JAMAICA · REMITTANCES
Key Facts
- —The country Jamaica is a Caribbean island nation whose relatives abroad send home billions of dollars a year.
- —Why it matters Most of that money comes from the United States, so American wages reach Jamaican family budgets.
- —Why now A Jamaican minister gave the figures to more than 300 delegates in Philadelphia on Friday 23 October 2026.
- —What happened Jamaicans abroad sent home US$3.12 billion in the year to March 2026, up 6.7% on the year before.
- —The numbers December 2025 set a monthly high near US$297 million, and the US supplied 68% of the year.
- —What it means for you US families, banks and transfer firms start a flow that keeps growing after Hurricane Melissa.
- —Still open Whether monthly flows stay near US$280 million to US$290 million, as in July and August 2026.
Jamaica remittances reached US$3.12 billion in the fiscal year 2025/26, Minister of State Alando Terrelonge told Jamaicans in Philadelphia on Friday 23 October 2026. Remittances are money that people living abroad send home to family, and for Jamaica most of it comes from the United States.
For US readers the Jamaica remittances story runs both ways, because about 68% of the money travels from the United States, according to monthly Bank of Jamaica figures. What Jamaican families abroad earn and spend in American cities therefore matters to the island’s recovery from Hurricane Melissa.
Terrelonge spoke at the opening of the second Jamaica Diaspora Northeast USA Conference at Temple University, which runs on 23 and 24 October. Our report 63 Jamaica Schools Rebuilt After Melissa covers another part of the island’s recovery.
In Plain English
- Remittances: money that people living abroad send to relatives at home.
- Diaspora: people from a country who now live elsewhere, here Jamaicans in the United States and other countries.
- Fiscal year: Jamaica’s budget year, which runs from 1 April to 31 March.
- Bank of Jamaica: the island’s central bank, which publishes monthly remittance figures.
- Hurricane Melissa: the storm that struck Jamaica in late October 2025.
What the Minister Said in Philadelphia
Terrelonge is the minister of state in Jamaica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, with responsibility for diaspora affairs. He gave the figures to more than 300 delegates, who included government officials, diplomats, business executives and community leaders.
He said Jamaicans abroad sent an extra US$93 million in the three months after Hurricane Melissa, compared with the same period a year earlier. He added that December 2025 recorded a monthly high of US$296 million.
He called the storm’s impact “devastating” and said the diaspora’s contributions deserved to be acknowledged. The government wants to move from individual acts of goodwill to lasting programmes with measurable results, he said.
The conference runs under the theme “One Diaspora, One Vision: Advancing Jamaica Together” and follows an inaugural Northeast edition in Philadelphia in 2025. Michelle Tulloch-Neil, the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council representative for the northeastern United States, leads the organising.
What Bank of Jamaica Data Shows on Remittances
The Bank of Jamaica publishes a monthly table of inbound remittances by country, in millions of US dollars, based on reports from licensed remittance companies. Adding the named country lines for April 2025 to March 2026 gives US$3.124 billion, which matches the minister’s US$3.12 billion.
Jamaica remittances in the previous fiscal year came to US$2.929 billion, so the latest year is up 6.7%. The United States line alone came to US$2.125 billion, or 68% of the total.
The United Kingdom came next at US$360 million, or 11.5%, followed by Canada at US$299 million, or 9.6%, and the Cayman Islands at US$195 million, or 6.3%. These shares are our calculation from the bank’s monthly lines.
November 2025 to January 2026 brought in US$806 million, against US$712 million a year earlier, a gain of about US$93.5 million. That matches the minister’s US$93 million, although he did not say which three months he meant.
December 2025 was the strongest month in the table, at US$296.9 million, and the table starts in January 2012. The next highest was July 2026, at US$290.0 million.
Jamaica Remittances Stay Higher in 2026
From January to August 2026 Jamaica remittances add up to US$2.130 billion on the named country lines, against US$2.018 billion in the same eight months of 2025. That is a rise of 5.5%.
July 2026 brought US$290.0 million, the second-highest month in the table after December 2025, and August brought US$280.8 million. The figures rest on estimates that remittance companies submit to the central bank.
Why Diaspora Money Matters After Melissa
The Jamaica Observer reported on Friday 23 October that the government has halted official overseas travel across the public sector until 31 March 2027, to contain spending and redirect money to recovery after Hurricane Melissa. The sources reviewed do not link that decision to remittances.
Terrelonge said diaspora donors supported 37 of the 59 health clinics adopted under a Ministry of Health and Wellness programme as of October 2025. He also named Farm Up Jamaica, a New York-based nonprofit that backs local farming.
The government is exploring ways to cut barriers to trade, business, investment and philanthropy for Jamaicans abroad, he said. It also wants more diaspora members on advisory boards and policy committees.
Our guides Jamaica Explained 2026 and Jamaica Geopolitics Explained 2026 set out how the island’s economy and its place in the Caribbean fit together. Our report Most Jamaican Tourism Jobs Are Back After Hurricane Melissa, Minister Says covers the tourism side of the rebuilding.
What It Means for You
Jamaican Americans who send money home use the same licensed remittance companies that report to the Bank of Jamaica. Their transfers feed Jamaica remittances that have now topped US$3 billion in a fiscal year.
Money-transfer firms and banks that serve this corridor can read Jamaica remittances as steady demand, with recent months running above a year earlier. Investors in Jamaican assets can watch the monthly table for any change in that pattern.
Travellers and relatives may want to note that the government has invited the diaspora to Jamaica’s 65th Independence anniversary events on 5 to 8 August 2027. The theme is “Celebrate, Connect, Experience, Give Back”.
What Is Not Known
The minister did not say how his Jamaica remittances total of US$3.12 billion was built, and the Bank of Jamaica has not published a press release on it that we could find. Our match rests on adding the named country lines in the bank’s table, which leaves out a separate “other remittances” line of about US$401 million for the year.
With that line included the table’s own total for the year is US$3.52 billion. The sources reviewed do not explain what the extra line covers.
It is also not known which three months the US$93 million refers to, or how much of the extra money was sent for hurricane relief. The August 2026 row in the bank’s file carries a label dated 1 August, which we read as the full month because the file’s stated range runs to August 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did Jamaicans abroad send home in 2025/26?
Minister Alando Terrelonge said US$3.12 billion in the fiscal year 2025/26. Our sum of the named country lines in Bank of Jamaica data for April 2025 to March 2026 matches that figure.
How much of the money comes from the United States?
About 68% in the fiscal year, or US$2.125 billion, according to our calculation from the Bank of Jamaica table. The United Kingdom and Canada follow.
When was the record month for remittances?
December 2025, at about US$297 million, was the highest month in the Bank of Jamaica table, which starts in January 2012. The minister put it at US$296 million.
Where did the minister announce the figures?
He spoke on Friday 23 October 2026 at Temple University in Philadelphia, at the opening of the second Jamaica Diaspora Northeast USA Conference. More than 300 delegates attended.
Are remittances still rising in 2026?
Yes, on the Bank of Jamaica table, with January to August 2026 up 5.5% on the same months of 2025. July and August were US$290.0 million and US$280.8 million.
Sources: Bank of Jamaica, inbound remittances by corridor (table ES.RMT.01, data to August 2026); Caribbean National Weekly, 23 October 2026; South Florida Caribbean News, 23 October 2026; Jamaica Observer, 23 October 2026.
Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief · Editorial standards · Report an error
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