Jamaica continues to experience a remarkable reduction in crime, with 33 murders for January. this year. The country is averaging slightly more than one killing per day—a sharp 55 percent decline compared to the same period in 2025, putting the country on track to hit 300 for 2026, the lowest in 50 years.
The decline in 2026 continues momentum from 2023, which accelerated into 2025, when Jamaica recorded under 673 total murders for the year, a 42 percent drop from 2024 and the lowest count in decades. For years, Jamaica exceeded 1,000 annual murders, and as high as 1,683 in 2009 and 1,647 as far back as 2017. The reduction in crime since 2023 makes this transformation historic, with a positive impact on the wider economy.
Over the past two weeks, murders dropped below one a day, with just 6 murders in the past week, and 5 the previous one.
2026 Forecast: At the current trend, Jamaica is on track to record around 300 murders for the year, potentially the lowest since 1975 when murders ended at 266.
The decline that puts murders on track for 300 this year has positive implications for a boost to the country’s economic growth, with fewer resources having to be deployed on security, providing a notable boost to the entertainment industry and greater appeal and attractiveness for the tourism industry and other sectors related to it. Some of these benefits will take some time to manifest.