Guyana To Record Higher Economic Growth This Year; LAC on Low Growth Path

• The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) now estimates a 39.2% increase in Guyana’s economic growth this year, a figure higher than its earlier projection.
• Guyana should see massive economic expansion continue this year, largely due to developments in the country’s nascent oil and gas sector. The 39.2% growth rate forecast is the highest in the region. In April 2023, ECLAC estimated that Guyana’s 2023 growth rate would be about 37.2%. This new forecast is therefore higher by 2 percentage points. For 2024, ECLAC forecasts a 28.9% growth rate for Guyana.
• That being said, sans Guyana, Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region remains on a “low-growth path.” The LAC region should only experience a 2.2% growth in real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Notably, if that 2.2% figure is disaggregated by sub-regions, the Caribbean, excluding Guyana, should record an increase of 3.4% (compared to 6.4% in 2022).
• If Guyana’s growth is factored into the Caribbean’s overall growth rate, the region should see a 9.4% GDP increase this year.
• Meanwhile, South America is forecast to register an increase of 1.5% (compared to 3.8% in 2022), while Central America and Mexico should record a 3.5% growth rate (compared to 4.1% in 2022). Furthermore, the ECLAC noted that the slow regional growth should be accompanied by a slowdown in job creation.  

(Sources: CariCris & ECLAC -Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean)