Guyana has moved into a lower-risk category under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s country risk classification, an improvement the Finance Ministry says could reduce the cost of financing capital goods for public investment.
The upgrade from Category 5 to Category 4 took effect on October 16, according to a ministry statement issued on Saturday. It is Guyana’s second improvement in recent years, following its move from Category 6 to Category 5 in 2022.
Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh welcomed the decision as a major signal of continued confidence in the economy, saying it reflected international recognition of the Government’s fiscal management, the country’s economic performance and its creditworthiness.
The OECD framework uses a scale from zero to seven to determine minimum premium rates for officially supported export credits. Lower classifications indicate lower assessed country credit risk.
According to the ministry, Guyana now shares Category 4 with countries including The Bahamas, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Paraguay and South Africa. It was one of only two countries upgraded in the latest review.
The classification matters particularly for purchases financed through export credit agencies. A lower-risk category can reduce the minimum premium charged on those transactions, potentially making imported equipment and other capital goods less expensive to finance.
The ministry also said the improvement could strengthen Guyana’s standing with international lenders and development partners, supporting access to more affordable financing.
In outlining the economic performance behind its assessment, the ministry pointed to rapid growth in both the oil and non-oil sectors.
It reported average annual real economic growth of 37.3 per cent between 2020 and 2025, driven mainly by expanding offshore oil production. The non-oil economy grew by an average of 8.2 per cent annually over the same period, while headline inflation averaged 3.5 per cent.
The ministry also highlighted a decline in debt relative to the size of the economy.
Total public debt fell from 47.4 per cent of gross domestic product at the end of 2020 to 28.6 per cent at the end of 2025. External debt declined from 24.1 per cent to 10.8 per cent of GDP over that period, according to the release.
Debt-service payments also accounted for a smaller share of government revenue, falling from eight per cent in 2020 to five per cent in 2025.
Meanwhile, the Natural Resource Fund ended 2025 with US$3.3 billion, a balance the ministry said exceeded the country’s outstanding external debt. The fund had grown to approximately US$5.5 billion by the end of September 2026.
Singh said the upgrade reinforced the Government’s assessment that sustained growth and fiscal discipline were improving the country’s international financial standing.
The ministry said future borrowing would remain focused on projects with clear economic returns, with priority given to the least expensive financing available while keeping debt within prudent limits.
