Michele Robinson |Debt Management Consultant

P. O. Box 1313
Kingston 8
Jamaica
ph: + 1 876 969 5879
fax: + 1 876 969 5879
consult@michelerobinson.net

Caribbean Debt Statistics

Photo credit 📷: M. Robinson

Public debt statistics of selected Caribbean countries are presented below.

Caribbean tourism-dependent countries are:

The Bahamas, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Caribbean commodity exporters are:

Easter Caribbean Curreny Union (ECCU) member states are:

Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines as well as the British overseas territories of Anguilla and Montserrat.

Non-ECCU member states are:

The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Caribbean: Public Debt Statistics (2018)

Highest debt to GDP:

Barbados was the most highly-indebted country in the Caribbean with public debt-to-GDP amounting to 123.60% at end 2018.

Tourism-dependent economies:

Based on preliminary estimates, at end-2018, average public debt-to-GDP among Caribbean tourism-dependent economies declined to 78.4% compared to 82.4% at end-2017.

Commodity-exporting countries:

Average public debt-to-GDP of Caribbean commodity-exporters declined marginally to 64.9% at end-2018 from 65.9% a year earlier.

Debt by regional groupings:

At end 2018, public debt-to-GDP of ECCU member states (excluding the overseas territories) rose marginally to 74.8% from 74.5% at end-2017.

Debt-to-GDP among non-ECCU member states fell to 76.4% at end-2018 from 82.2% a year earlier.

Barbados is the most highly-indebted non-ECCU member country while Antigua and Barbuda is the most highly-indebted ECCU member state.

Caribbean: Debt-to-GDP (%) Country	2015	2016	2017	2018*
Antigua and Barbuda	98.2	86.2	86.8	88.2
The Bahamas	49.6	50.5	54.6	54.5
Barbados	146.7	149.1	157.3	123.6
Belize	80.7	95.9	99.0	97.5
Dominica	75.3	71.7	82.7	87.8
Grenada	90.1	82.0	70.4	64.6
Guyana	50.1	50.7	52.2	57.0
Jamaica	121.3	113.6	101.4	97.4
St. Kitts and Nevis	66.1	61.5	62.9	63.6
St. Lucia	67.8	69.2	70.7	71.8
St. Vincent and the Grenadines	79.4	82.8	73.8	73.0
Suriname	43.0	75.8	69.3	62.5
Trinidad and Tobago	28.0	37.0	41.8	42.7
By Economic Activity
Tourism-dependent countries	84.1	81.6	82.4	78.4
Commodity exporters	50.5	64.9	65.6	64.9
By Regional Grouping
ECCU	79.5	75.6	74.5	74.8
Non-ECCU	74.2	81.8	82.2	76.4

Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, October 2018 * Estimated

Caribbean: Market-Access Countries - Credit Ratings

at end-December 2018

The Bahamas: BB+ (S&P); Baa3 (Moody's)

Barbados: SD (S&P); Caa3 (Moody's)

Belize: B- (S&P): B3 (Moody's)

Jamaica: B (S&P); B3 (Moody's)

Suriname: B (S&P); B2 (Moody's)

Trinidad and Tobago: BBB+ (S&P); Ba1 (Moody's)

Source: Trading Economics (2019)

P. O. Box 1313
Kingston 8
Jamaica
ph: + 1 876 969 5879
fax: + 1 876 969 5879
consult@michelerobinson.net