Economic strength, fiscal management continue to drive global confidence in Guyana – Finance Minister

…as OECD upgrades country’s risk classification for creditworthiness

Guyana’s economic strength and sound fiscal management continue to drive global confidence in the country’s creditworthiness, Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance Dr Ashni Singh has noted that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) upgraded Guyana’s country risk classification from Five to Four, effective from October 16, 2026. This positive development is reflected in the OECD’s most recent Country Risk Classifications of the Participants to the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits.
The country risk classifications measure a country’s credit risk and the likelihood that the country will service its external debt.

Commenting on this significant development, Dr Singh further pointed out that “…it is a major signal of continued confidence in Guyana’s economy and reflects growing global recognition of our Government’s sound fiscal management, our country’s strong economic fundamentals and, in particular, our country’s creditworthiness to the rest of the world.”
In the OECD’s Country Risk Classification framework, a scale of 0 to Seven is used to set minimum premium rates for officially supported export credits, with 0 denoting negligible country credit risk and Seven the highest.
Based on the recent classifications released by the OECD Secretariat on Friday, Guyana now sits in Category Four alongside countries like the Bahamas, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Paraguay, and South Africa.
This marks Guyana’s second upgrade in recent years, following a previous improvement from Six to Five in 2022. Among all classified countries, Guyana was one of only two countries upgraded in this round, making Guyana’s achievement especially notable.
According to the Finance Minister, the upgrade is yet another clear indication of the global community’s favourable assessment of Guyana’s sustained economic progress in recent years and its strong track record of demonstrated fiscal discipline and strong fiscal outcomes.
Dr Singh welcomed the upgrade and the recognition of Guyana’s progress and expressed his appreciation to the OECD Secretariat and to the capitals and representatives of OECD Member States – all of whom would have played important roles in helping to ensure the granting of this important upgrade to the country.
He explained that over the last five years, Guyana has built a record of renewed fiscal prudence and macroeconomic stability, and the progress is visible across every major indicator.
In fact, between 2020 and 2025, the country’s real GDP expanded at an average annual rate of 37.3 per cent, driven principally by the ramp-up of offshore crude oil production. At the same time, the non-oil economy grew at an average of 8.2 per cent per annum over the same period, indicating that growth was not confined to the oil and gas sector.
Moreover, price stability was maintained throughout, with headline inflation averaging 3.5 per cent, with Government measures implemented to cushion the impact of the global supply and energy shocks over the period 2021 to 2023.
Guyana’s debt dynamics have also improved markedly. Total public debt-to-GDP fell from 47.4 per cent at the end of 2020 to 28.6 percent by the end of 2025, and external debt declined from 24.1 per cent to 10.8 percent of GDP. Debt service to revenue was also contracted accordingly, with the ratio of debt service to Government revenue falling from eight per cent in 2020 to five per cent in 2025, and external debt service amounting to just 0.8 per cent of exports.
Additionally, Guyana’s fiscal buffers have also deepened. The Natural Resource Fund closed 2025 with a balance of US$3.3 billion, exceeding the stock of external debt in full, and had risen to approximately US$5.5 billion by the end of September this year.
Following the International Monetary Fund 2026 Article IV consultation, the IMF highlighted that Guyana’s strong economic growth continued to be supported by prudent macroeconomic policies and underscored Guyana’s “diversification, resilience, and sustainability, while building buffers through continued rapid NRF accumulation and maintaining one of the lowest debt-to-GDP ratios in the Western Hemisphere”.
Against this backdrop, it was noted that the significance of the OECD’s recent upgrade lies in what it means for the cost and availability of external financing to the country.
“The OECD classification sets the minimum premium that export credit agencies charge on officially supported credits, so an improved rating directly lowers the cost of financing for the capital goods that Guyana imports for public investment purchased through export credit agencies. Beyond export credit, the reclassification is a signal that international lenders and development partners consider when deciding how much to charge the Government to borrow, leading to improved access to affordable financing for Guyana,” the Finance Ministry stated.
It further noted that borrowing will continue to be guided by the same disciplined approach that has brought debt down to its current levels, with new financing directed to projects with clear economic returns, the cheapest available sources used first, and the overall debt kept well within prudent limits.
Nevertheless, the Ministry reiterated the Guyana Government’s commitment to managing Guyana’s public finances and debt with the same discipline that helped make this reclassification possible, working with international and local partners to ensure Guyana’s continued rapid and sustained development.