It's been an extremely difficult year for the member countries of the Caribbean Development Bank. The region which is heavily dependent on tourism took a major hit when countries worldwide closed their borders, forcing overnight tourism to take a deep dive.
And while the CDB is projecting regional GDP growth of 3.8% in 2021, that projection is clouded by the ongoing uncertainty caused by the global pandemic.
Tonight, we bring you a snapshot of the Caribbean Development Bank's annual report, an economic review of the troubling numbers of 2020, and a look ahead at 2021:
Regional GDP fell by an average of 12.8% in 2020
The Majority of CDB members registered double-digit declines.
Debt as a share of GDP increased in every member country, except for Guyana
The average debt to G.D.P ratio increased to 79.5% but in Belize, it's 134%
Tourism dependent economies took the hardest hit with countries like Anguilla Turks & Caicos and Saint Lucia with more than 25% contractions in GDP
In Belize, the contraction was 13%
Overall tourism arrivals across the region fell by 70%.
Belize received 15 million in debt relief from the CDB in 2020.
