The Fiscal Responsibility Oversight Committee (FROC) has delivered a generally positive report card on Antigua and Barbuda’s economy, highlighting strong growth and an impressive fiscal turnaround, while cautioning that risks remain on the horizon.
Deputy Chair of the FROC, Professor Justin Robinson of the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus, told Cabinet that GDP expanded by about six percent — the strongest in the Caribbean outside of Guyana. Inflation has eased to around 5–6 percent, and the labor market now accounts for roughly 49,000 jobs.
Most striking, however, was the fiscal balance, which swung from a EC$91.9 million deficit in 2023 to a surplus of EC$86.4 million in 2024, representing an improvement of EC$178.3 million, or about EC$1,900 per capita. For the first time since 2016, Antigua and Barbuda also posted a primary surplus, reversing years of primary deficits. Public debt now stands at about 62.3 percent of GDP — within reach of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s 60 percent benchmark.
Despite the gains, Robinson cautioned that some of the revenue improvements were boosted by one-off items, such as the sale of the luxury yacht Alfa Nero, which cannot be expected annually. He also noted that high wage and pension obligations limit the government’s ability to cut spending quickly, while external factors such as climate shocks and potential slowdowns in the U.S. tourism market pose ongoing risks.
