Jamaican diaspora

Diaspora means the scattering of people from their ethnic roots. Thus the Jamaican diaspora refers to Jamaicans who have left their traditional homelands, the dispersal of such Jamaicans, and the ensuing developments in their culture. Jamaicans can be found in the far corners of the world, but the largest pools of Jamaicans, outside of Jamaica itself, exist in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, other Caribbean islands, and all across the Caribbean Coast of Central America, namely Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica.

Reasons for emigration from Jamaica during the major periods of Jamaican diaspora were job opportunities aimed at Jamaicans in Britain in post-war reconstruction in the 1940s, rising crime following the country's independence in 1962 and slow economic growth. Ample immigration opportunities in Canada, the USA and Britain also helped, providing Jamaicans with a thriving community of their kinsmen to join.

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.

The United Kingdom, and in particular London and Birmingham, have a strong Jamaican diaspora. An estimated 4% of Londoners and 3.5% of Brummies are of wholly or partly Jamaican heritage. Many are now at least second, if not third or fourth-generation Black British Caribbeans. Currently the fastest growing ethnic minority group in Britain is the mixed race category, with the mixed black & white Caribbean category (many of whom are half Jamaicans) being the single largest mixed ethnic minority.

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