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Jamaica

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Overview

Jamaica’s third Voluntary National Review (VNR) in 2026 assesses progress in implementing the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), building on the previous VNRs of 2018 and 2022. The review examines progress, challenges and opportunities across the 17 SDGs, within the framework of Vision 2030 Jamaica – National Development Plan. It was undertaken against a backdrop of overlapping global challenges, including climate change and economic uncertainty, and the impact of Hurricane Melissa in October 2025. The VNR also considers the lessons from 10 years of SDG implementation and the actions required to accelerate progress towards 2030 and beyond.

Recommendations

  1. Strengthen fiscal and development financing and expand innovative financing mechanisms to support SDG acceleration.
  2. Deepen the whole-of-society approach through stronger public-private-community partnerships.
  3. Strengthen institutional capacity and coordination across government, civil society, academia, the private sector and development partners.
  4. Integrate resilience into investments and strengthen preparedness for natural disasters and other external shocks.
  5. Strengthen national data systems to improve the availability, quality, timeliness and disaggregation of SDG data.
  6. Localise SDG targets and implementation at national and community levels.
  7. Maintain evidence-based monitoring and evaluation to guide policy, financing and implementation.
  8. Prioritise transformative sectors, including energy, the bioeconomy, sustainable tourism and digital transformation.
  9. Strengthen social dialogue and accountability to support ownership and effective implementation.
  10. Use the lessons from the 2018–2021 MTF period and COVID-19 experience to build more adaptive, resilient and sustainable development systems beyond 2030.

Conclusion

The VNR concludes that Jamaica has made progress across the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development, but that the pace of progress remains insufficient to achieve all the SDGs by 2030. The review highlights the need for accelerated and transformative action, strengthened institutional capacity, improved data-driven decision-making, stronger partnerships and greater resilience. It reinforces Jamaica’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda while recognising the need to restore and strengthen development gains and advance a resilient, inclusive and sustainable development pathway that leaves no one behind.

Reference

  1. United Nations (2026a): Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development 2026. Available at: https://hlpf.un.org/2026
  2. United Nations (2026b): Jamaica Voluntary National Reviews 2026. High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. Available at: https://hlpf.un.org/countries/jamaica/voluntary-national-reviews-2026
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Location

Planning Institute of Jamaica, 516 Oxford Road, Kingston 5, Jamaica

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Region
  • Jamaica
SDGs Progress Tracker
  • SDGs Completion % 38
  • SDGs On-Track % 0
  • SDGs Achieved % 0
United Nations Voluntary National Reports

Country Focal Point

Ms. Latoya Clarke
Programme Director Sustainable Development Goals Secretariat, SDG Focal Point
Planning Institute of Jamaica
16 Oxford Road
Kingston 5

SDG 1 (No Poverty) Score: 3 Moderately Off-Track

Justification Jamaica’s social protection system is being modernised to move from fragmented safety nets towards an integrated, adaptive and life-cycle-oriented system. The national poverty prevalence rate fell to 7.8% in 2024, compared with 16.7% in 2021, the lowest rate recorded since 1989.
Challenges Accessibility remains uneven across groups and geographical areas. Persons with disabilities face inadequate communication, high unemployment and inaccessible infrastructure, while rural and vulnerable populations, including the unbanked, face barriers to digital payments. The elderly population aged 65 years and over was estimated at 256,500 in 2024, representing 9.5% of the population.
Progress/

Solution

 The Government launched the Beryl Cash Assistance Programme in 2024, reaching over 14,000 households, with 97.0% of beneficiaries indicating satisfaction. Following Hurricane Melissa, over 70,000 damage assessments were conducted and over 1 million persons were affected. PATH had 311,187 beneficiaries as at February 2024; approximately $8.3 billion had been expended on PATH income-support cash transfers and $510.0 million on post-secondary/tertiary education support as at December 2024.
Unsolved Challenges Gaps remain for informal workers, the working poor, youth and elderly persons without contributory pensions. Jamaica also lacks an integrated long-term care system for older persons and persons with disabilities. Full interoperability of social protection information systems remains incomplete, while benefit adequacy and universal coverage across the life cycle require further progress.

 

SDGs World Progress: Moderately Off-Track
  • SDG1
  • SDG2
  • SDG3
  • SDG5
  • SDG6
  • SDG8
  • SDG10
  • SDG13
  • SDG15
  • SDG16
  • SDG17
SDGs World Progress: Off-Track
  • SDG4
  • SDG7
  • SDG9
  • SDG11
  • SDG12
  • SDG14
Country Challenges
  1. Limited fiscal space: Constrained fiscal space limits Jamaica’s ability to scale up investments in infrastructure, climate resilience, social protection and data systems.
  2. Financing constraints: The VNR identifies the need for innovative financing mechanisms to accelerate SDG implementation.
  3. Institutional capacity: Weak institutional capacity, insufficient resources and fragmented coordination remain key implementation gaps.
  4. External shocks: Natural disasters, external economic volatility and the lingering effects of COVID-19 continue to affect development progress.
  5. Climate vulnerability: On 28 October 2025, Hurricane Melissa generated loss and damage of J$1 953 billion, equivalent to 7 % of 2024 GDP, with 45 lives lost. Hurricane Beryl in July 2024 generated J$56.7 billion in damage.
  6. Data gaps: A 2016 assessment identified 223 applicable SDG indicators; only 66 were produced locally, data were available for 69 more, while 88 had no data sources.
  7. Uneven SDG progress: For Jamaica, 0 % of targets are on track, 35.6 % show limited progress and 38.4 % are worsening.
World Challenges
  • Weak Institutional Capacity
  • External Shocks
  • Financing Constraints
  • Fiscal Constraints
  • Climate Change
  • Data
Country Lessons Learned
  1. National ownership and alignment: Vision 2030 Jamaica remains the primary mechanism for implementing the SDGs and provides alignment between national development priorities and the 2030 Agenda.
  2. Whole-of-society approach: Stakeholder participation through multi-stakeholder mechanisms and direct engagement has supported prioritisation and action across sectors.
  3. Evidence-based planning: Strengthening data architecture, monitoring and evaluation has improved evidence-based policy and implementation.
  4. Institutional coordination: The National 2030 Agenda Oversight Committee, SDG Core Group and Thematic Working Groups support policy coherence, coordination and accountability.
  5. Resilience and adaptability: The COVID-19 experience demonstrated the importance of adaptive planning, stronger social safety nets and diversified financing.
  6. Partnerships: Public-private-community partnerships and international cooperation provide important mechanisms for implementation and resilience.
  7. Integrated approaches: The VNR demonstrates that interconnected SDG actions and coherent policies can produce stronger development outcomes than isolated interventions.
World Lessons Learned
  • Policy Alignment
  • Whole-of-Society Approach
  • Inclusive Planning
  • State Resilience
  • Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)
  • Strategic Partnerships
  • Integrated Planning
Country Contribution
  1. September 2015: Jamaica adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and continued to align it with Vision 2030 Jamaica.
  2. 2018: Jamaica completed an Audit of Jamaica’s Readiness to implement the SDGs, conducted by the Auditor General.
  3. October 2019: The National Tree Planting Initiative was launched, with a target of planting three million trees in three years.
  4. 2020: Jamaica passed the Data Protection Act, strengthening data governance and digital trust.
  5. 2021–2023: Jamaica issued catastrophe bonds for disaster-risk financing, with the arrangements covering 2021–2023 and 2024–2027.
  6. January 2024: The Statistical Institute of Jamaica modernised the Labour Force Survey using standards from the 19th, 20th and 21st International Conferences of Labour Statisticians.
  7. March 2024: EXPORTJamaica, a digital platform supporting exporters, was launched.
  8. 2024: IRP-2 was approved by Cabinet, establishing a renewable portfolio standard of 0 % of the electricity generation mix by 2030.
  9. October 2024: The National Tree Planting Initiative had distributed and planted over 3027593 trees.
  10. 2025: Jamaica strengthened the national statistical framework and SDG monitoring systems, including continued work by STATIN and PIOJ.
  11. 28 October 2025: Following Hurricane Melissa, Jamaica's disaster-risk financing arrangements were triggered, providing a full payout under the catastrophe bond mechanism.
  12. 2026: Jamaica presented its third VNR, assessing 10 years of SDGs implementation and priorities beyond 2030.
World Contribution
  • National Vision
  • Data

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