By NAN Business Editor

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. August 21, 2026: The Caribbean economy is projected to grow by an impressive 5.6% in 2026 and 7.9% in 2027, but new United Nations data show that one country is dramatically altering the regional picture: Guyana.

Without Guyana, Caribbean economic growth falls to just 1.1% in 2026 and 2.2% in 2027, according to the newly released Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean 2026 from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC.

The striking difference illustrates the growing economic divide between oil-rich Guyana and much of the rest of the Caribbean. ECLAC forecasts Guyana’s economy will expand by 16.2% this year before accelerating to 19.7% in 2027. No other Caribbean economy comes close. Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada and Suriname share second place in the 2026 rankings, with projected growth of 3.5% each.

Caribbean Growth Forecasts Ranked

RankEconomy202620271Guyana16.2%19.7%2=Antigua and Barbuda3.5%3.5%2=Grenada3.5%3.5%2=Suriname3.5%4.4%5Dominica3.1%2.8%6St. Vincent and the Grenadines3.0%2.6%7=Barbados2.5%2.2%7=Belize2.5%2.3%9=The Bahamas2.0%2.2%9=St. Kitts and Nevis2.0%2.5%9=Saint Lucia2.0%1.5%12Trinidad and Tobago0.8%1.5%13Jamaica-1.2%2.5%

Source: ECLAC. Forecasts based on information available as of July 28, 2026.

Jamaica Forecast To Contract

At the opposite end of the table is Jamaica. ECLAC forecasts a 1.2% contraction in 2026, followed by a recovery to 2.5% growth in 2027.

Trinidad and Tobago is expected to post the second-weakest Caribbean performance this year, growing only 0.8%, before improving modestly to 1.5% next year.

Suriname, meanwhile, is forecast to accelerate from 3.5% growth in 2026 to 4.4% in 2027, putting it behind only Guyana among the Caribbean economies listed for next year.

The Bahamas is projected to grow 2% this year and 2.2% in 2027, while Barbados is forecast at 2.5% and 2.2%, respectively.

Caribbean Growth Outpaces Wider Region – On Paper

The Caribbean’s headline performance also appears exceptional when compared with Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole. ECLAC expects the wider region to grow only 2.2% in 2026, down from 2.4% in 2025, before recovering to 2.5% next year. But once Guyana is excluded, the Caribbean’s 1.1% growth forecast actually falls well below the wider regional projection.

ECLAC warns that the region remains caught in a prolonged period of weak economic expansion. If its latest forecasts prove correct, Latin America and the Caribbean will have experienced five years of average growth of approximately 2.3% – a pace the UN body considers insufficient to sustainably raise per-capita income and close development gaps.

Investment, Debt And Informality Remain Challenges

The problem extends beyond GDP growth. ECLAC identifies weak investment, slowing formal employment creation and persistent labor informality among the structural constraints limiting the region’s economic potential.

Nearly half of employed people across Latin America and the Caribbean continue to work informally, according to the report. The Commission argues that formal companies are better positioned to exploit economies of scale, adopt innovation, access financing and build productive capabilities.

Caribbean governments also continue to face substantial fiscal constraints. Gross public debt in the Caribbean stood at approximately 73% of GDP in 2025, according to ECLAC, while high financing costs and growing interest payments constrain governments’ ability to increase public investment and fund economic transformation.

The new projections therefore tell two Caribbean economic stories. One is a region apparently racing ahead at 5.6%. The other is a Caribbean outside Guyana growing at barely 1.1%. For businesses, governments and investors, the difference between those two numbers may be more revealing than the headline forecast itself.

READ MORE: For the investor analysis and what the country-by-country forecasts could mean for capital and investment, read “Caribbean Growth Forecast 2026–2027: Guyana Powers Regional Expansion, But The Numbers Reveal A Two-Speed Economy” on Invest Caribbean.

RELATED: ExxonMobil Just Posted $14.5 Billion In Profit As Guyana Is Still Burying Its Dead And Protesting In The Streets

By Nan Business Editor

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Thurs. August 20, 2026: The Bahamas is seeing a major surge in tourism investment, with approximately $3.5 billion in announced and active projects across cruise infrastructure, luxury resorts, and destination development, according to the latest Caribbean Economics Quarterly from the Inter-American Development Bank.

The pipeline includes about $1.5 billion in cruise infrastructure in Grand Bahama, a $200 million Royal Beach Club Paradise Island development, and more than $1.3 billion in luxury resort projects across Eleuthera, the Exumas and Abaco. The investment wave comes as The Bahamas records historic visitor numbers. Tourist arrivals reached 12.5 million in 2025, up 11.4% from 2024 and about 72% above the 2019 pre-pandemic peak. But the visitor mix remains heavily skewed toward cruise tourism.

Approximately 85% of all arrivals were cruise passengers, a segment that tends to generate lower per-visitor economic value than stopover tourism. Meanwhile, stopover arrivals fell 2.6% to 1.82 million in 2025, continuing a recent softening in higher-value overnight tourism. That contrast raises questions about how effectively the country’s growing tourism infrastructure can translate record visitor volumes into deeper local spending, stronger employment and higher economic returns.

Foreign direct investment prospects remain positive. The report cites expected net FDI inflows of approximately $209 million in 2026, $263 million in 2027 and an annual average of $339 million between 2028 and 2030. Several of the projects are already under construction or operational, supporting construction and employment even where visitor trends fluctuate. The Bahamas therefore enters the second half of the decade with one of the largest visible tourism investment pipelines in the Caribbean.

The scale of the investment pipeline also underscores how central tourism remains to The Bahamas’ wider economic outlook. Large resort and cruise infrastructure projects can generate activity well beyond the properties themselves, creating demand across construction, transportation, food and beverage, professional services, entertainment and other tourism-linked businesses.

But the divergence between cruise and stopover arrivals will be important to watch. Record headline visitor numbers do not necessarily translate into equivalent increases in tourism receipts or domestic economic activity. Stopover visitors generally require accommodation and tend to spend across a wider range of local services, while cruise visitors spend less time in the destination.

The challenge for The Bahamas will therefore be converting the current investment cycle and unprecedented visitor volumes into greater value retained within the economy. New tourism infrastructure that encourages longer stays, greater local purchasing, stronger linkages with Bahamian businesses and increased visitor spending could determine how broadly the benefits of the investment boom are ultimately distributed.

What The Investment Pipeline Could Mean For The Wider Economy

Beyond the headline tourism numbers, the scale of planned investment could have implications for economic activity across multiple sectors. Major hotel, resort and cruise infrastructure projects require construction services, building materials, transportation, professional services and workers during development, while completed properties create ongoing demand for suppliers, hospitality workers and local service providers.

The geographic spread of the projects is also significant. With major developments extending beyond Nassau and Paradise Island into Grand Bahama, Eleuthera, the Exumas and Abaco, the investment pipeline has the potential to distribute tourism-related economic activity across several islands rather than concentrating new development in the country’s traditional tourism center.

For policymakers and investors, however, the key measure will ultimately be the economic value created from that expansion. Continued investment combined with stronger stopover tourism, increased local procurement and greater participation by Bahamian businesses could help turn today’s multibillion-dollar construction and development pipeline into longer-term economic gains.

Read the full Invest Caribbean analysis on what the $3.5 billion Bahamas tourism pipeline means for investors and the wider economy.

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By Darsh Khusial

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. August. 10, 2026: The Guyana government has stated that it may cost from US$8 to US$10M to salvage MV Barima. That amount is a drop in the ocean compared with the expected oil profits for the rest of the year. In its 2Q2026 call, Exxon stated, “Again, as we mentioned, at this point, we’ve fully recovered the $55 billion of investment along with all the operating costs.” Guyana should therefore start to have ample cash flowing in to raise the MV Barima.

In 2026, using production data see HERE, we can see that, for the first six months, an average of about 27.2 million barrels were produced per month, with an average selling price of US$91.74.

Guyana Oil Production — First 6 Months of 2026MonthTotal Barrels ProducedAvg. Brent Crude Price (US$/bbl)January 202628,375,332$66.60February 202625,697,948$70.89March 202628,345,600$103.13April 202627,083,049$117.29May 202627,719,800$107.14June 202626,080,430$85.40Avg per Month27,217,027$91.74

Given that Exxon stated in its investor call covering the quarter ended June 30 that the investment costs for the projects had been recovered, we can expect Guyana to start receiving profits significantly greater than the meager 12.5% of revenue. We estimate that operating costs are around US$10 per barrel, based on HESS stating that the cash unit cost in 2027 would be US$10/barrel – see the 2Q2023 HESS earnings call transcript. In the table below, we show what Guyana’s expected profit take for July could be, excluding the 2% royalty, for oil prices ranging from US$80 to US$120. The war started at the end of February 2026; we use a range of Brent crude prices that reflects prices after the war started.

As can be observed from the table, even at US$80/barrel, Guyana should receive about US$953 million in profits for July, or about 100 times the estimated cost of salvaging the MV Barima. At US$120/barrel, Guyana should receive about US$9 billion during the second half of 2026, or about 1,000 times the amount needed to salvage the MV Barima.

The Guyanese who perished in the MV Barima will never experience the benefits of the vast sums of money flowing up from the bottom of the ocean. But surely, we can more than afford to lift their bodies from the bottom of the ocean and give their families closure through a proper burial; and provide the injured family members with sufficient emotional and financial support to reduce their inter-generational pain and suffering. The Government must step up and deal compassionately with this national tragedy.

EDITOR’S NOTE: EDITOR’S NOTE: Darsh Khusial is an executive of the Oil and Gas Governance Network (OGGN) Other executive members include Kenrick Hunte, Joe Persaud and Mike Persaud.

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By NAN Business Editor, News Americas

News Americas, WASHINGTON, D.C., Mon. Aug. 3, 2026: As Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department scrambles to find a qualified contractor to pull the MV Barima from the ocean floor, the government is sitting on a separate, far larger unresolved account: millions of dollars in disputed ExxonMobil cost-oil audits that the International Monetary Fund says Guyana needs to stop letting drag on.

The contrast is hard to ignore. On one hand, a government asking marine salvage companies to submit proposals limited to ten pages, on a deadline more than three weeks out, just to recover a ferry that killed at least 73 people and left 30 more missing and presumed dead. On the other, a government that has allowed a years-long dispute over Exxon’s own cost accounting to sit unresolved, even as the IMF’s latest Article IV mission all but pleaded with Guyanese officials to move faster.

The Exxon money still on the table

An audit conducted by IHS Markit, covering the period 1999 to 2017, found $214.4 million in Exxon-claimed costs that were either ineligible for cost recovery or lacked adequate supporting documentation. A second audit, covering a later period and carried out by SGS in partnership with Martindale Consultants and Guyanese firms Ramdihal and Haynes, Eclisar Financial and Vitality Accounting and Consultancy, remains under review.

In its Staff Concluding Statement released Friday, the IMF urged Guyana to resolve both disputes “in a timely manner,” including through arbitration where necessary, citing “important fiscal and governance implications.” The Fund also called on Guyana to keep strengthening its capacity to audit its own rapidly expanding oil and gas sector, and separately pushed for stronger public procurement practices as government spending continues to climb.

That is real money potentially owed to a country that just weeks ago couldn’t get a $12.7 million replacement ferry into service after three years, and is now asking private companies to volunteer for the job of recovering the vessel that killed dozens because the government’s own agencies weren’t positioned to do it themselves.

The salvage search, under pressure

MARAD’s Expression of Interest notice, issued Saturday, came only after intensifying pressure: swelling protests from civil society activists, University of Guyana students, and the political opposition, following the swearing-in of the five-member international Commission of Inquiry. Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed credited the reversal directly to public pressure. “The Government has finally buckled under the pressure of the people,” he said. “This is a victory for every citizen who refused to remain silent.”

But Mohamed also flagged what the August 14 deadline actually means: it is only the deadline for companies to submit proposals, not for the salvage itself to begin. At that pace, he warned, the vessel may not actually be recovered until sometime in September, nearly two months after it went down.

Contractors are being asked to detail how they’ll protect forensic evidence for the Commission’s investigation while working in near-zero visibility, strong currents, and 13 to 15 meters of water, some 28 nautical miles off Guyana’s coast. French military divers who assisted in the earlier search and recovery effort had already reported zero visibility and a maze of ropes and hammocks trapped inside the sunken vessel.

The same pattern, different ledger

Whether it’s a multimillion-dollar oil dispute or a $12.7 million ferry sitting idle for three years, the through-line is the same: money and resources Guyana has access to, or is owed, not being pursued or deployed with urgency, while ordinary Guyanese, and now grieving families, pay the price of the delay. The IMF’s own language, that these audits carry “important fiscal and governance implications,” could just as easily describe the government’s handling of its own maritime infrastructure over the past three years.

NewsAmericasNow will continue tracking both the salvage operation and Guyana’s response to the IMF’s findings.

RELATED: The Guyana Ferry Disaster Is The Caribbean’s Worst Since 1970

By NAN BUSINESS EDITOR | NewsAmericasNow.com

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Fri. July 24, 2026: Where do Caribbean wages stand in 2026, amid rising costs of living? News Americas decided to investigate – especially as Guyana and Suriname are, by nearly every measure, becoming the Caribbean’s next oil powerhouses.

Guyana is already pumping roughly 650,000 barrels of oil a day from ExxonMobil’s offshore Stabroek Block – a resource base exceeding 11 billion barrels of oil equivalent that has made it the fastest-growing economy on earth. Suriname is not far behind: TotalEnergies and partners committed $10.5 billion to the GranMorgu project in October 2024, targeting first oil by 2028 from reserves estimated at more than 750 million barrels.

Both governments are moving fast to show the wealth on the ground – new roads, bridges and infrastructure projects are underway or planned across both countries, funded in large part by oil revenue and the borrowing power it unlocks.

And yet, according to wage data compiled by wage.is and analyzed by NewsAmericasnow, Guyana and Suriname have the two lowest statutory minimum wages anywhere in the Caribbean: Suriname at $1.40 an hour, and Guyana at $1.66 an hour – lower than many other territory in the region, including nations with no oil at all.

To be clear, this is about the wage floor, not the whole economy. Oil-sector engineers, executives and skilled professionals in both countries earn far more than minimum wage, and their earnings aren’t reflected in this comparison. What the numbers do show is that the region’s lowest-paid workers – the people cleaning, driving, serving and laboring at the base of these economies – are earning less than their counterparts anywhere else in the Caribbean, even as their countries sit on some of the most valuable oil reserves in the hemisphere.

At the very bottom of the regional table sit Cuba and Haiti – but for entirely different reasons than Guyana and Suriname. Cuba’s minimum wage, tied to a peso in free fall against the US dollar, converts to just $0.03–0.05 an hour even after a 53 percent nominal increase took effect July 1. Haiti’s $0.34–0.74 an hour reflects a different crisis altogether: a state contending with entrenched gang violence and currency instability rather than an oil boom. Neither nation’s low wages can be attributed to energy wealth – they simply mark the floor against which the rest of the region, including Guyana and Suriname, can be measured.

The Region’s Full Wage Picture

Across 24 Caribbean territories, minimum wages range from just above zero to nearly $14 an hour:

Trinidad and Tobago – the Caribbean’s longest-established oil and gas producer, with decades of hydrocarbon revenue behind it – sits at $3.00 an hour, still among the lower tier of the region despite generations of energy wealth. It is a pattern worth noting: none of CARICOM’s three oil and gas producers rank in the top half of the region’s wage table.

Building Fast, Paying Slow

Guyana’s government has moved aggressively to convert oil revenue into visible infrastructure – new highways, bridges and energy projects have become a hallmark of President Irfaan Ali’s administration, even as this outlet has previously reported on questions surrounding a private agricultural estate built with resources whose origin the president says predates his time in office. Suriname’s Staatsolie has likewise signaled, through its stake in GranMorgu, that oil development will bring “significant positive economic spin-off through the deployment of local labor and the procurement of goods and services.”

Neither country’s minimum wage has kept pace with that infrastructure push. Guyana’s statutory minimum wage of $1.66 an hour translates to roughly $285 a month – a figure that has drawn scrutiny as the country’s GDP has grown at rates unmatched almost anywhere in the world. Suriname’s $1.40 an hour, at roughly $280 a month, is the lowest in the entire Caribbean, even as the country prepares to become a major offshore oil producer within two years.

A Regional Pattern Worth Watching

None of this proves oil wealth causes low wages – Suriname, in particular, has not yet begun producing offshore oil, so its current minimum wage predates any revenue from GranMorgu entirely. What the data does show is a consistent gap: the three CARICOM nations most associated with oil and gas – Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago – all sit below the regional median for minimum wage, while smaller, non-oil territories like Barbados, the Cayman Islands and the French collectivities of Saint Martin and Saint Barths pay their lowest earners substantially more.

As both Guyana and Suriname race to build the physical infrastructure of their oil futures – the roads, the bridges, the ports – the question their lowest-paid workers are left asking is a simple one: when does the wage floor catch up to the boom?

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