-zeroes in on agriculture, mining, construction, eco-tourism, financial services
-says country looking to broaden economic base
PRESIDENT, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has used a business roundtable on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly to promote Guyana’s expanding investment opportunities and economic diversification agenda.
Ali joined private-sector and business leaders at the roundtable hosted by the Americas Society/Council of the Americas in New York, where he highlighted the country’s strong economic growth and opportunities across several non-oil sectors.
According to the President, agriculture, mining, construction, eco-tourism and financial services are among the areas offering opportunities for increased investment as Guyana seeks to broaden its economic base.
“I highlighted Guyana’s strong economic growth and expanding investment opportunities across agriculture, mining, construction, eco-tourism and financial services, while underscoring our commitment to economic diversification, public-private partnerships and improving the lives of all Guyanese,” he said.
Guyana’s 2026 Mid-Year Report estimates that real GDP grew 33.3 per cent in the first half of the year and the non-oil economy grew 10.1 per cent. The full-year growth forecast has been revised to 20.8 per cent, with non-oil growth expected to hit 10.2 per cent.
Mining and quarrying were estimated to have grown by 40.7 per cent in the first half of 2026. Construction was up 24.7 per cent, services 7.2 per cent and manufacturing three per cent.
Agriculture and related activities grew in sugar, rice, livestock, forestry and fishing. The combined agricultural, forestry and fishing sectors contracted marginally on account of excessive rainfall and weakness in other crops.
Government capital expenditure was close to $250 billion in the first half of 2026 and private-sector credit grew 11.5 per cent.
The Mid-Year Report points to ongoing investment in roads, bridges, housing and energy as part of the broader development programme.
Such investment is meaningful even outside of the construction activity it directly generates.
The report references the International Monetary Fund’s 2026 Article IV assessment, which also highlighted the value of diversification, resilience and sustainability, mentioning investments in physical and human capital and improvements particularly in health and education.
The job figures are probably the clearest sign of how the economic transformation is impacting the broader population.
The number of people in employment rose to 421,334, an increase of 156,472 people, between the first quarter of 2020 and the fourth quarter of 2025. At the same time, unemployment fell from 12.8 per cent to 6.2 per cent and labour-force participation rose from 50.4 per cent to 59.2 per cent.
At the end of the first half of 2026, net domestic credit stood at $1.286 billion, an increase of 15.5 per cent over the December 2025 position. Credit to the private sector grew by 11.5 per cent, while credit to households rose by 14.6 per cent year on year.
Real-estate mortgages expanded by 21.2 per cent, which Dr Ali cited as a sign that more Guyanese are buying or improving homes and investing in properties.
“Isn’t this an economy that is healthy? Isn’t this an economy that is demonstrating strength, that is demonstrating diversification, that is demonstrating structural stability? That is what these numbers demonstrate. This is the facts[sic]. This is what we should be debating, facts from fiction,” President Ali said at a recent press conference.
