Jamaica: Portfolio investment, bonds (PPG + PNG) (NFL, current US$)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Jamaica's portfolio investment, bonds (PPG + PNG) (NFL, current US$) rose US$308.75 million on 2023 (from −US$1.11 billion to −US$799.31 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1982 to 2023), the average change was −US$45.87 million and a typical year strayed about US$565.09 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was US$916.33 million in 2007 and the biggest yearly fall was US$1.58 billion in 2008. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is downward, about US$113.87 million a year. A straight line explains 52% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2024, Jamaica had the 51st highest value of the 59 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Jamaica in the 2024 ranking

• Zambia — 48th of 59: −US$344.72 million
• Kazakhstan — 49th of 59: −US$462.63 million
• Kenya — 50th of 59: −US$500 million
• Egypt, Arab Rep. — 52nd of 59: −US$804.78 million
• Ukraine — 53rd of 59: −US$807.34 million
• Pakistan — 54th of 59: −US$1 billion

What this measures

Bonds are securities issued with a fixed rate of interest for a period of more than one year. They include net flows through cross-border public and publicly guaranteed and private nonguaranteed bond issues. Data are in current U.S. dollars.

Limitations: The DRS encourages debtor countries to voluntarily provide information on their short-term external obligations. By its nature, short-term external debt is difficult to monitor: loan-by-loan registration is normally impractical, and monitoring systems typically rely on information requested periodically by the central bank from the banking sector. The World Bank regards the debtor country as the authoritative source of information on its short-term debt. Where such information is not available from the debtor country, data are derived from BIS data on international bank lending based on time remaining to original maturity.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.

All 46 values

Portfolio investment, bonds (PPG + PNG) (NFL, current US$) in nearby economies

• Argentina — US$2.14 billion (2024)
• Belize — −US$5.77 million (2024)
• Bolivia — US$0 (2024)
• Brazil — US$12.6 billion (2024)
• Colombia — US$3.76 billion (2024)
• Dominica — −US$9.78 million (2024)
• Dominican Republic — US$1.45 billion (2024)
• Ecuador — −US$1.04 billion (2024)
• El Salvador — US$252.16 million (2024)

More economic policy & debt data for Jamaica

• Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$6.3 billion (2025)
• Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$6.3 billion (2025)
• Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (current US$) — US$19.27 billion (2025)
• Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (current LCU) — 3.07 trillion (2025)
• GDP (current US$) — US$22.7 billion (2025)
• GDP (current LCU) — 3.61 trillion (2025)
• GDP per capita (current US$) — US$8,003 (2025)
• GDP per capita (current LCU) — 1.27 million (2025)
• GNI (current US$) — US$22.36 billion (2025)
• GNI (current LCU) — 3.56 trillion (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Jamaica's portfolio investment, bonds (PPG + PNG) (NFL, current US$)?

−US$799.31 million in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is down 51,635% from −US$1.55 million in 1970. The highest value was US$1.8 billion in 2007 and the lowest −US$1.11 billion in 2023.

How does Jamaica rank?

51st highest of 59 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in portfolio investment, bonds (PPG + PNG) (NFL, current US$) unusual for Jamaica?

In 2024, Jamaica's portfolio investment, bonds (PPG + PNG) (NFL, current US$) rose US$308.75 million on 2023 (from −US$1.11 billion to −US$799.31 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1982 to 2023), the average change was −US$45.87 million and a typical year strayed about US$565.09 million from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.NFL.BOND.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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