(Bloomberg) — President Irfaan Ali raised estimates for Guyana’s yearly growth to 42.8% from a prior 34.8%, as he projects “ramped up” investments from the public and private sectors.

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The nation’s economy grew by 49.7% in the first half of 2024, with the oil sector accounting for 67% of that growth, Ali said Saturday on a live webcast. Guyana produced an estimated 113.5 million barrels of oil from January to June, and the oil sector is projected to grow by 56.4% this year, he added.

The world’s biggest oil discovery in a generation transformed Guyana from one of the lowest performing in the region to the fastest growing in the world for two years straight. The Caribbean nation is projected to pump more crude per person than Saudi Arabia or Kuwait by 2027 and is on track to overtake Venezuela as South America’s second-­largest oil producer, after Brazil.

During his remarks, Ali also said non-oil growth was 12.6% for the first six months of 2024. Cane sugar output slumped by 60% in the first half of the year due to a prolonged drought, Ali said.

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