The World Bank has projected an 8.3 percent economic growth for St Vincent and the Grenadines in 2022.
The economic forecast was published in its latest report on Global Economic Prospects on Tuesday (11 January).
The projection is markedly different from 2021, when the island saw its GDP tumbling to -6.1 percent.
In its report, the World Bank also projected economic growth of 6.0 percent in 2023.
The report stated that in the Caribbean, growth is projected to be 7.3 percent this year and 5.9 percent in 2023, though the aggregate reflects a significant contribution from Guyana, where offshore oil production recently began.
Growth in the Caribbean, excluding Guyana, which is highly reliant on tourism, is projected to be substantially weaker, at 4.6 percent in 2022 and 4.2 percent in 2023.
In most tourism-reliant economies, however, growth in 2022 is projected to accelerate relative to 2021 rates on account of the timing of the expected recovery in international arrivals.
Regional Growth Outlook Subject To Several Downside Risks.
Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) rebounded to an estimated 6.7 percent in 2021, boosted by supportive external conditions and rapid progress on COVID-19 vaccination and a sharp drop in the second half of the year in new cases.
Growth during the forecast horizon will not be sufficiently robust to reverse the region’s long-standing decline in per capita income relative to advanced economies.
Downside risks to the forecast include renewed surges in COVID-19 cases; financial stress; disruptions related to natural disasters, including weather events linked to climate change; and, in the longer term, failure to implement productivity-enhancing and other needed reforms.
