ANOTHER strong indication that Guyana is undergoing a fundamental metamorphosis is the country’s latest economic performance in which the benefits of rapid economic growth are becoming increasingly evident in investment, employment and activity across several sectors.
The 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.
These are staggering figures, especially in the context that Guyana is no longer growing from the relatively small economic base that existed pre-oil era.
What is particularly interesting is that the expansion is not confined to just oil and gas.
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 agriculture, forestry and fishing sector contracted marginally on account of excessive rainfall and weakness in other crops.
The growth in economic activity is substantial. For Guyana, the objective cannot be merely to produce more oil. The bigger national project is to convert the unprecedented revenues generated by the petroleum sector into infrastructure, human capital, businesses and productive industries capable of sustaining prosperity for decades to come.
There is plenty of evidence that this is occurring.
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 program.
Such investment is meaningful even outside of the construction activity it directly generates.
A new road can cut transportation costs and open markets. A bridge can link communities and get commerce flowing. Housing can offer families greater security, and stimulate construction and related industries. Energy investments can improve reliability and form the basis for new economic activity.
This is where the Government’s development strategy deserves commendation, the effort to convert resource wealth into physical and human capital, rather than have oil revenues be separate from the rest of the economy.
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.
That we have 156,000 more people in employment is far more than an impressive statistic.
That means more households earning wages. More families meeting their obligations. More consumers supporting local businesses and more Guyanese gaining experience and skills in a growing economy.
The private sector is also important as it is the largest source of employment in the country, making up 60.4 per cent of employed persons in the fourth quarter of 2025. The share of employment in wholesale and retail trade, construction, public administration, agriculture, forestry and fishing and manufacturing was also high.
That indicates that the change is creating opportunities in a wide array of industries, not just the petroleum industry.
But we cannot afford to become complacent.
Ultimately, economic growth has to be felt beyond the pages of statistical reports. Families need more security.
Younger people need the opportunity to learn skills and have careers. Small and medium-sized businesses have to grow. Farmers require access to markets and infrastructure. The country’s progress must include communities not traditionally known for economic activity.
The Government therefore has a continuing obligation to see to it that the extraordinary revenues now accruing to the State are prudently and transparently invested.
The inflation numbers underscore the importance of that responsibility. Between the end of 2025 and June 2026 there was a 4.4 per cent increase in consumer prices, with food prices a major factor. The 12-month inflation rate was four per cent.
So growth and affordability must go hand in hand. The measures proposed in the Mid-Year Report, including the higher income-tax threshold, the higher old-age pension and public assistance, the cash support, the higher stipends for certain workers and the abolition of the net property tax on individuals, are attempts to make economic expansion into direct support to households.
The trick is to keep that balance as the economy grows.
Guyana is now operating in a climate that would have been hard to conceive a decade ago. The country has the resources, the investment, the growing employment and an unparalleled opportunity to modernize its infrastructure and institutions.
So the challenge for the PPP/C Government is not merely to preside over growth but to convert growth into sustainable national capacity.
That means continuing to invest in education and training so that Guyanese will be able to fill the increasingly sophisticated jobs that will be created.
It means more health care and other essential services. It’s about creating the environment where local business can become suppliers to the large projects and compete regionally and internationally.
It also means observing fiscal and monetary discipline.
According to the Mid-Year Report, the Government continues to stress the sustainable management of public debt. The IMF has indicated macroeconomic policies that are conducive to stability and accumulation of oil revenues in the Natural Resource Fund as part of the country’s fiscal and external buffers.
That discipline will be increasingly important as Guyana wrestles with a fast-expanding economy.
President Irfaan Ali has spoken on numerous occasions about building a Guyana where households will have more opportunities to improve their circumstances. The economic figures now coming to light provide a solid basis on which to pursue that ambition.
The country’s transformation should therefore be viewed not simply through the spectacular headline GDP figure, but through the combination of economic growth, job creation, infrastructure development, diversification and investment in people.
Guyana is moving quickly. The challenge now is to make sure that the momentum continues, that the benefits are broadly shared and that the wealth being created today provides opportunities for generations of Guyanese tomorrow.
The figures are promising. You can see the development.
As long as the country’s resource wealth continues to be directed toward productive investment, human development and national infrastructure, Guyana will be better positioned to convert today’s economic growth into tomorrow’s lasting prosperity.