Jamaica Economic Outlook

October 10, 2017

Growth has remained fairly anaemic so far this year, with Q2’s expansion curtailed by heavy flooding which hampered the performance of the agricultural and mining sectors. On the positive side, the service sector appeared to be in better shape in the second quarter, with a strong performance from the hotels and restaurants industry. In a recent staff visit to move towards disbursing around USD 180 million in funding, the IMF praised the country for meeting the performance criteria set out in the economic program. The Fund highlighted greater job creation and the primary budget surplus as positive signs, but also urged the government to speed up public wage negotiations. Further streamlining the bloated state sector would allow greater investment and strengthen the government’s fiscal position.

Jamaica Economy Data

	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Population (million)	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8
GDP per capita (USD)	5,346	5,128	4,964	5,068	4,958
GDP (USD bn)	14.8	14.3	13.9	14.3	14.0
Economic Growth (GDP, annual variation in %)	-0.6	0.5	0.7	1.0	1.4
Consumption (annual variation in %)	-0.8	-1.0	-0.8	-0.8	-
Investment (annual variation in %)	-5.0	5.5	3.0	-5.9	-
Unemployment Rate	13.7	15.2	13.7	13.5	13.3
Fiscal Balance (% of GDP)	-4.1	0.1	-0.5	-0.3	-0.9
Public Debt (% of GDP)	145	140	138	120	115
Money (annual variation in %)	4.0	5.5	3.3	14.8	12.3
Inflation Rate (CPI, annual variation in %, eop)	8.0	9.7	6.2	3.7	1.7
Inflation Rate (CPI, annual variation in %)	6.9	9.4	8.3	3.7	2.4
Policy Interest Rate (%)	6.25	5.75	5.75	5.25	5.00
Exchange Rate (vs USD)	92.42	106.1	114.4	120.0	128.9
Exchange Rate (vs USD, aop)	88.42	99.9	111.0	116.7	125.2
Current Account (% of GDP)	-9.7	-9.5	-8.0	-3.0	-0.7
Current Account Balance (USD bn)	-1.4	-1.4	-1.1	-0.4	-0.1
Trade Balance (USD billion)	-4.6	-4.7	-4.4	-3.7	-3.5
Exports (USD billion)	1.7	1.6	1.5	1.3	1.2
Imports (USD billion)	6.3	6.2	5.8	5.0	4.7
Exports (annual variation in %)	5.5	-8.4	-7.5	-13.0	-8.2
Imports (annual variation in %)	-1.7	-1.8	-6.1	-14.6	-5.9
International Reserves (USD)	2.0	1.8	2.5	2.9	3.3
External Debt (% of GDP)	96.7	90.7	101	99.0	-

Sample Report

5 years of Jamaica economic forecasts for more than 30 economic indicators.

Download

Sample Report

Get a sample report showing all the data and analysis covered in our Regional, Country and Commodities reports.

Download

Jamaica Facts

	Value	Change	Date

Start Your Free Trial

Start working with the reports used by the world’s major financial institutions, multinational enterprises & government agencies now. Click on the button below to get started.

Jamaica Economic Growth

October 10, 2017

GDP growth is expected to accelerate next year thanks to ongoing IMF support, a strengthening global economy and positive spillovers from the government’s reform agenda. FocusEconomics panelists expect the economy to expand 1.8% in 2017 and 2.2% in 2018, which is unchanged from last month’s projection.

Jamaica Economic Outlook

Jamaica Economy Data

Sample Report

Sample Report

Jamaica Facts

Start Your Free Trial

Jamaica Economic Growth

Search form

Sign up for our newsletter