NASSAU, BAHAMAS — The World Bank is forecasting that The Bahamas’ real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate will be six percent this year and 4.1 percent in 2023.
The international financial institution reported that the the Russian invasion has introduced substantial uncertainty in forecasts and exacerbate inflationary pressures in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
In its semiannual report for the Latin America and Caribbean region titled, “Consolidating the Recovery: Seizing Green Growth Opportunities”, the bank noted that the Latin America and the Caribbean region (LAC) is progressing toward consolidating its recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
“Vaccination is well-advanced in most of the region, increasing resilience against new variants,” it said.
“The region is on track to recovering previous levels of GDP and employment. Schools are opening and firms are hiring. The long-term scars of the pandemic remain and continue to require attention. Since the onset of the pandemic, poverty rates for the region, excluding Brazil rose to 27.5 percent in 2021 and are still above their pre-COVID levels of 25.6 percent. Students have lost between one and one-and-a-half years of education—leading potentially to 10 percent loss in their lifetime incomes.”
The bank noted that the region faces increased uncertainties as it navigates recovery.
It continued: “New variants may appear; rising global inflation poses new policy dilemmas; the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine threatens the world economy in profound and unpredictable ways; and intensified urgency around global warming is prompting demands for far-reaching preventative action at national and transnational level.”
According to the World Bank, the Russian invasion has introduced substantial uncertainty in forecasts but will clearly dampen the region’s recovery and exacerbate inflationary pressures.”
