The World Bank, in its most recent Caribbean Growth Outlook for Spring 2025, projected that St Vincent’s economy will experience a growth rate of 4.9 percent.
The bank’s forecast for the Caribbean indicates that St Vincent is anticipated to experience a growth rate of 2.9 percent in 2026, followed by a 2.7 percent growth in 2027.
The World Bank indicated that in the Caribbean, due to the widespread pegging of currencies, the initial inflation shock was relatively modest and manageable. In contrast, the targeting regimes of both the Dominican Republic and Jamaica have resulted in heightened inflation and slower reductions.
The bank’s report highlighted the necessity for the Caribbean to recalibrate its economic strategies in response to escalating uncertainties amidst a backdrop of global economic volatility. Furthermore, it emphasised that the region is contending with disturbingly high rates of lethal violence associated with organised crime.
“Victimisation rates are three times higher than the global average, with homicide rates standing at eight times the global average,” the institution noted.
“The traditional development challenges in Latin America and the Caribbean are increasingly compounded by the expansion of organised crime in the region. The regions’ news outlets document not only rising homicide rates but also killings ordered from within prisons, sometimes involving civilians; politicians and government officials under threat; candidates for office assassinated, altering elections; murders involving people with alias names and kilograms of lost cocaine; businesses that must pay extortion fees to operate; and parts of the territory—neighbourhoods, cities, and rural municipalities—under criminal control,” the report stated.
