Guyana’s economy grew by 33.3% in 1st half of 2026, full-year growth forecast raised to 20.8%

… “Isn’t this an economy that is healthy?” – Pres Ali

Guyana’s economy expanded by 33.3 per cent during the first half of 2026, with the full-year growth projection now revised to 20.8 per cent. President Dr Irfaan Ali shared the figures during a press conference on Monday as he highlighted the country’s strong economic and fiscal performance. “Our overall GDP (gross domestic product) grew by an estimated 33.3 per cent in the first half of 2026. The non-oil economy grew by an estimated 10.1 per cent. The revised full year forecast for real GDP growth is now 20.8 per cent overall and 10.2 per cent for non-oil GDP growth. This will represent the sixth consecutive year of expansion in the overall non-oil economy following the contraction of the non-oil economy in 2020,” the Guyanese leader informed. Giving sectoral breakdowns, he noted that the mining and quarrying sector is estimated to have expanded by 40.7 per cent in the first half of the year and according to Ali, “this speaks to the growing expansion taking place in our country, construction, development of industries”. “Industries lead to jobs. Jobs led to more income. More income leads to better economic prospects,” he emphasised. Moreover, the President detailed that the oil and gas subsector grew by 41.3 per cent, the bauxite subsector grew by 7.3 per cent and the gold and mining subsector grew by an estimated 11.3 per cent. The Head of State noted that the growth in the gold and mining sector could be attributed to tougher enforcement measures being implemented by the Government. “As you know, late last year we started to implement new measures to accelerate declaration to improve accountability and transparency in the declaration in this sector. So, I’m very happy to see that growth of 11.3 per cent,” he remarked. Meanwhile, other mining, which comprises sand, stone, manganese, diamond, is estimated to have grown by 40 per cent. The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, despites challenges in transportation, logistics, increased costs of input like fuel, recorded a marginal contraction of 0.5 per cent. Specific sectors, however, performed optimally with the sugar industry expanding by 19.3 per cent and the rice sector growing by 4.4 per cent. Individually, the forestry sector is estimated to have grown by 15.4 per cent, and the fishing subsector is estimated to have grown by 4.1 per cent. Manufacturing sector has grown by 3 per cent and services by 7.2 per cent.

President Ali also highlighted growth in net domestic credit, emphasising that the figures tell a story of a thriving economy. “Monetary development at the end of the first half of 2026, net domestic credit stood at 1.286 billion, exceeding the December 2025 position by 15.5 per cent. Credit to the private sector grew by 11.5 per cent. Credit to households grew by 75.8 billion, 14.6 per cent. And that is year-on-year growth. Isn’t this an economy that is healthy? Isn’t this an economy that is demonstrating strength, that is demonstrating diversification, that is demonstrating structural stability? That is what these numbers demonstrate,” he expressed.