St. Kitts-Nevis economy expected to have 5.5 per cent growth in 2021

The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is expected to have economic growth of 5.5 per cent in 2021 as the world in the process of opening back up and returning to a state of pre-COVID normalcy.

This was announced by Financial Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Hilary Hazel, on the virtual forum series ‘Leadership Matters’ on March 2 where she said that “Global growth is expected to reach around 5.5 per cent by the end of 2021.”

She continued, “In the United States of America, it is expected that that region would grow by 5.1 per cent and this is essential for us here in the Caribbean.”

“Latin America and the Caribbean region, we expect it to grow by 4.1 per cent and for us here in the Federation,” said the Financial Secretary.

She said that “This is consistent with all the projections made by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank for the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) economies which are expected to return positive growth in 2021.”

She also added that the tourism sector will continue to be slow with prospects for better performances in the 2022 and 2023 tourism season.

Mrs. Hazel also said that there are still relatively high levels of uncertainty in relation to the prospects of recovery, and that the prospects are much more improved for 2021 as opposed to the experiences in 2020.

She said, “We are expecting that the negative experiences that we have had, in terms of the construction sector which saw a -16.5 percent growth in 2020, we are expecting now for 2021 a rebound of this sector which will grow by 8.9 per cent and thereby contribute in the vicinity of 14 percent to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP)”

“The Financial Intermediation Sector is expected to grow by 2.9 per cent and contribute around 12 percent to GDP. Our real estate and business services sector is expected to grow by 2.8 percent and contribute around 10 percent to GDP,” said Hazel.

She continued, “Public Administration in 2020 was the only sector to experience positive growth around 3.8 per cent and in 2021 we expect this sector to grow by 4.3 per cent again contributing around 10 per cent to GDP.”

The Financial Secretary further stated that “The education sector which also includes our offshore education facilities would be expected to grow by 5.1 per cent and contribute around 8 percent to GDP.”

“In terms of our economic recovery, the pathway rests heavily on our ability to have both government, businesses and the general public, finding a way to coexist with COVID-19,” said Hazel.

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