- Barbados' economic growth remained robust in 2024, reaching an estimated 4 percent year-on-year driven by business services, tourism, and construction.
- Implementation of the home-grown Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT 2022) program remains strong, supported by the IMF's Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF).
- Program targets under the Fund-supported program for end-December 2024 were met and the authorities are making progress to meet remaining structural benchmarks and reform measures. International reserves continued to rise, reaching US$1.6 billion.
Washington, DC: An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Michael Perks visited Bridgetown between February 25-28, 2025 to review recent economic developments and reform efforts and prepare the ground for the fifth and final reviews of the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) / Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) programs.To summarize the mission's findings, Mr. Perks made the following statement:
"Barbados' economic growth remained robust in 2024. Real GDP growth is estimated at 4 percent driven by business services, tourism, and construction. Inflation moderated to an average of 1.4 percent, reflecting an easing of global commodity prices and prices of domestic goods and services. The external position continued to strengthen, with the current account deficit narrowing to 4.5 percent of GDP (from 8.6 percent in 2023). International reserves remain ample at US$1.6 billion (equivalent to over 7 months of imports), providing continued strong support to the exchange rate peg. The near-term economic outlook remains positive, but risks continue to be high and tilted to the downside, given Barbados' vulnerability to global shocks and natural disasters.
"The authorities continue to make strong progress in implementing their ambitious economic reform program. Targets for end-December 2024 under the EFF were met. Fiscal performance remains strong, with the primary balance reaching 5.3 percent of GDP through December, leaving the authorities on track to meet the 3.8 percent of GDP fiscal target for FY2024/25. Preparation of the 2025/26 budget is now well underway. Public debt declined close to 100 percent of GDP at end-2024 and the authorities remain firmly committed to bringing it down to 60 percent of GDP by FY 2035/36.
"Structural reform efforts continue to advance, supported by IMF technical assistance, including actions to strengthen customs administration, the framework for public-private partnerships, and the Central Bank of Barbados' liquidity forecasting. The authorities are also making progress with the implementation of the RSF reform measures for the last review.
"The team is looking forward to conducting discussions for the fifth and final reviews under the EFF and RSF in May and would like to thank the authorities and their technical team for their hospitality, openness and candid discussions."
