Guyana’s GDP grew by 49.7% in 1st half of 2024 – Pres Ali 

– non-oil economy records 12.6% growth

As Guyana’s economic transformation continues to catapult at an unprecedented rate, the country has recorded a whopping 49.7 per cent increase in its gross domestic product (GDP) in the first six months of 2024.
This was revealed by President Dr. Irfaan Ali during the commissioning ceremony of a new $1.8 billion Citizens Bank branch at Mandela Avenue, Greater Georgetown, on Friday evening.
The Head of State disclosed that the Finance Ministry has completed the 2024 Mid-Year Report that shows not only an overall GDP growth but also an increase in Guyana’s non-oil economy.
“In the first half of this year, our overall real GDP grew by an estimated 49.7 per cent in 2024… What is impressive is that the non-oil economy continues to grow, and the non-economy grew an estimated 12.6 per cent,” he said
As a result of this half-year performance, President Ali added that the country’s full-year forecast for real GDP growth in 2024 has been revised to 42.3 per cent – a 10 per cent increase from initial projections, while the non-oil economy is also now projected to expand by 11.8 per cent.
It was previously reported that Guyana would record a real GDP growth of 34.3 per cent this year, representing the fifth consecutive year in which the Guyanese economy would be growing at more than 20 per cent, and will result in Guyana growing at an annual average of 38.8 per cent over those five years.
Meanwhile, Ali further explained that almost all the economic sectors contributed to this growth despite challenges. This includes the construction sector which grew by an estimated 43.7 per cent.

“The sectors that have faced difficulties earlier in this year because of the drought condition and other circumstances are expected to rebound in the second half of this year,” the president stated.
The Guyanese Leader is expected to do a more detailed analysis of the country’s half-year performance today.
In 2023, Guyana recorded 59.5 per cent real economic growth in the first half of that year – a growth that was also driven by both the oil and gas sector as well as the non-oil economy.
The non-oil economy expanded by 12.3 per cent in the first six months of last year. According to the report, the growth trend is expected to continue.
“The overall outlook for 2023 remains positive, despite challenges faced by the non-oil mining industries in the first six months of the year, and drier-than-usual weather conditions anticipated to limit some agricultural output in the other crops subsector in the second half,” the Finance Ministry’s Half Year Report for 2023 stated.
The report further disaggregates the growth by various sectors. For instance, the gold mining and quarrying sector expanded by 89.9 per cent in the first half of the year, driven by increased output. The report explains that these increases outweighed the declines observed in the gold mining and bauxite mining subsectors.
In addition, agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors are estimated to have expanded by 7.6 per cent in the first half of last year. This was driven by growth in all subsectors – namely other crops, rice growing, livestock, fishing, forestry, and sugar.
In the sugar sector, growth was recorded at 30.1 per cent when compared with the first half of 2022. Similarly, the rice growing industry had grown by 3.2 per cent during the first six months of 2023.
Meanwhile, the revised full-year performance for 2024 set the non-oil economy growth at 11.8 per cent this year, this will see the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors projected to grow by 10.4 per cent, supported by increased production across all subsectors.
According to Budget 2024, sugar will continue to accelerate its recovery, with strong growth of 66.1 per cent this year being aided by GuySuCo’s continued focus on mechanisation and conversion efforts, as well as promoting value-added production. Supported by a $6 billion budget allocation, the sector is expected to produce 100,000 metric tonnes of sugar in 2024.
Similarly, the rice industry is expected to grow by 6.2 per cent this year, with production increasing to 710,000 metric tonnes. The $1.3 billion allocated is anticipated to drive an expansion in acreage cultivated, the deployment of new and more productive varieties, and improve research and development.
In the 2024 Budget, it also projected that other crop subsectors will grow by 11.6 per cent, largely reflecting considerable progress in corn and soya production as Guyana works to achieve self-sufficiency in 2025.
Increases are also expected in the cultivation of coconuts, root crops and spices as the government continues to put systems in place to achieve food security locally and regionally. The livestock and fishing subsectors are expected to expand by 6.6 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
Moreover, the forestry sector is also projected to record growth of 3.9 per cent, supported by continued investments in the housing sector and, more broadly, construction. In the extractive industries, further growth in oil and gas and other mining and quarrying, as well as an expected recovery in the gold and bauxite mining subsectors, have been projected.
With three FPSOs in the Stabroek Block, Budget 2024 had stated production of crude oil is slated to reach over 550,000 bpd this year, with a further ramping up to over 600,000 in the latter part of the year – representing a 44.7 per cent growth this year. Currently, the Stabroek Block is producing over 660,000 bpd. (G-8)