Guyana Growth Projected To Slow In Next Year

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. April 12, 2024: Guyana is forecast to see a slowing of its economic growth next year according to future casts from the World Bank.

In its latest growth outlook for the Caribbean as outlined in its Caribbean and Latin America economic review for 2024, the South American new oil rich CARICOM nation, is forecast to go from a growth of 34.3 percent this year to 16.8 percent next year. In 2025, the growth could bounce back slightly to 18.2 percent. The economic forecast comes as the World Bank chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, William Maloney, recently urged Guyana to ensure that its new found oil wealth benefits the entire population.

Maloney, who was fielding questions from journalists following the release of the Regional Economic Report for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), described the efforts to ensure all sectors of the country benefitted from the oil wealth “as one of the 200 million dollar question.

“One is to ensure that this new oil wealth will actually get to the people who need it and I would say in particular in the building of human capitals so that the economy can diversify over time,” he said. “The second is to ensure that we find ways of using these revenues so that we build a more diversified economy. This requires a set of institutions that know how to keep the right amount of resources, the revenues off shore, the Sovereign Welfare Fund so it can maintain an exchange rate that is competitive.”

Maloney added that there is also need for strong institutions within the country “that are able to mediate the very different demands from the population and ensure that the oil resources go to where they are suppose to go.”

In January this year, the Guyana government presented a national budget of US$5.496 billion (GUY$1.146 trillion). The Irfaan Ali administration said that the expansion is being partially fueled by the country’s increasing oil windfall, projected to constitute nearly 29 percent of the budget.

OTHER CARIBBEAN NATIONS

However, while Guyana is forecast for double digit growth next year, no other Caribbean nation will see such good fortune according to the Bank.

Here’s the latest growth outlook for other Caribbean nations as analyzed by News Americas – from high to low.

COUNTRIES 20242025The Dominican Republic5.15Saint Lucia 53.9Dominica 4.64.2Grenada 4.13.7Barbados 3.72.8Suriname33Saint Vincent & The Grenadines2.91.4The Bahamas 2.31.8Jamaica 21.6

No other countries in the region were listed.