NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The Bahamian economy registered year-over-year increases in its quarterly economic growth in all but one quarter in 2023, marked by a nearly 10 percent first-quarter increase.
The Bahamas National Statistical Institute, in its advanced estimates for the quarterly gross domestic product in 2023, noted that quarterly trends indicated that the Bahamian economy experienced increased growth compared to the quarters of the previous year. All but one quarter of 2023 registered year-over-year increases compared to the same quarter in the previous year. The most notable real GDP growth in this period was a nine-point nine percent (9.9 percent) increase, which occurred in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2022.
“The quarterly totals indicated a continuous move toward a complete recovery of the Bahamian Economy following the Covid-19 Pandemic. The first and last two quarters of 2023, recorded higher levels of Real GDP compared to those same pre–pandemic quarters in 2019. The first quarter registered $3.26 billion ($3.1 billion, 2019), closely followed by the second quarter’s $3.25 billion ($3.4 billion, 2019), the third quarter showed $3.21 billion ($3 billion, 2019) with the fourth quarter reporting $3.12 billion ($3 billion, 2019),” the BNSI noted.
It continued: “The industries in the quarterly Production Approach to GDP that led these increases in 2023 were primarily Accommodations and Food, Construction, Transportation and Storage, and Arts, Other Services, Household Employment, Extraterritorial Org. These increases were borne out by the quarterly Expenditure Approach to GDP, which showed growth primarily due to the growth in the Government’s Final Consumption Expenditure and Exports of Goods and Services led by the Tourism Sector.
