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Guyana, Neighboring Country of Brazil, Surprises the World with a GDP of US$ 16.7 Billion and Holds the Title of Fastest-Growing Economy in South America. Discover the Reasons!
Guyana, the neighboring country of Brazil with a GDP of US$ 16.7 billion – Fastest Growing Country in South America, is at the center of global attention by undergoing an impressive economic transformation. What was once a predominantly agricultural and mining economy now stands out as the fastest-growing in South America and in the world. Driven by the discovery of vast offshore oil reserves, Guyana has attracted massive international investments, reshaping its economic landscape. In this article, we will explore how the country is consolidating this impressive growth, the strategic sectors that are expanding, and the critical challenges that accompany this rapid development.
Challenges Faced by the Neighboring Country of Brazil
With a population of only 813,000 inhabitants, Guyana has achieved a remarkable rise in its GDP of US$ 16.7 billion, with growth rates reaching 63.4% per year in 2022 and 33% in 2023. As a result, the neighboring country of Brazil quickly moved from being one of the poorest in the continent to now having the second-highest GDP per capita in South America, at US$ 20,000 per inhabitant, second only to Uruguay.
However, despite having the fastest-growing economy in the world, Guyana faces considerable challenges, particularly high social inequality, with 48.8% of the population living in poverty and tensions with Venezuela, which has claimed the Essequibo territory since December 2023, a situation that could result in the loss of 70% of Guyana’s territory.
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It is important to note that before becoming the fastest-growing country in South America, Guyana existed in a context of primary and underdeveloped economy, even by South American standards. This was reflected mainly in its economic dependency on traditional sectors such as agriculture and mining.
Understand How Guyana Is the Fastest-Growing Economy in the World
Between 2015 and 2020, according to World Bank data, the neighboring country of Brazil experienced the largest GDP jump ever recorded among South American countries, moving from an economic growth of only 0.7% per year to an impressive 63.4% per year, making it by far the fastest-growing economy in the world.
In this context, the origin of the GDP of US$ 16.7 billion and the economic growth that has lasted for 9 years in Guyana is the result of the discovery of vast oil reserves in its maritime territory in 2015, when the oil giant Exxon Mobil, in partnership with other associated companies responsible for production in the country, discovered oil reserves in the Stabroek block located off the coast of Guyana.
After that, other discoveries in the region revealed to the world the energy potential of the fastest-growing country in Latin America, as the country has astonishing oil reserves totaling about 11 billion barrels. To put this into perspective, this amount represents approximately 75% of Brazil’s reserves of this resource.
Fastest Growing Country in South America Will Receive Billion-Dollar Investment
Despite these discoveries, the neighboring country of Brazil, which has the fastest-growing economy in the world, only entered the Global Oil Market in 2019, as the country did not have the necessary oil infrastructure to extract resources from the ocean floor. Consequently, this need has required massive investments in the fastest-growing country in South America, primarily from the private sector.
With the consortium of companies led by Exxon Mobil investing in local infrastructure, in addition to successive research and analysis projects of the oil conditions in Guyana, the company recently announced that it will invest more than US$ 12 billion in the country’s oil infrastructure in order to expand production in a project called Whiptail.
This project is expected to add 250,000 barrels of daily capacity by the end of 2027, bringing the country’s production capacity to approximately 1.3 million barrels per day, which would make the neighboring country of Brazil one of the 15 largest oil producers in the world while maintaining and expanding its GDP of US$ 16.7 billion.
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