Botswana vs Jamaica
Jamaica has 11% more people than Botswana: 2,837,077 vs 2,562,122, a gap of 274,955. Botswana is growing faster (+1.61% vs −0.07% a year), adding about 41,314 people a year against −2,097. Using continuous exponential growth from the stated base year, if these rates held, Botswana would overtake Jamaica in about 6 years (from the 2025 population bases, around 2031) — a projection, not a forecast. Jamaica is the older society: 8.6% aged 65+ against 4.1% in Botswana, while Botswana has more children (32.0% under 15 vs 18.3%). Jamaica is 59.9× as densely populated (262.2 vs 4.4 people per km²). People in Jamaica live 2.3 years longer on average (71.6 vs 69.3).
Country/territory population bases: World Bank 2025 (Botswana) and 2025 (Jamaica); growth years 2025 / 2025. Annual source values, not live counts; years may differ. Growth is national, not local.
Botswana vs Jamaica — side by side
 Botswana |  Jamaica | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 2,562,1222025 | 2,837,0772025 |
| Growth rate / yr | +1.61%2025 | −0.07%2025 |
| Births per 1,000 | 24.42024 | 11.42024 |
| Deaths per 1,000 | 5.72024 | 8.22024 |
| Children per woman | 2.702024 | 1.352024 |
| Life expectancy | 69.3 yrs2024 | 71.6 yrs2024 |
| Aged 0–14 | 32.0%2025 | 18.3%2025 |
| Aged 65+ | 4.1%2025 | 8.6%2025 |
| Density | 4.4 /km²2023 | 262.2 /km²2023 |
| Area | 581,730 km²2023 | 10,990 km²2023 |
| Urban population | 68.0%2025 | 59.4%2025 |
| Net migration / yr | -5,6652025 | -11,0532025 |
| GDP per capita | $7,7782025 | $8,0032025 |
| Country population rank (available records) | #143 | #140 |
| Base / world population (World Bank 2025) | 0.03% | 0.03% |
Highlighted cell = the higher value (not "better"). Small print under each value is its own data year. Source: World Bank; country/territory population bases may have different years. These are not live counts.
Population since 1960
World Bank population history (not the separate UN WPP timeline). Botswana: 5.0× from 1960 to 2025; Jamaica: 1.7× from 1960 to 2025. Left: absolute population. Right: each series indexed to its own first available year = 100; baseline years may differ.
More comparisons
Regions: Sub-Saharan Africa · Latin America & Caribbean · rankings
Botswana: Botswana vs Jamaica, Botswana vs Gambia, Botswana vs Gabon, Botswana vs Lesotho, Botswana vs Moldova, Botswana vs Albania.
Jamaica: Jamaica vs Armenia, Jamaica vs Qatar, Jamaica vs Lithuania, Jamaica vs Gambia, Jamaica vs Gabon, Jamaica vs Botswana.
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This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.