in
Indicators over the last 10 years
Indicator 1980- 1990- 2000-
1990 (%) 2000 2010
(%) (%)
Level of 47.1 52.4
urbanization
Total Population 1.8 1.3
Growth Rates
Urban Population 2.5 2.2
Growth Rates
46
47
48
 Differences in Jamaica
• 52.1 % of the population live in places
classified as urban
• 43.5% of the population live in the parishes
of Kingston, St. Andrew and St. Catherine
 Factors responsible for rural-to –urban drift

• Lack of employment opportunities

• Lack of diversity in employment options
• Low status of agriculture
• Shortage of land
• Lack of credit
• Vulnerability to natural disasters
• Shortage of modern infrastructure
 Population % share of % change Population % share of % change
2001 the total in 2011 the total in
population Population population Population
in 2001 1991-2001 in 2011 2001-2011
Kingston 95810 3.7 -3.96 89057 3.3 -7.05
St. Andrew 554241 21.3 2.66 573369 21.3 3.45
St. Thomas 91297 3.5 7.79 93902 3.5 2.85
Portland 80025 3.1 4.86 81744 3.0 2.15
St. Mary 111093 4.3 2.13 113615 4.2 2.27
St. Ann 166147 6.4 11.19 172362 6.4 3.74
Trelawny 72816 2.8 2.26 75164 2.8 3.22
St.James 174631 6.7 13.25 183811 6.8 5.26
Hanover 68825 2.6 1.08 69533 2.6 1.03
Westmoreland 138452 5.3 7.86 144103 5.3 4.08
St. Elizabeth 145923 5.6 .19 150205 5.6 2.93
Manchester 185267 7.1 16.08 189797 7.0 2.45
Clarendon 236150 9.1 9.99 245103 9.1 3.79
St Catherine 480657 18.5 25.84 516218 19.1 7.40
Total 2599334 100.0 9.19 2697983 100.0 3.80
Population Change for the Five Fastest Growing Parish Capitals
over the intercensal period 1991-2001

Capital Population % share of % change

parish
2001 2011 2001 2011 1991-2001 2001-2011
Sav-La-Mar 19893 22633 14.3 15.7 21.2 13.8

May Pen 57334 61548 24.3 25.1 20.3 7.4

Mandeville 47467 49695 25.8 26.2 19.9 4.7

Spanish Town 131515 147152 27.3 28.5 18.7 11.9

Montego Bay 96477 110115 54.9 59.9 16.7 14.1

Parish To St Catherine From St Net gain Net gain as a
Catherine result of internal
1991-2001
King 61136 10164 50972 -6628
&St.Andrew
St. Thomas 1445 580 865 2436
Portland 1528 488 1040 -162
St Mary 2930 1265 1665 -283
St. Ann 2980 1722 1258 -355
Trelawney 1082 484 598 -158
St. James 1002 720 282 -183
Hanover 342 218 124 325
Westmoreland 1180 474 706 -81
St. Elizabeth 2170 651 1519 -101
Manchester 2790 1253 1537 -488
Clarendon 3197 3107 90 60
St. Catherine - - - -650
6266
 Contributions to Urban Growth
• The impact of the population processes such as
natural increase and migration cannot be
determined until more detailed data becomes
available
– The evidence from Jamaica points to the increasing role
played by natural increase and the declining role of
migration in urban growth
– This may be as a result of overpopulation in urban
areas. Because population growth in urban areas
exceeds the capacity of the economy to generate new
jobs, migration to urban areas has lost its appeal for
some.
 The Good News
• Population growth rates are slowing
• There are smaller changes in the level of
urbanization
• There is a slowing of the rate of growth of
larger cities
We cannot be comforted by this…….
• Dampened rates of growth do not
translate into reductions in the problems
associated with growth – problems which
are entrenched
 Causes for concern
• The speed and numbers involved
• Uneven patterns of development
• Regional imbalances
• Primacy – one main city of focus
– Only Belize (Belize City), DR (Santo
Domingo), Guyana (Georgetown), Haiti (Port-
au-Prince) and Jamaica (KMA) had secondary
cities
 The consequences……
• Urban bias and pressure are evident in the
consequences seen:
– Unemployment-
• rates fall between 15% and 20%
• sectoral shifts tend to favour urban areas
• large numbers in the informal sector
– Housing-
• Lack of access to an adequate supply has led to the growth of
informal settlements
• Living quarters made of substandard material and are poorly
served by city water and electricity supplies
• The dilemma – urban renewal or construction of low income
housing?
 Consequences…..
• Poverty – points to disparities in service
levels which fuel internal migration
– Inequality in access to improved water and
sanitation
– Inequality in the size, quality of dwellings,
electricity, health facilities and education
• Yet alongside this is the demand for
telephones and (cell phones), motor
vehicles and personal computers
Water and Toilet Facilities – JA, 2000
Total Urban Rural
Piped water inside 39.1 53.8 17.1
Piped water outside, ..200m 40.7 39.8 42.2

Without piped water 19.4 5.8 39.9

No. of housing units 588340 353195 235145

Flush toilet inside 42.0 60.4 14.3

Non-flush toilet inside - - -
With toilet outside 50.8 33.2 77.2
Other 2.6 4.4 4.8
% Access to Improved Services,2000
Water Sanitation
Urban Rural Urban Rural
Antigua & Barbuda 95 88 99 99
Barbados 100 100 100 100
Belize 83 69 59 21
Dominica 100 90 - -
Dominican Republic 100 90 75 64
Grenada 97 93 96 97
Guyana 98 91 97 81
Haiti 49 45 50 16
Jamaica 81 59 98 66
Suriname - - 100 34
 The lessons learned…..
• Some balance is needed between:
– Stemming rural depopulation by channeling
resources into opening up new avenues of
employment and improving living standards
there, and
– Provision of job opportunities, reasonable
wages and affordable accommodation in urban
areas
 Selected Social Indicators
% Pop. Below Illiteracy Rates,
Poverty Line 87- total pop. 15+,
97 2000
Dominica 20.6 -

Dominican Rep. - 16.2

Guyana - 1.5
Haiti 65.0 51.4
Jamaica 34.2 13.3

Suriname - 5.8

Trinidad & Tobago 21.0 1.8

 Prospects for the future
• It is expected that the urban population of
the Caribbean will almost double in the next
30 years…..an increase of 9.5 mill.
• This translates to the provision of housing
and services for 316,700 persons annually
over 30 years, as against 233,900 estimated
annually for the period 1960-1990
 Why government should pay
attention now…
• We are not bankrupt for solutions
• The growth of our populations in the next 30 years
due to populations processes alone, without
adequate management, is enough to create serious
imbalances
• If we factor in the workings of internal and
external market environments and resource
constraints, surely any inertia on the part of our
leaders is likely to threaten our future
 Broader picture
• Within the next five decades 80% of future economic growth will
occur in towns

• How do we reconcile the competing demands for economic growth

and environment protection

• In Bangkok, 75% of Thailand’s factories which deal with hazardous

chemicals are within the city limits

• In Brazil, the city of Cubata in located in the middle of an

industrialized region

• The region is called the valley of death, due to its high levels of air
pollution .(acid rain,high infant mortality ect)

• In Mexico city, the level of air pollution reached such a critical level
that the Government immediately ordered cars with certain colour
plates to stay off the streets.75% of factories had to close operations
Causes of international migration
• Freedom of movement - A human right comprising three basic
elements: freedom of movement within the territory of a country (Art.
13(1), Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948: “Everyone has
the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of
each state.”), the right to leave any country and the right to return to
his or her own country (Art. 13(2), Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, 1948: "Everyone has the right to leave any country, including
his own, and to return to his country. See also Art. 12, International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Freedom of movement is also
referred to in the context of freedom of movement arrangements
between States at the regional level (e.g. European Union).
[IOM, 2012]
 DEFINITIONS
• Migration - The movement of a person or a group of
persons, either across an international border, or within a
State. It is a population movement, encompassing any kind
of movement of people, whatever its length, composition
and causes; it includes migration of refugees, displaced
persons, economic migrants, and persons moving for other
purposes, including family reunification.
 Migrant
• The United Nations defines migrant as an individual who
has resided in a foreign country for more than one year
irrespective of the causes, voluntary or involuntary, and the
means, regular or irregular, used to migrate.
• Under such a definition, those travelling for shorter periods
as tourists and businesspersons would not be considered
migrants.
• However, common usage includes certain kinds of shorter-
term migrants, such as seasonal farm-workers who travel
for short periods to work planting or harvesting farm
products
[UN 2010].
 Types of migrants
• Documented migrant - A migrant who entered a country lawfully and
remains in the country in accordance with his or her admission criteria.
• Economic migrant - A person leaving his or her habitual place of
residence to settle outside his or her country of origin in order to
improve his or her quality of life.
• Irregular migrant - A person who, owing to unauthorized entry,
breach of a condition of entry, or the expiry of his or her visa, lacks
legal status in a transit or host country. The definition covers inter alia
those persons who have entered a transit or host country lawfully but
have stayed for a longer period than authorized or subsequently taken
up unauthorized employment (also called clandestine/undocumented
migrant or migrant in an irregular situation). The term "irregular" is
preferable to "illegal" because the latter carries a criminal connotation
and is seen as denying migrants' humanity .
 TYPES OF MIGRANTS
• skilled migrant - A migrant worker who, because of his or her skills
or acquired professional experience, is usually granted preferential
treatment regarding admission to a host country (and is therefore
subject to fewer restrictions regarding length of stay, change of
employment and family reunification).

• Temporary migrant worker - Skilled, semi-skilled or untrained

workers who remain in the destination country for definite periods as
determined in a work contract with an individual worker or a service
contract concluded with an enterprise. Also called contract migrant
workers.
 Refugee
• A person who, "owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for
reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social
group or political opinions, is outside the country of his nationality
and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of
the protection of that country.
(Art. 1(A)(2), Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, Art. 1A(2), 1951 as modified by the 1967 Protocol).

• In addition to the refugee definition in the 1951 Refugee Convention, Art. 1(2),
1969 Organization of African Unity (OAU) Convention defines a refugee as any
person compelled to leave his or her country "owing to external aggression,
occupation, foreign domination or events seriously disturbing public order in either
part or the whole of his country or origin or nationality."
• Similarly, the 1984 Cartagena Declaration states that refugees also include persons
who flee their country "because their lives, security or freedom have been threatened
by generalised violence, foreign aggression, internal conflicts, massive violations of
human rights or other circumstances which have seriously disturbed public order."
 CAUSES OF MIGRATION
• Push-pull factors - Migration is often
analysed in terms of the "push-pull model",
which looks at the push factors, which drive
people to leave their country (such as
economic, social, or political problems) and
the pull factors attracting them to the
country of destination.
[E.G. Ravenstein, 1880]
 E.G. Ravenstein’s laws on migration
• Most migrants travel short distances [distance decay]
• Migration occurs in waves –streams and counter streams
• Emigration is the inverse of immigration
• The longer the journey, the more likely the migrant will end up in a major urban
centre
• Urban dwellers are less likely to move than their rural counterparts
• Females more likely to move internally , men more likely to move externally
[overall males are more mobile]
• Migrations occurs in steps
• Economic betterment is the main motivation for migration
• Lack of affordable accommodation for migrants result s in squatting and
unfavorable living conditions
 Migration in Jamaica
• Migration in Jamaica, as also more generally throughout
much of the Caribbean occurred in pre-colonial times,
during the period of slavery, after Emancipation,
throughout the twentieth Century and into the twenty-first.
The phenomenon is, therefore, not new and both short-
term and indefinite stays in other territories have been
common practice (Thomas-Hope 1998).
 .
• The volume of movement was particularly high during periods of
specific economic activity
• Immigrants provided labour for
• -the sugar plantations established in Jamaica (17-19th centuries) by
European mercantile interests, whether as slaves from West Africa or
indentured workers from India and China (late 19th and early 20th
centuries).
• With the abolition of slavery (1834) and the indentureship system
(1848),
– persons moved within and from the region whenever the opportunity existed
Jamaicans moved
• to Panama and Central America to work in the construction of the
trans-Isthmian railway
• the cutting of the Panama Canal and the operations of the United
Fruit Company from the late nineteenth and into the early twentieth
centuries;
• to Cuba to provide labour for the expansion of sugar production in the
early twentieth century
• in the second half of the twentieth century to the growth-nodes of
tourism principally in the Bahamas, the U.S. and British Virgin
Islands and the Cayman Islands. [ Hope et al . 2009]
 Reasons for growing trend of migration
• economic globalization and integration, which has linked the economies of source
and destination countries together
• trade agreements that contain provisions for mobility of international personnel
• the growth of multinational corporations that move their personnel across countries
and across the globe
• demographic trends, with many developed countries facing population stagnation
and aging while developing countries continue to grow faster than their job markets
can absorb new workers
• the transportation revolution that has made migration affordable to millions
• the revolution in communications (internet, cellular phones) that informs would be
migrants of opportunities outside of their home countries and allows them to keep in
touch with families and communities left behind
• the growth in transnational communities, including growing numbers of persons
with dual- and multi-nationality and citizenship, which remain involved in the
countries of their birth as well as their countries of destination
 Migration-development nexus
• Ways in which migrants can be a resource
for the development of their home
communities/countries
• Ways in which development aid and
processes can reduce pressures for
migration, particularly irregular movements
of people
 BENEFITS OF MIGRATION
• Outlet valve for population growth
• Reduces fertility
• Return migration builds human capital
• Reduces the pressure on unemployment
• Creates a greater sense of nationalism
Mainstream of Migrants
 TABLE 20.5d

JAMAICAN IMMIGRANTS ADMITTED TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

BY SELECTED CLASS OF ADMISSION,
2009-2012

NUMBERS PERCENTAGES

2009 2010 2011 2012 2009 2010 2011 2012

Family Sponsored Preferences 4 833 5 386 6 074 5 818 22.2 27.2 30.9 28.2
Employment Based Preferences 593 562 602 589 2.7 2.8 3.1 2.8
Immediate Relatives to US Citizens 16 290 13 781 12 882 14 193 74.8 69.5 65.7 68.5
Refugee and Asylee Adjustments 24 d 6 57 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.3
Diversity Programmes 6 d d 3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Other 37 96 58 45 0.2 0.5 0.3 0.2

Total 21 783 19 825 19 622 20 705 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

d - Disclosure standards not met

Source: Yearbooks of Immigration Statistics 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012

Office of Immigration Statistics, US Department of Homeland Security.
 TABLE 20.5h
JAMAICAN RETURNED RESIDENTS AND DEPORTEES, 2009-2013

RETURNED RESIDENTS DEPORTEES

YEARS USA CANADA UK OTHER TOTAL USA CANADA UK OTHER TOTAL

2009 698 123 290 205 1 316 1 472 223 619 762 3 076

2010 554 137 247 196 1 134 1 371 189 458 807 2 825

2011 522 147 208 191 1 068 1 379 226 315 709 2 629

2012 r 494 132 219 142 987 1 220 236 305 548 2 309

2013 403 138 180 118 839 1 050 186 291 612 2 139

Note: In the case of family units of returning residents, only one adult member is required to register on behalf of the family.
In several instances, registered returnees are accompanied by family members or relatives

r - revised

Source: Jamaica Constabulary Force, Police Statistics Department

 Source: PIOJ, 2014
TABLE 20.5i
IMMIGRATION TO JAMAICA, 2009-2013

YEARS RETURNED DEPORTEES COMMONWEALTH ALIENS TOTAL

RESIDENTS CITIZENS

2009 1 316 3 076 4 696 1 197 10 285

2010 1 134 2 825 3 487 1 275 8 721
2011 1 068 2 629 3 495 1 318 8 510
2012 957 2 309 3 426 r 5 457 r 12 149 r
2013 839 2 139 3 105 5 950 12 033

r - revised

Note: Aliens are non-Commonwealth Citizens.

The figures for Commonwealth Citizens are for persons granted extension of stay.
Diplomats are not included in this group.
These include work permits, marriage exemption certificates and student status.

Source: Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA), Ministry of National Security
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
Jamaica Customs
Jamaica Constabulary Force, Police Statistics Department.
 TABLE 20.5b
MIGRANTS FROM JAMAICA TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY AGE AND SEX 2009-2012

NUMBERS

AGE GROUP MALES

. FEMALES TOTAL

YEARS 2009 2010 2011 2012 2009 2010 2011 2012 2009 2010 2011 2012

Under 18 years 2 360 2 195 2 281 2 279 2 561 2 304 2 342 2 324 4 921 4 499 4 623 4 603
18-24
25-34
• . 1 566
2 343
1 375
2 019
1 322
1 870
1 500
1 963
1 495
2 258
1 390
2 091
1 400
1 972
1 540
1 978
3 061
4 601
2 765
4 110
2 722
3 842
3 040
3 941
35-44 1 867 1 556 1 603 1 622 2 300 2 076 2 126 2 185 4 167 3 632 3 729 3 807
45-54 1 034 1 031 949 1 083 1 818 1 824 1 797 1 929 2 852 2 855 2 746 3 012
55-64 475 430 499 494 971 856 935 1 067 1 446 1 286 1 434 1 561
65 and over 242 224 185 233 493 454 381 508 735 678 566 741

Total 9 887 8 830 8 709 9 174 11 896 10 995 10 953 11 531 21 783 19 825 19 662 20 705

PERCENTAGES

Under 18 years 10.8 11.1 11.6 11.0 12.2 11.8 11.9 11.2 24.1 22.6 23.5 22.2
18-24 7.2 6.9 6.7 7.2 7.1 6.9 7.1 7.4 13.8 14.1 13.8 14.7
25-34 10.8 10.2 9.5 9.5 9.9 10.4 10.0 9.6 20.1 21.2 19.5 19.0
35-44 8.6 7.8 8.2 7.8 10.4 10.5 11.0 10.6 18.8 19.1 19.2 18.4
45-54 4.7 5.2 4.8 5.2 8.3 8.3 9.1 9.3 13.3 13.0 13.9 14.5
55-64 2.2 2.2 2.5 2.4 4.1 4.4 4.8 5.2 6.7 6.6 7.3 7.5
65 and over 1.1 1.1 0.9 1.1 2.2 2.3 1.9 2.5 3.2 3.4 2.8 3.6

Total 45.4 44.5 44.2 44.3 54.2 54.6 55.8 55.7 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Source: Yearbooks of Immigration Statistics 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012

Office of Immigration Statistics, US Department of Homeland Security.
..
Gender and migration in Jamaica
Categories of Jamaican Migrant Workers to the United

States
 TABLE 20.5c
JAMAICAN MIGRANTS TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY OCCUPATIONAL STATUS, 2009-2012

2009
. NUMBERS

2010 2011 2012 2009

PERCENTAGES

2010 2011 2012

Management, Professionals and Related Occupations 1 138 1 010 1 020 1 079 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.2
Sales and Office Occupations 510 492 506 502 2.3 2.5 2.6 2.4
Farming, Fisheries and Forestry Occupations 243 253 270 329 1.1 1.3 1.4 1.6
Construction, Extraction, Maintenance and Repair Occupations 190 219 166 277 0.9 1.1 0.0 1.3
Production, Transportation and Material Moving Occupations 549 459 296 276 2.5 2.3 1.5 1.3
Service Occupations 3 484 2 761 2 346 2 422 16.0 13.9 12.1 11.7
a
No occupation 10 049 9 239 9 064 9 525 46.2 46.6 46.6 46.1
Not reported 5 620 5 392 5 954 6 295 25.8 27.2 30.6 30.4

TOTAL 21 783 19 825 19 622 20 705 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

TOTAL WORKERS 6 114 5 194 4 604 4 885 28.0 26.2 23.5 23.5

a - No occupation includes homemakers, students with children, retirees and the unemployed.

Source: Yearbooks of Immigration Statistics, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012

Office of Immigration Statistics, US Department of Homeland Security.
Migrant workers to Canada
Immigrants to JA
 TABLE 20.5i
IMMIGRATION TO JAMAICA, 2009-2013

YEARS RETURNED DEPORTEES COMMONWEALTH ALIENS TOTAL

RESIDENTS . CITIZENS

2009 1 316 3 076 4 696 1 197 10 285

2010
2011
• . 1 134
1 068
2 825
2 629
3 487
3 495
1 275
1 318
8 721
8 510
2012 957 2 309 3 426 r 5 457 r 12 149 r
2013 839 2 139 3 105 5 950 12 033

r - revised

Note: Aliens are non-Commonwealth Citizens.

The figures for Commonwealth Citizens are for persons granted extension of stay.
Diplomats are not included in this group.
These include work permits, marriage exemption certificates and student status.

Source: Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA), Ministry of National Security
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
Jamaica Customs
Jamaica Constabulary Force, Police Statistics Department.
•
Remittances
IMF estimates, international remittances to developing countries exceeded $80
billion per year (IMF 2002)
• Official Development Assistance (ODA) seldom exceeds $60 billion per year
• remittances has grown substantially in recent years – about 7-10 per cent per year in
Latin America alone (IADB
• 2001) --
• Remitting behaviour in South Africa-“employed migrant men are 25% less likely
than employed migrant women to remit (Collinson 2003).”
• Women migrants often earn less than their male counterparts so the
total revenue available for remittances may be lower
a woman’s age and marital status are more important in
determining whether she migrates or not than a man’s, and single female migrants in
northern China tend to remit a lower proportion of their income than married males,
married female and single male migrants (de Haan 2000).”
 Women and Migration
(Susan Martin , 2003)

• Argument that money sent back by foreign workers is spent largely on

consumer items and is seldom invested in productive activities that
would grow the economies of the developing countries
• Households receiving remittances would become dependent upon
them, reducing incentives to invest in their own income-generating
activities.
• excessive consumerism would lead to inequities, with remittance-
dependent households exceeding the standard of living
available to those without family members working abroad.
.