The World Bank is forecasting economic growth of 3.7 percent for Barbados this year, down from the 4.4 percent expansion achieved in 2023 and the 4.1 percent growth reported by the Barbados Central Bank for the first quarter of this year.

The forecast is contained in the Global Economic Prospects report released today.

Overall the World Bank expects growth in Caribbean economies to accelerate to 7.1 percent in 2024 and remain robust at 5.7 percent in 2025.

However, the high forecast is boosted by the continued sharp upward trend in Guyana’s economic numbers which the bank attributes to a resource-based boom after the discovery of oil in 2015.

The Guyana economy is predicted to grow by a massive 34.3 percent this year and 16.8 in 2025.

Economic growth in the rest of the Caribbean is expected to pick up to 3.9 percent this year and 4 percent next year.

Growth in Jamaica is expected to weaken to 2 percent in 2024 and 1.6 in 2025, St. Lucia is forecast for growth of 2.9 percent this year and 2.4 next year and the St. Vincent economy is projected to grow by five percent this year and 3.9 percent in 2025.