Guyana has been deemed the Caribbean country with the lowest level of public debt in 2019 at 41.7% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a 5.2% decrease compared to 2018’s recorded 46.9%. This is according to the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).
Public debt refers to how much a country owes to external lenders, which can include individuals, businesses, and even other governments.
According to the report, the data available for Caribbean countries show that, on average, central government gross public debt decreased in the subregion.
At the national level, Barbados still has the highest level of public debt, equivalent to 124.7% of GDP as of March 2019, followed by Jamaica (93.8% of GDP), even though the latter has reduced its debt by almost 9% of its GDP since the close of 2018. The average gross public debt of the Caribbean countries was 71.8% at the end of 2018, a year-on-year drop of 2.6%.
In the Caribbean last year, central government public debt remained stable at 68.6% of GDP in the first quarter of 2018, similar to year-end 2017 levels.
Jamaica recorded 103.0% of GDP in the first quarter of 2018, followed by Barbados with 89.3% of GDP, while Guyana recorded 46.9%.
ECLAC, one of the UN’s five regional commissions, was created on February 25, 1948 to contribute to the economic development of Latin America and strengthen economic ties among countries in the region and with other nations of the world.
Later, the scope of its work was broadened to include Caribbean nations and also incorporated the goal of promoting social development in the region. In 1996, member States reviewed their institutional mission and established that the Commission should serve as a centre of excellence, responsible for cooperating with its member countries in the global analysis of development processes. This mission includes designing, following-up and evaluating public policies, as well as providing operational services in the following areas: specialised information, advisory services, training, cooperation support, and regional and international coordination.
