Caribbean Market Overview: An Economic Review for Investors

Interested in an economic overview of the Caribbean Market? We provide the latest detailed information for Corporate and Investment clients in our quarterly review.

You can download the latest edition Caribbean Market Overview April 2025 >.

or read the Caribbean Economic Overview & Caribbean Market Review summaries  for a synopsis.

We encourage you to contact a Relationship Manager if you have any queries on Investment Banking in the Caribbean. Our team of experts is ready to assist.

Caribbean Economic Overview

Summary:

The world economy seemingly held steady in 2024, trailing an unrivaled four-year span marked by a pandemic, geopolitical wars, supply chain crises, soaring inflation, and sharp tightening of monetary policy. The IMF estimates that following 3.5% growth in 2023, global real GDP expanded 3.3% in 2024, while global disinflation progressed notably and major central banks began to ease monetary policy. In the US, the region’s largest trading partner, real GDP is estimated to have advanced 2.8% following a 2.9% expansion in 2023. Meanwhile, in response to cooling inflation, the Fed pivoted toward monetary easing in September, marking the first of three consecutive rate cuts in 2024. However, sweeping new protectionist measures announced by the US administration since February 2025 rattled financial markets, sending US stocks reeling. More specifically, the global reciprocal tariffs announced on April 2, followed by a partial pause on April 9, and retaliatory measures by some trading partners, triggered sharp swings in equity markets, sending negative shockwaves across the global economic landscape, inciting fears of a slowdown.

Meanwhile, economic activity in most Caribbean markets advanced moderately in 2024, with only a few, including St. Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago, falling short of their pre-pandemic performance. Growing output of tourism and related services, flanking increased construction activity, continued to fuel the expansion for tourism dependents. Off the back of outstripping 2019’s total in 2023, stay-over arrivals to the region1 advanced 7.3% in 2024, though performances varied widely by country. Arrivals to Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, Belize and St. Vincent and the Grenadines crossed the pre-pandemic threshold in 2024, but arrivals to Barbados, Cayman Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis and Dominica remained behind. Cruise visitor arrivals also continued to climb, increasing 11.4% in 2024, but individual growth paths diverged. Passenger arrivals to The Bahamas dominated the positive outturn, while arrivals to Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Curaçao, and Turks and Caicos Islands recovered beyond 2019’s total during the year, but arrivals to most other markets continued to fall short. Further, arrivals to some markets, including Cayman Islands, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines declined in 2024, reversing recovery progress. Exceptionally, Jamaica’s economy slipped in 2024 partly reflecting the adverse effects of Hurricane Beryl on agricultural production and the temporary disruption of alumina supply due to damages at the Jamalco Port facilities. Meanwhile, the non-energy sector continued to sustain economic output in Trinidad and Tobago amid a delayed recovery of energy production, and Guyana continued to post robust economic expansion fuelled by rapidly expanding oil output.