Barbados registered economic growth of 10 per cent during the July to September 2021 quarter, relative to the corresponding period in 2020.

The Caribbean nation grew by 5.5 per cent during the April to June quarter of 2021. However, for the first nine months of the year, economic activity is estimated to have been approximately 3.2 per cent below the corresponding period in 2020.

Indeed, at the end of September, the gross international reserves totalled $2.86 billion, covering approximately 42 weeks of imports. At the same time, the country’s debt stock reached $13.1 billion, up from $12.9 billion in March 2021.

This reflects a fall in the debt ratio of five percentage points to 146.1 per cent of gross domestic product at the end of September 2021. Tourism continued its recovery during the third quarter with long-stay arrivals totalling 43,019 visitors compared to 13,247 during the similar period in 2020.

Unemployment declined to 15.9 per cent while the labour force participation rate increased to 62.1 perf cent. Revenue increased by three per cent as taxes on consumption improved from the slump in the previous year.

However, taxes on incomes declined by 12 per cent. Non-interest expenditure rose by 15 per cent principally because of rising expenditures to address the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and recent unexpected climatic events.