Markets

Haiti to Post Caribbean’s Fastest Growth in 2013, Jamaica Slowest: Report

By: Caribbean Journal Staff - December 13, 2012 - 9:00 pm

Above: flooding in Haiti lowered the country’s GDP estimate for 2012, but it is projected to grow 6 percent in 2013 (UN Photo/Logan Abassi)

 

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Haiti is projected to lead the Caribbean in GDP growth in 2013, according to a new report from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Haiti had been projected to lead the region in GDP growth in 2012, with growth of more than 6 percent, but its estimated growth for 2012 was lowered by ECLAC. That followed a similar downward projection by the International Monetary Fund, which cited a series of damaging storms as a major factor (along with a low execution of public capital spending). Haiti grew by 5.6 percent in 2011.

Jamaica is projected to post the Caribbean’s slowest growth in 2013, at 0.1 percent.

With Haiti’s lowered projection, Belize posted the highest estimated growth in the Caribbean in 2012, with a rate of 4.2 percent.

ECLAC said the region as a whole would see stronger economic growth, despite “ongoing uncertainties” at the international level.

In the wider Caribbean basin, Panama is projected to lead with growth of 7.5 percent in 2013.

The Latin American and Caribbean region as a whole will end 2012 with GDP growth of 3.1 percent, the report said. The Caribbean subregion (Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti were not included by the UN in this region) was projected to grow by 2.0 percent in 2013.

“The challenge for Latin America and the Caribbean is still to increase and stabilize investment growth, and not to depend exclusively on consumption as a means of driving structural change with equality, incorporating technical progress and delivering sustainable growth,” said Alicia Barcena, executive secretary of ECLAC.

See the full estimates and projections for the Caribbean for 2012 and 2013 below.

Popular Posts star of the seas

Royal Caribbean’s New Cruise Ship Has a Rooftop Bar, a Waterpark and the Largest Pool at Sea

You step into a glass dome floating high above the ocean. To your right, divers plunge from platforms. Above, aerialists twist through light. Somewhere behind you, a DJ is spinning beside a suspended infinity pool. This isn’t a dream — […]


Marriott Is Opening a New Barbados Luxury Resort With a Prime Stretch of Beach and Swim-Up Rooms 

marriott barbados luxury resort pond

It’s not a secret that Marriott has been deepening its all-inclusive footprint across the Caribbean in the last few years. One of the centerpieces of this push has been Barbados, a destination where Marriott actually kicked off its all-inclusive foray […]


This Marriott All-Inclusive Resort Is Coming to Barbados —  And You Can Book It With Points

new brand for the caribbean

Barbados has long been a haven for adults in search of refinement — the kind of place where luxury and culture blend in quiet, confident harmony. Now, that ethos is becoming the foundation of a new resort concept that aims […]


Related Posts montego bay jamaica beach

The Crystal-Clear Montego Bay Beach Locals Say Has Healing Powers

You arrive early. That’s the move here. Doctor’s Cave Beach opens at 8:30 a.m., and by then the sand has already been raked, the chairs are in rows, and the water is still glass. You step through the entrance on Jimmy […]


Ennismore Is Planning Its First Branded Hotels in Jamaica

a beach in negril

Global hospitality company Ennismore is making its debut in Jamaica. In partnership with LCH Development Limited, Ennismore will introduce two of its brands across three new buildings in a large-scale project that includes both residential and hotel components. Two of […]


Lisbon to Montego Bay: Jamaica’s New European Gateway Takes Flight

jamaica world2fly

Montego Bay just got a little closer to Europe. Starting today, Wednesday, June 4, Jamaica officially welcomes a new weekly nonstop flight connecting Lisbon, Portugal with Montego Bay. Operated by World2Fly, the service marks a major milestone in Jamaica’s growing […]