[www.inewsguyana.com] – Guyana has secured the lowest ranking in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) by GDP per capita in the recently released World Bank World Development Report 2014 with a GDP per capita of US$3,410, while the Bahamas is the richest country in the Caribbean Community, ranked by GDP per capita of $21,280.
The Bahamas is followed by Puerto Rico, which has a GDP per capita of around $18,000. Trinidad and Tobago is next at $14,400, followed by St Kitts and Nevis, which, despite being the smallest country in the region, has a per capita GDP of about $13,330, according to the data.
According to the Caribbean Journal, these numbers are not necessarily a reflection of development or a lack of poverty — a reason why a number of Caribbean countries have urged multilateral lenders to cease classifying many Caribbean countries middle-to-high income — which can prevent access to much international development funding.
The report did not include specific data for the region’s other countries, including Cuba, Dominican Republic, Barbados and Haiti, along with overseas territories and departments in the Caribbean was not included in the World Bank’s report. It did, however, place them in bands based on estimated GDP per capita.
Barbados is ranked as “high income,” meaning a GDP per capita of at least $12,616. Cuba is ranked as upper middle income (between $4,086 and $12,615). Aruba, Curacao, the Cayman Islands, St Maarten, St Martin, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the US Virgin Islands are ranked as high income.
No data was released on the Dominican Republic or Haiti in the report. (Caribbean Journal)
