Guyana’s oil-driven economy has seen the world’s fastest growth in GDP per capita in recent years

Guyana, a small country in South America, has seen the fastest growth in gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the world over the past decade.

This is illustrated in the chart, which shows GDP per capita for Guyana and several other countries, based on estimates from the World Bank.

The data is adjusted for inflation, so Guyana’s sharp growth is not due to price changes over time.

A large and sudden expansion in oil production has driven most of this growth. Between 2020 and 2025, the country’s oil production grew 860%, making it a key contributor to global crude oil supply growth.

Before oil extraction started, Guyana’s GDP per capita was well below the global average. It is now more than three times higher.

It’s too early to see the full effects of this, and hard to measure how far the oil boom has translated into better living standards in the country. Official poverty estimates, for example, have not been published since production began. But there is early evidence of the government channeling oil revenue toward citizens, for instance, through cash grants for every adult, free tuition at public universities, and increasing health spending.

Where this page came from

This page was imported from Our World in Data. “Guyana’s oil-driven economy has seen the world’s fastest growth in GDP per capita in recent years” by Esteban Ortiz-Ospina, Pablo Arriagada, published by Our World in Data under CC BY 4.0. Changed here: set as a page, its interactive charts shown as pictures. Data from third parties keeps its own licence.

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