Georgetown : The World Bank’s twice-yearly Global Economic Prospects (GEP) in its mid-year report for 2011 stated that the economies of Latin America expanded ‘at a pace near or above potential’ and that growth for South America was particularly strong, credited to robust domestic demand, accommodative external financing conditions in cases of countries integrated with the global financial system, and high commodity prices in cases of commodity exporters.
The report released on Tuesday said that Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will grow to 5.1% this year with greater growth of 5.6% projected for 2013, even as there are threats to the United States economy and the struggle by European countries.
The Bank stated that Haiti will lead the bloc of Latin America and the Caribbean. The high performers projected are as follows:
Haiti – 8% this year and 8.3% in 2013
Panama – 6.1% this year and 6.3% in 2013
Guyana and Peru – 5.15 % for both this year and 5.6% for both in 2013
The Bank had projected that Guyana’s 2011 GDP would be 4.6%. The midyear report presented to the National Assembly for 2011 stated that real economic growth was
5.95 %.
Economies in Latin America expanded at a pace near or above potential through the first half of 2011 and narrowed down to Central America where growth was subdued and accelerated by domestic demand and strong agricultural performance in countries such as Mexico.
Economic growth in the Caribbean was reported to have remained weak and the slow movement in domestic demand was cited as a direct result of the waning demand externally.
“The Caribbean region struggles to recover from a protracted recession, with growth weighed down by high debt levels, fiscal consolidation, high oil prices and weak performance in the tourism sector…” the report stated.
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