Predictions of significant economic growth in Guyana due to the developing petroleum industry are being realized. Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2021 was US$8.04 B., representing a 20 percent growth rate. GDP reached the US$4 B mark in 2012 and increased to US$5 B in 2019. From US$8.04 B in 2021 the GDP is projected to grow in 2022 by 56 percent which will take its projected GDP to US$12+ B. Its per capita income grew from US$9,000+ to US$10,000+.
Increased spending projections for 2022 reflected the increased GDP for 2021. For example, spending by the Ministry of Works is due to increase from G$40 B in 2021 to G$96 B in 2022. It is due to increase from G$39 B to G$57 B for the Ministry of Health, G$25 B to G$33 B for the Ministry of Education and G$19 B to G$29 B for the Ministry of Agriculture. The total budget for 2022 was expected to be G$553 B. For 2021 it was G$383 B. Increased income in 2021 has, as expected, resulted in increased government expenditure in critical areas in 2022. The Ministry of Finance’s projections for 2022 are that the agriculture, forestry and fishing sectors are likely to expand by 11.9 percent, mining and quarrying by 99.9 percent driven by growth in the petroleum sector. Manufacturing, services and construction sectors are also expected to show impressive growth based on a 20 percent growth in the construction sector for the first half of 2022.
