Caribbean, Latin America Forecast To Decelerate In Growth Next Year

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Thurs. Dec. 15, 2022: The Caribbean and Latin American region is forecast to see a deceleration in growth next year.

That’s according to a preliminary overview of the Economies of Latin America and the Caribbean 2022 – unveiled by the Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), José Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs today.

The report says the Caribbean, with the exception of the South American CARICOM nation of Guyana, is expected to grow by just 3.3 percent next year, a drop in growth from this year. Growth this year was put at 4.5 percent.

The top performers from the geographic Caribbean region for next year will be St. Kitts and Nevis at 10.4 percent and Antigua and Barbuda at 7.6 percent.

Guyana will top the projected growth for both Latin America and the Caribbean at a whopping 30 percent but it will be a dramatic 22 percent down from 2022, ECLAC said. This year Guyana saw a 52 percent growth.

Latin America is forecast to perform even worse at just 1.3 percent. The top performers for this region in 2023 is forecast to ironically be Venezuela at 5 percent followed by Paraguay at 4 percent.

ECLAC blamed rising global inflation which the organization says has sparked greater financial volatility and increased risk aversion, prompting fewer capital flows to emerging economies, including the region’s economies.

The Preliminary Overview 2022 argues that it is critical for governments to stimulate investment and productivity in order to address social demands, the creation of decent employment, to reduce informality, inequality and poverty, and move forward on climate change adaptation and mitigation.

“To that end, innovative public policies are needed on productive, financial, trade and social matters and on the care economy, to avoid another lost decade like the one observed for the 2014-2023 period,” the report’s authors added.