Island Chat with The General: Wha a gawn! Jamaica's birth Rate dropping.

Jamaica’s birth rate has been steadily declining over the past few years. According to data from MacroTrends, the current birth rate for Jamaica in 2023 is 15.107 births per 1000 people, which is a 1.46% decline from 20221. In 2022, the birth rate was 15.331 births per 1000 people, a 1.45% decline from 20211. Similarly, in 2021, the birth rate was 15.556 births per 1000 people, a 1.42% decline from 20201. This trend of a decreasing birth rate in Jamaica has been observed over the past few years. This must be a joke, ‘cause things going up and it’s hard to be taking care of four to six kids if a parent isn’t working, or if it’s just one parent working; or if the job not paying that much to sustain the family, it’s gonna be hard.”“’ Preference?’ I’d prefer a larger salary so I can prefer to expand my family. Unu see school fee?

Long time mi nuh see a pregnant woman.

“Yea, I’m going back to God the way I came here.”

“I can barely take care of myself.”

“The cost of living is too high. Eighty per cent of the supermarket bill is for my son.”

This is how important women are! We need to be respected. What if every woman decides on not having children?”

“It costs me close to $100k per month to care for my ONE son as a ‘trying-to-be-a-good’ father. Not to mention emotional investment. Pickney nuh cheap, nor easy to care and love! Who nuh born yet salt!

“We’d rather not contribute to the poverty cycle.”