Guyana’s 2023 growth outlook remains favourable as LAC region braces for slow economic growth
Though growth in Latin America and the Caribbean region is expected to slow even further this year, Guyana continues to maintain a favourable outlook.
According to a new ‘Global Economic Prospects’ report from the World Bank, Guyana’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to increase by 25.2 per cent this year.
It is the only country in the region that is projected to record double-digit growth. The entire Latin America and Caribbean region should expand by 1.5 per cent this year. The Caribbean, specifically, is projected to expand by 5.1 per cent.
“Following strong growth of 7.9 percent in 2022, output in the Caribbean economies is set to expand by 5.1 percent in 2023.
“The subregion’s outlook partly reflects the oil boom in Guyana, where GDP is expected to grow by 25.2 percent this year and 21.2 percent in 2024 as production at new oil fields continues to ramp up,” the Bank said.
The lower growth projections, the Bank noted too, may only translate to “marginal reductions” in poverty in the region.
For context, Real GDP is an inflation-adjusted measure that reflects the value of all goods and services produced by an economy (in this case, Guyana’s economy) in a given year.
In simpler terms, the real GDP measures a country’s total economic output, adjusted for price changes.
Contrasting Guyana is Haiti’s economic situation. That country’s economy is expected to contract amid increased violence and instability. As such, the Bank said the country’s food security situation will worsen.
The Bank said good fiscal and monetary policies are needed to help countries overcome slowed growth. Even with those policies in place though, it warned of substantial risks.
“Persistent inflation in advanced economies may require their central banks to maintain tighter monetary policies than assumed in the baseline, resulting in adverse trade, commodity prices, and financial spillovers to the region,” the Bank said.
Climate change is another significant challenge, particularly for countries heavily dependent on agriculture and mining.
