Women and Men in the Caribbean Community

Chapter 1 POPULATIONIn terms of population size, the largest of the countries is Jamaica, accounting for about 40 percent of the Region’s total population 6 between 1980 and 2000 (table 1.2). Trinidad and Tobagoand Guyana are the second and third largest countries, accounting for 20 and 12 per cent,respectively, of the Region’s population in 2000. Together, these three countries account fornearly three-fourths of the CARICOM Region’s population. The remaining 11 countries havemuch smaller populations, the largest among these being Suriname (7 per cent), and thesmallest Montserrat (0.1 per cent). The relative sizes of the countries in 2000 will depend onthe population counts of the remaining five countries, for which there were as yet no censusresults (i.e., Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Montserrat).They are, however, not expected to change significantly, judging from the distributions for thetwo previous censuses (1980/1981 and 1990/1991). The projected changes suggest thatthough the relative size of Guyana will decline, it will still rank third in the Region.Table 1.2 Percentage distribution of national populations in the CARICOM region,1980/1981, 1990/1991 and 2000/2001Population distribution (per cent)Countrya1980/1981 1990/1991 2000/2001Jamaica 40.2 40.3 40.8 cTrinidad and Tobago 19.4 19.6 19.7Guyana 13.9 12.6 11.6 bSuriname 6.5 7.0 6.8 bBarbados 4.5 4.3 3.9The Bahamas 3.8 4.1 4.7Belize 2.6 3.2 3.6Saint Lucia 2.1 2.3 2.4St. Vincent and the Grenadines 1.8 1.9 1.7 bGrenada 1.6 1.5 1.6Dominica 1.4 1.2 1.1bAntigua and Barbuda 1.1 1.0 1.1St. Kitts and Nevis 0.8 0.7 0.7Montserrat 0.2 0.2b0.1TOTAL 100 100 100Source: Calculated from table 1.1.a 1982 for Jamaica.b Based on mid-year populationestimates.c Based on end-year populationestimates.Note: For the year 2000/2001,figures calculated from populationestimates are shown in italics.As a whole, the population of the Region increased only slightly over the period 1980 to2000. The 1980-1990 decade, in particular, was a period of small population increase, or evendecrease, for the majority of countries in the Region (table 1.3). The increases in populationwere higher for men than for women in The Bahamas, Belize, Saint Lucia and Suriname,where there were double-digit percentage increases for both women and men in this decade.The population changed by less than 20 per cent for nearly all of these countries. The exceptionwas Belize, a country with traditionally higher birth rates (table 1.4) than the rest of thecountries in the Region, where it changed by about 30 per cent over the decade.6 Not including the population of Haiti.11