THERE is a US$2.6-trillion economic opportunity in the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) economy that Jamaica could benefit from by mandating Spanish as its official second language. Results emanating from my research suggest that the reduction of language barriers in the 21st century may be as salient as the emergence of technology in the 20th century. Mandating Spanish as an official language may be instrumental in driving positive economic outcomes for the country and uplifting approximately 526,000 Jamaicans facing multidimensional poverty.

Jamaica is located strategically in the LAC region, but the country has not managed to take full advantage of the larger untapped markets in Latin America which could prove useful in bringing new investments, labour market opportunities and an overall boost to economic activity in Jamaica. Why is this so? There is a language barrier. Countries in the Latin American region are predominantly Spanish speaking excluding Brazil whose official language is Portuguese. This has been largely influenced by the history of colonisation by Spain and Portugal in the 15th and 16th centuries which brought forth a unity of all the countries in Latin America. Jamaica was also a country under Spanish colonisation but was later captured by the British in the Western Design in 1655. The Western Design was a plan to end the Spanish dominance in the Spanish West Indies which was orchestrated by Oliver Cromwell and executed by Admiral William Penn and Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Venables. The Western Design was a failure to some extent, but the British ended up with Jamaica as a consolation. The capture of Jamaica by the English was the starting point for the language barrier that the country needs to break to access the larger markets in Latin America today and possibly other Spanish markets worldwide.

Jamaica is surrounded predominantly by Spanish countries. To the north of Jamaica, you will find Cuba, to the north-east Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic), to the south Panama and Colombia, and to the west Central American countries like Guatemala, Mexico and even Belize, who is an English-speaking country but whose culture is largely influenced by the Spanish. In essence, if you arrive in Belize as a Spanish speaker with low or no competencies in English you can still survive. While the influence of the Spanish is still evident across Jamaica in terms of the naming of rivers and streets, the architectural design in some major towns and the old capital of the island (Spanish Town) among others, adopting the language may have greater benefits and may help to bolster Jamaica’s economic position over time especially as it relates to bilateral trading arrangements and the flow of capital and labour.

Based on the World Bank’s income and lending group classification, there are 42 economies in the LAC region. Most of the economies are Spanish speaking (43 per cent), followed by English (40 per cent), Dutch (10 per cent), French (5 per cent) and Portuguese (2 per cent). While there is not a wide disparity between the number of Spanish and English-speaking territories, the Spanish-speaking countries account for a larger portion of the LAC economy.

For the 2010 to 2022 period, the average gross domestic product (GDP) for Spanish speaking territories combined was estimated at US$2.6 trillion compared to $78.4 billion for English-speaking territories (see Figure 1). This level of income outstripped all the other countries combined that speak a different language within the region. Income levels in Spanish-speaking territories are greater than that of the Portuguese, English, French and Dutch by 45 per cent, 3,225 per cent, 17,759 per cent and 21,015 per cent, respectively. Overall, Spanish represents 57.5 per cent of the GDP in the LAC region while Portuguese, English, French and Dutch accounts for 40.2 per cent, 1.7 per cent, 0.33 per cent and 0.27 per cent, respectively (see Figure 2). For greater context, the Spanish economy is approximately 33 times larger than the English economy which presents a case or opportunity for Jamaica that can be exploited. Given the country’s anaemic historical GDP performance (an average growth rate of 1.1 per cent since 1990 based on data from the World Bank), this may be a useful strategy.

Presently, most Jamaicans can only compete for local jobs and those within Caricom. The other alternative is to migrate to other English-speaking countries in North America or the UK. Nonetheless, there are a few Jamaicans who may be at an advantage especially those that are multilingual and work in the BPO industry where they can operate on several different accounts due to their competencies in both English and Spanish. This is more of an exception than the rule. Jamaica must try harder to access the Spanish markets by learning the language of the Spaniards as other countries are making efforts to break barriers that limit international trade with countries that are even remote to them. For example, China and Japan have been attracting English teachers from across the globe. Many Jamaicans have also been recruited and have made the journey halfway around the world to assist these Asian countries in becoming better English speakers where the effect is likely to be felt in the generations to come.

Like the Asian and European countries that have invested in assimilating other languages and have added new products and export markets to increase trade and economic advancement, so should Jamaica. Otherwise, Jamaica could follow the footsteps of the United Kingdom who are estimated to forego 3.5 per cent of GDP annually for being a monolingual territory. The island has predominantly been a net importer of goods and service for close to six decades which is effectively most of its post-Independence era. More critically, Jamaica’s exports seem to have been adversely impacted by the 2007-2009 global financial crises and was on a path to recovery when the COVID-19 pandemic ravished the global economy. Jamaica’s exports fell from US$5.3 billion in 2008 to US$3.6 billion in 2020 and imports fell from 9.5 billion in 2008 to 5.6 billion in 2020. Overall, Jamaica’s total trade has deteriorated and has not recovered even at the end of 2022. A decomposition of Jamaica’s exports to other countries provides greater insights into the opportunities that Jamaica could benefit from by introducing Spanish as an official second language. Based on the latest available data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), in 2021 more than 60 per cent of Jamaica’s exports were to the United States (45.8 per cent), Netherlands (8.7 per cent) and Canada (5.9 per cent). Interestingly, the Spanish-speaking LAC countries combined with Spain received only 2.1 per cent of the total exports from Jamaica. This could be improved if Jamaica overcame the language barrier. Some Jamaican businesses have already started to take advantage of the Spanish market in the LAC especially those that are in the financial and manufacturing sector. Other companies in different industries can follow to increase their own earnings and boost the exports of the country.

A study of small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe including Sweden, Denmark and Germany indicated that companies which invested more in languages were able to export more goods (WEF, 2018). Additionally, German companies that invested heavily in multilingual talent added 10 export countries to their markets while countries who failed to invest or invested less missed out on invaluable contracts. Micheal Schutzler of Forbes Insights wrote that: “Brazil, Russia, India, China — and a host of European, Latin American, and Asian nations — are producing expert executives with outstanding resumes and multilingual fluency.” Then the question must be asked. Is this beyond Jamaica?

Wendel Ivey is an Economist and Research Manager at the Jamaica National Group. He is also the Author of Overcoming Productivity Challenges in Small Countries: Lessons from Jamaica.