Effectively, GDP represents the total dollar value of all goods and services produced over a specific time period and has been described as ‘one of the most common indicators used to track the health of a country’s economy’.

Addressing a recent sitting of the House of Assembly, Premier Fahie said: “Although we have not yet reached full recovery, substantial progress has been made to restore our physical infrastructure, demonstrating the resilience of our people and their ability to revive critical economic activity in the aftermath of the 2017 natural disasters.”

“The Ministry of Finance projects that, at the end of 2019, the total size of our economy measured by GDP in nominal terms should reach $1.303 billion. This reflects an increase in growth of between one and two per cent from 2018.”

Increased GDP projected for 2020

Fahie also mentioned a likely growth in GDP for the upcoming year.

He reasoned: “With increased investment in public services and infrastructure, a full recovery of our tourism sector is expected to be achieved by the 2020/2021 tourist season. We anticipate real GDP growth in 2020, ranging between one to three percent.”

The Minister for Finance explained that the increase would “continue to be tempered by downside risks to the financial services sector”.

He said these downside risks are from competition and changing client expectations as well as increasing regulations from international bodies such as the European Union.

The Premier, however, stated that the territory is mindful of the aforesaid risks and will exercise the necessary caution and diligence.