The World Bank has estimated the continued growth of Guyana’s economy despite several global shocks especially in the Middle East.
In its 2024 Global Economic Prospects report, the World Bank stated that the Caribbean economies are expected to grow 7.6 percent in 2024 and 5.4 percent in 2025, after expanding 4.6 percent in 2023. That growth rate excludes Guyana which the World Bank said remains in a resource-based boom since the discovery of oil in 2015.
In another report late last year, the world bank had estimated that the country’s economy will grow by 38% this year following a record real GDP growth of 62.3% in 2022—the highest in the world.
Further, the Bank noted that the Guyanese economy continues to grow very rapidly, supported by the government’s modernization plans, including the unparalleled oil sector expansion.
It has also estimated that the region’s growth is expected to accelerate to 4.1 percent in 2024 and 3.9 percent in 2025.
However, the World Bank has also warned that the conflict in the Middle East has heightened geopolitical risks globally, with potentially serious implications for commodity markets and growth in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Bank warns that any further escalation of the conflict that leads to substantial energy market disruptions could send oil prices soaring, dampening confidence and reversing recent disinflation trends in the region.
The inflationary effects of rising oil prices the World Bank stated, likely be exacerbated by accompanying increases in prices for other energy commodities and fertilizers.
The Bank noted too that rising inflation could induce banks in the region to hold policy rates at levels higher than previously assumed which could result higher borrowing costs and could lead to weaker consumption and investment.
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