News Americas, New York, NY, December 18, 2024: The Caribbean region is poised for slow but steady economic growth in 2025, with Guyana leading the pack at a projected 13.6% GDP growth, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, (ECLAC). The projections are part of ECLAC’s Preliminary Overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2024, released today.
Excluding Guyana, the Caribbean is expected to grow by 2.6%, reflecting a modest expansion amid ongoing challenges such as slow job creation, high informality, and gender disparities in labor markets. With Guyana, growth is forecast to be 8.7 percent.
ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, emphasized the importance of strengthening resilience, fostering productive investments, and creating quality employment to break the cycle of low growth capacity.
Below is a breakdown of Caribbean countries by their projected GDP growth for 2025, ranked from highest to lowest:
| Country | GDP Growth (%) |
|---|---|
| Guyana | 13.6 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 5.8 |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 4.7 |
| Dominica | 4.2 |
| Belize | 4.1 |
| Grenada | 3.7 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 3.2 |
| Barbados | 3.0 |
| Saint Lucia | 3.0 |
| Suriname | 3.0 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 2.5 |
| Jamaica | 2.2 |
| Bahamas | 1.7 |
ECLAC highlights the need for economies to effectively mobilize financial resources, adopt policies that enhance productivity, and stimulate long-term investments in productive sectors to achieve sustained growth.
As Caribbean nations focus on boosting resilience and fostering inclusive development, these growth rates reflect a cautiously optimistic outlook for 2025.
