Guyana will continue to lead economic growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, the World Bank economic update for April has stated.

Guyana remains the only country in the Latin America and Caribbean region that will experience double digit growth this year and next year with a projection of 16.3% for 2026 and 23.5% for 2027.

According to the report, Guyana’s oil‑driven surge continues to lift the subregional average in 2026, while Trinidad and Tobago, benefits intermittently from gas‑related activity.

Suriname is also playing a key role in the region’s growth, the report found, noting that while it is not yet experiencing an oil‑led surge, it is beginning to see growth supported by investment and expectations linked to its recent offshore discoveries.

On the other hand, the report noted that growth in the rest of the Caribbean has been moderating as tourism‑dependent economies face softer external demand, high import and energy costs, and climate‑related vulnerabilities.

“The result is an increasingly dual‑track outlook within the subregion. This widening contrast underscores the growing divergence between resource‑rich producers and the remainder of the Caribbean,” the report stated.

Further, the report noted that if there is no reduction in uncertainty, especially in the Middle-East, and real financing costs the region’s acceleration is likely to remain measured rather than broad‑based.

“Beyond these pockets of strength, most of the region has continued to grow only slowly in 2026. The combination of easier financing conditions in early 2026 and favourable commodity prices remains insufficient to overcome the drag from persistent trade tensions, policy uncertainty, limited fiscal buffers, and weak private demand,” the report noted.

According to the report, the region entered 2026 with growth still constrained by long‑standing structural challenges with the regional GDP growth is projected to reach 2.1 percent in 2026—slightly below the 2.4 percent recorded in 2025—leaving the region once again one of the slowest-growing regions in the world, with GDP per capita barely growing.

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