Will Guyana’s economy overtake Jamaica’s?

Guyana is now the third largest economy in the English-speaking Caribbean! Will they pass Jamaica by the end of the year?

With a population of about 800,000 people, Guyana has been getting this moneyyyy!

Guyana has skyrocketed to claim the title of the third-largest economy in the English-speaking Caribbean, after Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica. 

Here’s a timestamp on Guyana’s Cinderella journey. In 2015, oil giant Exxon Mobil found 11 billion barrels of oil off the shores of Guyana.

In 2019, the country started tapping into oil production and exports.  By 2022, their GDP soared to an impressive US$15 billion!

That puts them right behind Jamaica, which has a GDP of US$16 billion.  But Trinidad is still far ahead with a GDP of US$30 billion. 

The recent developments in Guyana have caught the attention of investors near and far.

Our guest analyst, Youni Abdul, spoke about it on a recent episode of Taking Stock. 

“Because of the boost or the creation and subsequent increased size of that oil economy, it has boosted the non-oil economy as well. The last budget it was reported that almost all non-oil sectors saw high single digit to double digit increases in economic output,” he said.

Infrastructure projects, jobs, and better living standards are just some of the perks that come with this economic boost. 

To put this in context, the average Guyanese person’s earnings jumped from US$6000 a year to $18,000 by 2022. That’s according to this article (di-lile-worrel)  DeLisleWorrell.com. Worrell is a Caribbean economist.

Now there are lingering doubts about whether Guyana can handle this sudden influx of wealth. Could they fall victim to the “resource curse?” We’ve seen it happen before, where newfound riches lead to corruption, economic turmoil, and social discord.  Let’s not forget how tumultuous Guyana’s last election already was.

So of course, we’ll continue to keep an eye on Guyana.

And that’s the Bottom Line.