The local economy enjoyed a growth in the overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 43.6 per cent in 2024, with the nonoil economy recording an increase of 13.1 per cent as a result of growth in the rice sectors, other crops, bauxite and other mining, quarrying and others.
This was revealed by Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance and Public Service, Dr Ashni Singh during his presentation of the 2025 Budget in the National Assembly on Friday.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s fiscal plan – its fifth since taking office in August 2020 – is themed: “A Secure, Prosperous and Sustainable Guyana.”
Despite mixed trends in commodity prices globally, Dr Singh noted that Guyana navigated these challenges adeptly. On this point, he noted that the price of gold surged by 22.9 per cent, reaching US$2,387.7 per ounce.
Conversely, the sugar sector faced a 13 per cent price drop, compounded by a 21.8 per cent contraction in production due to El Niño and labour shortages, while rice prices rose by 6.3 per cent, with production achieving a record 725,282 tonnes.
Additionally, agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors grew by 11 per cent, buoyed by increases in rice, livestock, and aquaculture production.
“This highlights Guyana’s emergence as a key player in the global energy market, but also underscores the stellar successes being achieved in building a diversified economic base,” he said.
Beyond the non-oil sector, Guyana’s thriving oil and gas industry surged ahead, achieving a production milestone of 225.4 million barrels. This remarkable growth was underpinned by the strategic deployment of Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units, which played a pivotal role in accelerating operational capacity, according to Singh’s address to the National Assembly.
“With an estimated production of 225.4 million barrels of crude oil in 2024, the oil and gas sector expanded by 57.7 per cent last year. Growth in the sector was driven primarily by the ramp-up in production on the Prosperity FPSO, Guyana’s third FPSO, which started producing oil in November 2023. In 2024, the Stabroek block on average produced crude oil at a rate of 616,000 barrels of oil per day. With Liza Destiny producing an average of 149,000 barrels of oil per day, Liza Unity producing 231,000, and Prosperity producing 236,000 barrels of oil per day,” the Minister disclosed.
Further, crude oil exports grew by 55.4 per cent, while non-oil exports, including gold, rice, and bauxite, increased by 16 per cent.
Meanwhile, the mining and quarrying sector surged by 55.9 per cent, fueled by oil and gas expansion alongside strong performances in bauxite and gold production. Bauxite mining grew by an astounding 48.4 per cent, while gold declarations reached 434,067 ounces.
Singh explained that investments in sand and stone mining also drove growth, with production rising by 80.4 per cent and 48.5 per cent, respectively, to meet the demands of Guyana’s booming construction industry.
“The Guyana Gold Board’s purchases grew by 53.7 per cent to 134,230 ounces, offsetting the increase in declarations from licensed dealerships. Mr. Speaker, reflective of this people’s Progressive Party civic Government’s supportive policies and increased investment in the sector, the bauxite mining sector grew by 48.4 per cent in 2024. The latest data reflects 1.7 million metric tons of bauxite production, up from 523,742 metric tons produced in 2023… These increases more than offset the declines of 17 per cent and 7.2 per cent observed for diamond declarations and manganese production respectively,” he added.
Inflation
Meanwhile, despite ongoing geopolitical tensions and global price pressures, inflationary trends have significantly stabilised in 2024.
According to Singh, the global inflation rate for the 12-month period has decelerated to a modest 2.9 per cent, a result of decisive measures by Governments to curb domestic market volatility.
Particularly, food prices, which had surged by 5.6 per cent, were effectively offset by strategic stabilisation efforts, Singh emphasised.
“Mr Speaker, the disruptions of the past four years have caused notable fluctuations in commodity prices, but the tightening of monetary policy is helping to contain inflation somewhat”.
“The pace of this inflation is expected to be faster in advanced economies, where inflation is estimated to have dropped by two percentage points in 2024 from 2023, and is projected to stabilise around 2 per cent by 2025. In comparison, inflation in emerging markets and developing economies is estimated to have decreased more slowly, to 7.9 per cent in 2024 from 8.1 per cent in 2023, and is projected to slow further in 2025 to 5.9 per cent,” he added.
