Guyana continues to rank among the Caribbean’s high-income economies, while Jamaica remains classified as an upper-middle-income economy in the World Bank’s latest annual income classification.
The World Bank’s updated rankings place Guyana in the high-income category, which includes economies with a gross national income (GNI) per capita of US$14,375 or more. Jamaica remains in the upper-middle-income group, defined as economies with GNI per capita between US$4,636 and US$14,375.
Guyana joins several Caribbean economies in the high-income category, including Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Other Caribbean countries classified as upper-middle income include Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname.
The World Bank said none of the countries assessed this year moved down an income category. Six economies recorded upward movements: Jordan, Micronesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam moved from lower-middle income to upper-middle income, while Togo moved from low income to lower-middle income.
The classifications are based on 2025 gross national income (GNI) per capita data, measured in U.S. dollars using the World Bank’s Atlas methodology, which smooths exchange rate fluctuations to reduce the impact of short-term volatility.
The income thresholds are updated annually to account for inflation, while changes in economic growth, population growth, national accounting methods and revisions to underlying data can also affect a country’s classification.
Guyana’s high-income ranking comes amid a period of significant economic expansion driven by rapid growth in its oil sector following the start of offshore production in 2019.
Jamaica’s continued upper-middle-income classification reflects its position as one of the region’s more diversified economies, with major contributions from tourism, services, remittances and mining. The ranking, however, is based on 2025 GNI per capita data and does not fully reflect the economic fallout from Hurricane Melissa, which struck in October 2025. The Category 5 storm caused an estimated US$8.8 billion in physical damage, according to the World Bank and IDB, while Jamaica’s Planning Institute later estimated total damage and losses at US$12.2 billion.
The World Bank cautioned that income classifications are broad indicators of economic development and do not fully capture factors such as inequality, poverty levels or differences in living standards within countries.
caribbeannationalweekly.com
