Guyana is only country in Latin America and the Caribbean recording double-digit economic growth -says World Bank

Guyana continues to lead economic growth in the Latin America and Caribbean region, with the latest World Bank Group Economic update pegging Guyana’s Real GDP growth, at 23.7%.

Guyana is the the only country in the region with double-digit growth.

In its latest update published today, the World Bank group said growth in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) remains modest and that regional GDP is projected to expand by 2.2 percent in 2026, broadly in line with 2.4 percent in 2025.

However, the report noted that countries making sound and durable policy choices are delivering stronger results, faster growth, more investment, and greater market confidence.

It noted too that although economies are growing, many of them are still faced with increased food and transportation costs.

“Commodity exporters have benefited from still-high prices and manufacturing exports have held up despite trade policy volatility, while food- and energy-importing economies, particularly in the Caribbean, face higher import costs and softer tourism demand. Across the region, elevated global uncertainty, restricted fiscal space, and high real borrowing costs weigh on private demand. Risks remain tilted to the downside. Energy price volatility could stall disinflation and keep central banks cautious, while El Niño could disrupt production and push up food and energy prices,” the report said.

The report said while the region sees increased growth, high debt and interest burdens continue to limit fiscal space and crowd out public investment.

It also predicts that El Niño could further disrupt agriculture and hydropower and push up food and energy prices.

“In the Caribbean, a dual-track reality persists: Guyana and Suriname’s oil-driven expansions contrast with the maturing, more tempered post-pandemic recovery of tourism-dependent island economies facing high energy and transportation costs. Meanwhile, LAC’s largest economies, Brazil and Mexico are growing at or below the regional average, constrained by tight monetary conditions needed to continue disinflation, policy uncertainty, and fading public investment impulses,” the report said.

The report noted that the region urgently requires new engines of productivity, adding that while the rapid global diffusion of artificial intelligence (AI) offers a potential catalyst, it must be carefully utilized.(

(Photo by Stephen Ramphal)

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