Jamaica has debts totaling almost $18 billion, equivalent to an astounding 124% of GDP. The situation is so severe that annually Jamaica spends more than twice as much on foreign debt repayments as it does on health and education combined. Despite undergoing almost four decades of austerity in an attempt to tackle the issue, Jamaica does not qualify for any debt relief. It is deemed an ‘upper middle-income’ country, seemingly too rich to require such cancellation schemes.
Grenada is a textbook example of why the economies of small island-states are so vulnerable to external factors. In the early 2000s Grenada had one of the highest growth rates in the Caribbean before it suffered from the double blow of natural disasters and the global financial crisis. In an attempt to help regenerate growth and correct its fiscal imbalances, the government has since taken out IMF bailout loans. However, these loans are said to have actually further destabilised and stagnated the national economy. Grenada now has debts totaling almost $679 million after a recent restructuring agreement.
