Economic trends in the Caribbean

Overall, economic expansion was slightly less vigorous in 1997 than in the preceding year, although the rate of growth showed greater divergence between the countries surveyed than in 1996. The sectors recording the strongest performance were tourism, construction and the distributive trades. Agriculture had a mixed performance with declining output in Barbados, Jamaica and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries. The traditional agricultural exports suffered from lower prices, while output in the sector as a whole was adversely affected by unfavourable climatic conditions. The manufacturing sector showed heterogeneous behaviour, declining in Jamaica and the OECS countries but with moderate increases elsewhere.

Sustainable Development Goals:

Decent Work and Economic Growth

Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions