Jamaica Fiwi Roots

Ranking of Jamaica's Parishes

Size | Elevation | Population | Rivers | Coastline | Caves

The following is a listing of the parishes of Jamaica ranked by various characteristics such as size, population, elevation and other geographical features.


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Parishes Ranked by Size


The parish of St Ann just edges out St Elizabeth for the title of the largest parish by a difference of 1 square kilometer. Clarendon and St Catherine comes in a close 3rd and 4th.

Kingston is the smallest parish with an area of 8 square miles (22 square kilometers).

Rank Parish Size
1 St Ann 1,213km² / 468.34mi²
2 St Elizabeth 1,212km² / 467.96mi²
3 Clarendon 1,196km² / 462mi²
4 St Catherine 1,192km² / 460mi²
5 Trelawny 875km² / 338mi²
6 Manchester 830km² / 320mi²
7 Portland 814km² / 314mi²
8 Westmoreland 807km² / 312mi²
9 St Thomas 743km² / 287mi²
10 St Mary 611² / 236mi²
11 St James 595km² / 230mi²
12 Hanover 450km² / 174mi²
13 St Andrew 431km² / 166mi²
14 Kingston 22km² / 8mi²

Parishes Ranked by Elevation


The parish of Portland has the highest elevation on the island, with the Blue Mountain Peak rising to 7,402ft. The Blue Mountains and John Crow Mountains are the highest mountain range on the island extending across Portland, St Thomas, St Andrew and a small section of St Mary, so it is not so surprising that St Thomas, St Andrew and St Mary rank the second, third and fourth parishes with the highest elevation.

Kingston lying predominantly within the Liguanea plain has the lowest elevation. Its highest point is located in the Long Mountain range above Rockfort Mineral Bath, where the terrain rises rapidly from sea level to an elevation of 1,106ft.

Rank Parish Highest Elevation Name
1 Portland 2257m / 7402ft Blue Mountain Peak
2 St. Thomas 1505m / 4938ft Candle Fly Peak
3 St. Andrew 1353m / 4439ft Catherines Peak
4 St. Mary 920m / 3018ft Mount Telegraph
5 St. Catherine 910m / 2986ft Holly Mount
6 Manchester 898m / 2946ft Mile Gully Mountain
7 Trelawny 832m / 2730ft Litchfield Mountain
8 Clarendon 748m / 2454ft Bull Head
9 St. Ann 651m / 2136ft Mount Zion
10 St. Elizabeth 613m / 2011ft Mount Olivet
11 Westmoreland 469m / 1539ft Buddles Mountain
12 Hanover 391m / 1283ft Mosquito Cove Mountain
13 Kingston 337m / 1106ft Long Mountain
14 St. James 212m / 696ft Mount Gilead

Parishes Ranked by Population


The parish of St Andrew is the most populous with the least populopus being the parish of Hanover.

Kingston is ranked #10 in population. KSAC, the single andministrative entity of Kingston and St Andrew Corporation, have a combined population of 662,491. [Updated 4/21 w/2019 data]

Rank Parish Population
1 St Andrew 571,947
2 St Catherine 520,804
3 Clarendon 247,112
4 St James 191,737
5 Manchester 191,720
6 St Ann 177,054
7 St Elizabeth 151,911
8 Westmoreland 149,857
9 St Mary 115,090
10 Kingston 90,544
11 St Thomas 94,391
12 Portland 80,921
13 Trelawny 78,487
14 Hanover 72,519
Total 2,734,093

Source: 2019 Statistical Institute of Jamaica



Parishes Ranked by Length of its Longest River


Clarendon is home of the Rio Minho, the longest river in Jamaica. The Black River in St Elizabeth, was long believed to the longest river until it was discovered that the Rio Minho holds that title. The Black River however, still holds the title of being the widest River (also described as the largest) on the isalnd.

The parish of Kingston has no rivers, so it takes the last place in the ranking. Manchester holds the penultimate position, with several short rivers near its coast. The Milk River that runs through Clarendon crosses into Manchester just before it meets the Caribbean sea.


Rank Parish Length of River River's Name
1 Clarendon 92.5km / 57.5mi Rio Minho
2 St Elizabeth 53.4km / 33.2mi Black River
3 St. Catherine 50.9km / 31.6mi Rio Cobre
4 St. James 46.0km / 28.6mi Great River
5 Westmoreland 39.7km / 24.7mi Cabaritta River
6 St Thomas 36.9km / 22.9mi Yallahs River
7 St Mary 36.2km / 22.5mi Wag Water River
8 Portland 34.3km / 21.3mi Rio Grande
9 Trelawny 32.5km / 20.2mi Martha Brae River
10 St. Ann 27.4km / 17mi White River
11 St Andrew 19.6km / 12.2mi Hope River
12 Hanover 14.0km / 8.7mi Lucea West River
13 Manchester Several small rivers such as Gut River near its coast. Clarendon's Milk River enters the sea in Manchester.
14 Kingston No rivers are sourced in Kingston.

Parishes Ranked by Length of its Coastline


Jamaica's coastline is 1,022km / 636mi long.

The parish of Portland has the longest coastline including Navy and Pellen Islands, followed by St Catherine, which includes the islands of Salt, Little Goat and Great Goat Islands. St Andrew, takes the last position.


Rank Parish Length of Coastline
1Portland113.79 km/70.7mi
2St. Catherine104.13km/64.7m
3St. Thomas96.08km/59.7mi
4Hanover95.28 km/59.2mi
5Clarendon93.35km/58mi
6Westmoreland88.36 km/54.9mi
7St. Mary73.65 km/45.76mi
8St. Elizabeth70.33km/43.7mi
9St. Ann62.77 km/39mi
10Kingston62.40km/38.77mi
11St. James49.25km/30.6mi
12Trelawny47.64km/29.6mi
13Manchester34.28km/21.3mi
14St. Andrew30.64km/19.04mi

Parishes Ranked by the Number of Caves


A lesser known fact about Jamaica is its vast number of caves, many of which are still waiting to be discovered. Two thirds of its land area is made up of highly dissected limestone plateaus varying in height from 1,000 to 3,000 ft. With its vast number karstic regions, caves and sinkholes are common.

According to the 2012 Jamaican Cave Register, there are 1,233 registered caves in Jamaica. Trelawny has the greatest number of caves, closely followed by Manchester, with Kingston having none.


Rank Parish Number of Caves
1 Trelawny 180
2 Manchester 177
3 St Ann 143
4 St Elizabeth 141
5 St Catherine 140
6 St James 131
7 Clarendon 112
8 Portland 79
9 Westmoreland 44
10 St Andrew 34
11 Hanover 24
12 St Mary 18
13 St Thomas 10
14 Kingston 0