KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s debt-to-GDP ratio which had shot up from 94 per cent at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, to 110 per cent by March 2021, is projected to recover to 96 per cent this month.

“For Jamaica, given our vulnerabilities, this [110 per cent] was a high and risky level of debt as I articulated in my budget presentation last year,” said Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke, as he announced the improvement in the GDP rate on Tuesday.

He was speaking while making his contribution to the 2022/23 Budget debate in the House of Representatives.

“A year later I am pleased to report that along with strong GDP growth and strong jobs growth, we have also significantly reduced our debt-to-GDP ratio, which is now projected to be 96 per cent by March 2022. With God’s help, and barring any major surprises and exogenous setbacks, by the end of the upcoming fiscal year, we could see this ratio go below 90 per cent for the first time in what would be 23 years! An entire generation,” Clarke said.

The finance minister noted that Jamaica ranks second among 30 countries of the Latin American and Caribbean region in restoring the national debt level – the debt-to-GDP ratio – to almost pre-COVID-19 levels by 2021.  He said most countries in the region have debt to GDP ratios that are still between 10 percentage points and 60 percentage points higher than their pre-COVID-19 levels.

“This is Jamaica’s achievement. This is your achievement. And this achievement lowers the risk of the Jamaican economy and provides better protection for turbulence,” Clarke stated.

Despite the strong rebound, he warned that Jamaicans should not get carried away as “we are not yet out of the woods, by any means”.