The Fastest Growing Economy Right Now
How a struggling economy increased its GDP with over 180% in three years
Introduction
There are a few countries that most people know nothing about and can’t pinpoint on a map if their lives depended on it. Guyana is one such country, but since 2019, it’s also the world’s fastest-growing economy.
Neighboring Venezuela, Brazil, and Surinam, it has struggled with high poverty and an outflux of people. Just look at this chart detailing the net migration between 1960 and 2020 compared to other countries.
However, nothing changes the projection of a country’s economy more than oil, and that’s precisely what has happened to Guyana.
The world’s latest GDP explosion
Guyana went from being one of the lowest-performing economies in Latin America to the fastest-growing in the world for two years straight, with a growth of over 180% in three years.
They must now find a path that avoids the fate of other petrostates that have relied too deeply on finite natural resources.
GDP per capita
An increase in GDP means a higher rate per capita as well, and in the following visualization, you can see how Guyana surged past most other South American nations.
That’s an increase of 211%!
Conclusion
Exactly what the oil boom in Guyana leads to remains to be seen. Venezuela has long claimed that some of the oil-rich regions belong to them, and the stakes have now risen for both countries.
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