Investment is a critical lever for addressing the Caribbean’s structural challenges and advancing resilient and sustainable development. Its impact depends not only on the volume of resources mobilised, but also on how investments are planned, implemented and financed. This chapter examines the role of investment in building resilience, which is essential to better face climate change effects, protect livelihoods and harness the natural assets of the region. The analysis focuses on the importance of resilient infrastructure and early warning systems, and underscores the potential of public-private partnerships, stronger institutional and statistical capacities, and deeper regional integration and international co-operation. It then identifies strategic sectors with potential that are directly linked with sustainability and in which investments can play a catalytic role. These include the blue economy, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture and tourism.
Caribbean Development Dynamics 2026
Abstract
Investment is central to unlocking the Caribbean’s development potential and addressing its specific challenges. The region’s context implies three critical dimensions to investment: what is invested (Chapter 1), how it is invested (Chapter 2) and how these investments are financed (Chapter 3). Caribbean economies face important financing gaps alongside structural economic, social and environmental constraints. In this setting, investment must do more than expand capacity and boost growth: it must also be a tool to reduce vulnerability and build resilience. Resilience is fundamental for the region’s development, as well as an instrument to harness the unique assets of Caribbean countries. These assets, in turn, are directly linked to – and can be a driver of – sustainability.
Against this background, this chapter argues that resilience and sustainability are two fundamental policy dimensions and objectives that should guide investment efforts in the Caribbean.
With respect to resilience, the region’s small size, geographic dispersion and extreme exposure to climate shocks means it cannot afford investments that simply fill infrastructure gaps. Investments must also simultaneously reduce vulnerability, enhance preparedness and generate long-term value. Resilience, then, is not an additional feature of investment: it is an essential requirement to protect lives, safeguard economic activity and preserve fiscal sustainability in a context where disasters repeatedly erode development gains and the financial position of countries.
Regarding sustainability, aligning investments with the Caribbean’s comparative advantages and natural capital is as important as building resilience. This approach embeds sustainability at the core of economic transformation. In this respect, the blue economy, renewable energies, sustainable agriculture, transport and tourism, Nature-based Solutions (NbS), the circular economy, creative industries and digital transformation are sectors where Caribbean countries have important assets and where investments could unlock the potential of the region for sustainable development.
Building resilient development is a strategic imperative for the Caribbean. Countries across the region confront recurrent climate shocks, high exposure to hurricanes and flooding, and escalating costs of reconstruction that repeatedly divert scarce fiscal resources. For small, open economies with limited redundancy in productive systems, every disruption has outsized economic, social and environmental consequences. Investing in resilience is, therefore, not only a defensive measure – it is essential for protecting livelihoods, preserving natural assets and sustaining long-term development. Achieving resilient development requires planning and delivering new investments that are climate-resilient and enhance continuity of essential services. This should go hand in hand with initiatives to strengthen countries’ capacity to anticipate, absorb and recover from shocks.
This section examines the key building blocks needed to scale up resilient investment in the Caribbean. It begins by analysing two foundational components – resilient infrastructure and early warning systems (EWS) – that directly reduce exposure and improve preparedness. It then discusses the institutional and financial conditions that enable resilient projects to materialise. Such conditions include the use of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to mobilise expertise and investment, and strengthening project preparation capacities so that investments take place and have a positive impact. The section concludes with cross-cutting dimensions needed for investments to be drivers of resilience. First, robust data and statistical systems are a vital enabling factor to strengthening the institutional framework required to attract effective and efficient investment, while underpinning evidence-based planning, risk assessment and fostering resilience. Second, regional integration and partnerships are fundamental to build synergies and aligning national, regional and international investment agendas.
Resilient infrastructure
Resilient infrastructure is essential for the Caribbean given its high exposure to extreme weather events that generate major social and economic impacts. The region experiences frequent hurricanes, flooding and droughts that damage infrastructure, reduce export capacity, including tourism, and interrupt health and education with long-term consequences (Chapter 1). Natural disasters slow productivity, widen fiscal pressures and undermine long-term development prospects.
Between 1980 and 2020, extreme weather events imposed average annual losses of 2.13% of gross domestic product (GDP) across the Caribbean (OECD/IDB, 2024[1]). The scale of these impacts has been evident in several countries. In 2019, for example, Hurricane Dorian caused economic losses of USD 3.4 billion in The Bahamas (around one-quarter of national GDP at the time). The 67 confirmed deaths, more than 282 missing persons and nearly 30 000 affected people made it the costliest disaster in the country’s recent history (IDB, 2019[2]). In 2025, Hurricane Melissa caused widespread damage in Jamaica even before there was time to recover from Hurricane Beryl, which struck in mid-2024 (Mercer-Blackmann, et al., 2025[3]). The Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic were also affected, demonstrating the continued human and economic toll of such events (Chapter 1).
Infrastructure vulnerability indicators highlight the magnitude of resilience challenges across the Caribbean. The region’s infrastructure is more vulnerable than most Latin American economies, with Antigua and Barbuda, Jamaica, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines showing the highest levels of risk (Figure 2.1). Closing infrastructure gaps with climate-resilient investments is both cost-effective and critical to safeguarding development gains (Chapter 1).
Note: The ND-Gain Infrastructure Vulnerability Country Index captures the exposure and sensitivity of coastal and energy infrastructure to climate change, including preparedness for climate-related disasters, coastal hazards and energy supply disruptions.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on ND-GAIN (2025[4]), Country Rankings, https://gain.nd.edu/our-work/country-index/rankings/.
Delaying investment in resilience substantially increases economic and fiscal risks for Caribbean economies. Underinvestment in climate-resilient infrastructure can reduce GDP growth by nearly one percentage point in the first year. Cumulative losses reach up to 15 percentage points over a decade (Mooney et al., 2025[5]).
Postponing action locks in vulnerabilities, raises future repair and retrofitting costs, and heightens the fiscal burden of post-disaster recovery. A ten-year delay in resilience investments could add up to USD 1 trillion in costs for low‑ and middle‑income countries (Hallegatte, Rentschler and Rozenberg, 2019[6]). Caribbean small island economies have limited fiscal space and constrained access to financial markets. Timely investment is, therefore, essential to safeguard development gains and strengthen debt sustainability. Greater frequency and severity of climate-related natural disasters in countries along the hurricane belt (The Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and Grenada, in particular) calls for special attention to resilient infrastructure while posing an additional constraint: even if resources and capacity were available to add proper resilient infrastructure, there may not be enough time to avoid some damage in the interim.
Investing in resilient infrastructure generates substantial economic benefits and supports long-term development. Every dollar spent on resilient infrastructure can yield up to USD 4 in economic benefits in developing countries by mitigating future losses and ensuring continuous service delivery (Hallegatte, Rentschler and Rozenberg, 2019[6]). In the Caribbean, closing the infrastructure investment gap to attain the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 is estimated at around USD 250 per capita annually1 (Brichetti et al., 2021[7]) (Chapter 1). About half of that would need to be invested in maintenance.
Such investments would catalyse a virtuous circle: enhanced resilience attracts more stable investment, improved infrastructure boosts productivity and stronger public finances enable greater developmental expenditure. This provides a sustainable pathway to help close the region's low-productivity trap.
Resilient infrastructure refers to assets that are planned, designed, constructed and operated to anticipate, withstand and adapt to the impacts of a changing climate. This applies to both new and existing infrastructure, which may require retrofitting or operational adjustments as climate risks intensify. Because infrastructure is capital-intensive and long-lived, decisions today about its location, design and management will shape vulnerability for decades. This makes it essential to integrate resilience rather than lock in future risks (OECD, 2024[8]). Physical climate-resilient measures in infrastructure include engineered (grey) and NbS, which can be used individually or in combination (integrated solutions), depending on the sector and climate risks (Box 2.1).
Countries can deploy a portfolio of physical measures to strengthen infrastructure resilience to climate and disaster risks. These measures fall into three broad categories:
Grey (engineered) solutions consist of fully engineered, built structures designed to provide protection, storage and drainage. They include dams and reservoirs, stormwater drainage networks, seawalls, dikes and breakwaters, elevated roads and reinforced bridges. When sustainably designed and managed, these assets can play an important role in both climate mitigation and adaptation (IDB, 2024[9]).
Nature‑based Solutions (NbS) are measures that protect, sustainably manage or restore nature (OECD, 2024[8]). They include mangroves, coral and oyster reefs, dunes and wetlands, and reforested watersheds. They dissipate wave energy, reduce erosion, regulate water flows and improve water security while supporting biodiversity and local livelihoods. Regional initiatives such as the Caribbean Environmental Programme are helping standardise NbS for coastal management, biodiversity conservation and sustainable water security.
Integrated grey solutions and NbS are hybrid approaches that combine engineered structures with conserved or restored ecosystems to deliver more resilient and cost‑effective protection. Examples include seawalls paired with mangrove belts, levees integrated with reconnected floodplains, wetland restoration incorporated into flood-control systems, and permeable pavement or green roofs complementing drainage infrastructure (IDB, 2024[9]).
Caribbean countries are advancing climate-resilient infrastructure across key sectors. Economies in the region are increasingly adopting a mix of engineered nature-based and integrated solutions in areas such as coastal protection, energy and transport. As regional governments implement these targeted projects, they enhance both the long-term physical and economic resilience of their economies against intensifying climate hazards. Table 2.1 presents selected recent initiatives that illustrate how these approaches are being translated into concrete projects across the region.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on UWI Sodeco (2020[10]), Blue Carbon Mangrove Restoration in South Clarendon, https://www.uwisodeco.com/projects/db-defra-blue-carbon-mangrove-restoration-in-south-clarendon-; Oliver et al. (2021[11]), Nature-based Solutions in Latin America and the Caribbean: Support from the Inter-American Development Bank, http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0003689; World Bank (2024[12]) Dominica Geothermal Risk Mitigation II Project, https://projects.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/project-detail/P179845; World Bank (2024[13]), Beryl Emergency Response and Recovery Project, https://projects.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/project-detail/P507190; James et al. (2025[14]), Building Resilience with Nature: Lessons from WINDREF’s Innovative Grey-Green Infrastructure Project in Grenada, https://caribbeanbiodiversityfund.org/coral-health-articles/building-resilience-with-nature-lessons-from-windrefs-innovative-grey-green-infrastructure-project-in-grenada/.
National adaptation plans (NAPs) can play a central role in prioritising and guiding investments in resilient infrastructure across the Caribbean. Such plans provide a comprehensive framework to reduce climate vulnerability, strengthen resilience and build adaptive capacity. In so doing, they help governments align planning, standards and budgeting with long-term climate risks.
Integrating infrastructure as a priority sector within NAPs is particularly valuable as it enables countries to map vulnerabilities, define investment needs and co‑ordinate actions. Several Caribbean countries have submitted NAPs under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, including Antigua and Barbuda (2024 and 2025), Grenada (2019 and 2025), Haiti (2023), Saint Lucia (2018), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (2019), Suriname (2020), and Trinidad and Tobago (2023 and 2024).
Saint Lucia and Grenada have developed sectoral adaptation plans. Only 15 sectoral plans had been submitted globally by December 2025. In Saint Lucia, the Sectoral Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan identifies infrastructure as a priority. It includes upgrades to roads, drainage systems, coastal defences and public buildings, guiding major investments such as the Disaster Vulnerability Reduction Project (OECD/IDB, 2024[1]).
A strong institutional environment is essential to ensure coherent, long‑term and locally adapted resilience efforts. National and local policies need to integrate climate risks within planning frameworks, standards and budgeting processes. Meanwhile, modern building codes aligned with regional hazards guide investment decisions. Co‑ordination and communication across government agencies, infrastructure operators, communities and development partners helps identify shared vulnerabilities, manage interdependencies and ensure that resilience measures are consistent across sectors (OECD, 2024[8]; Cont et al., 2025[15]).
Early warning systems
Limited access to timely, accurate climate information and early warning systems (EWS) can constrain disaster preparedness across many developing countries, including the Caribbean. Where exposure is concentrated, often in densely populated coastal and urban corridors, these gaps translate into slower, less effective responses and higher human and economic losses, undermining broader climate‐resilience efforts (OECD, 2023[16]). Strengthening EWS is, therefore, not only a technical upgrade, it is a core institution‑building strategy that improves how the state anticipates risk, co-ordinates actors and protects critical infrastructure and livelihoods. This is in addition to insuring for post-disaster recovery, as discussed in Chapter 3.
An effective EWS is an integrated socio-technical process that converts data into actionable intelligence and triggers timely, appropriate responses. Its essential functions include i) multi-hazard risk knowledge; ii) hazard monitoring and forecasting; iii) dissemination of clear, understandable warnings; and iv) preparedness and response capacity among authorities and communities.
Delivering these functions requires a comprehensive approach spanning: i) access to technology (robust observing networks, forecasting models and reliable alert channels); ii) governance (clear mandates, decision rights and rehearsed standard operating procedures for evacuation and response; and iii) the social dimension (risk literacy, community drills and last mile communication so people understand and act on warnings) (EW4All, 2025[17]). Well-designed EWS are among the most cost-effective climate adaptation measures because they reduce avoidable losses and shorten recovery times (OECD/IDB, 2024[1]).
Several Caribbean countries have been frontrunners in the development of EWS. Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines have developed national EWS assessments and roadmaps. They were supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA). Their initiatives promote the exchange of good practices and tools that strengthen risk knowledge, monitoring systems and national response capacities (CDEMA, 2024[18]; OECD/IDB, 2024[1]). A recent illustration of effective EWS is Hurricane Melissa in Jamaica. Despite being a Category 5 storm, the associated death toll (45 as of November 2025) was comparable to that of Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, a less severe Category 3 event (Chapter 1). Estimated physical damage amounted to around 56.7% of GDP, lower than the 65% recorded for Hurricane Gilbert (Jamaica Information System, 2026[19]). This figure suggests that disaster preparedness and response capacity have improved over time, including through more effective EWS (IBRD/World Bank, 2025[20])
Nonetheless, progress on EWS has been uneven, reflecting constraints such as high staff turnover, institutional fragmentation, weak communications infrastructure and limited community preparedness. For example, several countries continue to lag in institutionalising EWS, including Guyana, where around 90% of the population lives in low-lying coastal areas that are particularly exposed to hazards, with much of the territory located approximately six feet below sea level. Other relevant specific gaps include: insufficient forecasting for secondary hazards (e.g. coastal inundation, riverine and flash floods); weak co‑operation between National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and disaster risk management agencies; and low public awareness that blunts the impact of warnings (WMO, 2018[21]). Addressing these deficits calls for institutional solutions – inter‑agency agreements, interoperable data standards, joint exercises and continuous public outreach – alongside equipment upgrades.
Building modern EWS is a strategic pathway to stronger institutions. It sharpens public decision making in uncertainty, enhances co‑ordination and makes resilience a routine, accountable function of government. Some examples of how EWS can be embedded in the core machinery of the state include statutory mandates that clarify roles across meteorological, water, disaster, health, transport and security agencies; multi‑year budgets that cover operations and maintenance, not just capital purchases; workforce development and retention to mitigate turnover; integrated data governance (asset registries, hazard‑exposure databases and open standards) to enable real‑time analytics and performance management with clear metrics (lead time, forecast skill, alert delivery rates, response coverage).
Linking warnings to pre‑agreed standard operating procedures helps close the “last mile” between forecasts and action. Where feasible, triggers for anticipatory or forecast‑based financing to enable rapid response should be defined in advance (Chapter 3). Aligning warnings to infrastructure planning (EWS-informed siting, design standards and contingency operations for energy, transport, water and communications systems) reduces downtime and protects investments (OECD, 2024[8]).
The role of public-private partnerships
When properly designed, contracted and executed, public-private partnerships (PPPs) can be a critical means of catalysing new sources of private expertise and finance for critical public infrastructure. PPPs are generally understood as long-term contractual arrangements between a government entity and a private partner to provide a public asset or service. In the Caribbean, PPPs can support more efficient infrastructure delivery; diversify funding sources, including through user-pay mechanisms, and broaden access to global debt and equity markets. Embedding climate resilience and environmental sustainability into PPP design and implementation is critical to maximising the durability and value of PPP-financed infrastructure. This is especially true given the region’s high exposure to natural hazards and climate change.
PPPs have been used in the Caribbean to deliver or upgrade roads, ports, airports, electricity generation plants, bulk water treatment facilities and educative infrastructure, among others. Some recent examples include airport development (Trinidad and Tobago in 2021, the Bahamas in 2020 and Belize between 2016‑2020), education infrastructure (Grenada from 2014‑2019), a power plant project (the Dominican Republic in the mid‑2010s) and a desalinisation plant (Trinidad and Tobago in the mid‑2000s). Many of these projects have operated successfully over long periods, providing high‑quality infrastructure services. Others have faced challenges, resulting in significant delays or, in some cases, generating limited value for money or unforeseen fiscal or consumer costs.
PPPs are a growing priority in national agendas. Trinidad and Tobago was among the three countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) that implemented key PPP regulatory updates in 2024 alongside Ecuador and Paraguay (IDB/Economist, 2025[22]). Moreover, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica and Guyana were the Caribbean countries that carried out Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI) transactions in 2024. Guyana recorded in 2024 its first such project since 2002 at a cost of USD 14 million: modernisation and expansion of the Port of Georgetown (World Bank, 2024[23]).
The volume of PPP investment in the Caribbean as a share of GDP averaged 0.38%, compared with 0.54% in Latin America from 2010 until 2024 (Figure 2.2). In that period, PPP investment remained below 1%, until reaching 1.3% in 2024. Between 2010 and 2019, PPP investment averaged 0.31% of regional GDP, fell to a historic low during the pandemic (0.03% in 2021) and gradually recovered to 0.46% in 2023 before reaching its historic peak in 2024 (Figure 2.2, Panel A). At the national level, from 2010 to 2024, PPP investment relative to GDP was highest in Jamaica (0.88%), followed by Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (0.63%), the Dominican Republic (0.40%), and Saint Kitts and Nevis (0.33%) (Figure 2.2, Panel B).
All 55 PPP projects in the Caribbean show a similar trend. Prior to 2020, the region averaged three projects per year, activity slowed during the pandemic and subsequently rebounded. In 2023, there were 11 projects, the highest number in a single year (Figure 2.2, Panel A). Most projects were concentrated in larger economies, like the Dominican Republic (34) and Jamaica (14) (Figure 2.2, Panel B). Over the same period, Latin America recorded 1 304 projects.
Note: The World Bank’s Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI) database records contractual arrangements for public infrastructure projects that have reached financial closure in which private parties assume operating risks by covering projects with at least a 20% private ownership stake (except for divestitures, which are included with at least a 5% stake) and may include public participation. The World Bank’s estimation of the percentage of GDP considers all kinds of projects, including those interrupted and cancelled. “Total investment” is the sum of investment in physical assets and payments to the government; it is recorded in millions of USD. The World Bank Indicator “GDP at current USD” was used to build the ratio with the total investment’s variable. In Panel A, the values for the Caribbean for total GDP and total investment of PPPs include nine countries: Belize, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Suriname. In Panel B, the GDP for each country was calculated as the sum of annual GDP values for the years 2010‑2024.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on World Bank (2025[24]), World Development Indicators, https://datatopics.worldbank.org/world-development-indicators/; World Bank (2025[25]), Private Participation in Infrastructure (PPI): 2024 Annual Report, https://ppi.worldbank.org/en/snapshots/region/latin-america-and-the-caribbean.
PPPs should adapt to the specific context where they act. Despite the many potential benefits of PPPs, some costs and residual risks to governments may not be justified. Governments implementing PPPs should develop technical expertise and institutional capacities to identify the best investment tool according to the type of project. These include a wide range of activities along the project cycle – from strategic planning and risk assessment to cost-benefit and value-for-money analyses. PPPs are not justified for governments, for example, when transferring risks to the private sector can result in higher capital costs. Such high costs mainly come from higher debt yields faced by the private partner and from the project sponsors’ required return on equity, which is not relevant for purely public infrastructure projects. PPPs can have important fiscal consequences that should be closely evaluated. These range from inter‑temporal changes in government revenues (as when revenue-generating public infrastructure is sold to private parties) to potentially large increases in contingent liabilities (as when PPP contracts require governments to make up for shortfalls in revenues).
The Infrascope Index2 identifies five key categories that create an enabling environment for PPPs in a country: regulations and institutions; project preparation and sustainability; financing; risk management and contract monitoring; and performance evaluation and impact. The Index evaluates, scores and ranks countries on over 100 indicators across the five categories, as well as in four dimensions for each category: nascent (0 to <30); emerging (30 to <60); developed (60 to <80) and mature (80 to 100) (IDB/Economist, 2025[22]). The Index is developed by the Inter‑American Development Bank (IDB) and the Economist Impact.
Caribbean countries for which data are available show considerable scope for strengthening their ecosystems for PPPs. Across the five categories of the Infrascope Index, the Latin American average outperforms the Caribbean. The best relative performance of Caribbean countries is in the regulations and institutions category. Almost all countries in the region have adopted policies or regulations that enable implementation of PPPs (categorised as “emerging” whereas in Latin America they are considered “developed”).
However, even when within the regulations and institutions category, institutions involved in Caribbean countries reveal a widespread lack of capacity and co‑ordination. In the second and the third categories with best relative average performance for the Caribbean (financing, and risk management and contract monitoring) the region averaged 41.7, compared to 58.3 for Latin America for financing and 37.1, compared to 54.3 in Latin America for risk management and contract monitoring. Nonetheless, in both categories, the Caribbean region is characterised as “emerging” (Figure 2.3).
Note: Score 0-100 where 100=best. For each of the five Infrascope Index categories presented, four dimensions of advancement are defined: nascent (0 to <30); emerging (30 to <60); developed (60 to <80) and mature (80 to 100). The Index covers 26 LAC countries: Argentina, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Source: Authors’ calculation based on IDB/Economist (2025[22]), Infrascope 2023/24, https://impact.economist.com/new-globalisation/infrascope-2024/en/.
Performance ex-post evaluation and impact, and project preparation and sustainability are two main challenges identified in the Index. In these areas, Caribbean countries perform, on average, in a “nascent” phase (15.6 and 20.6, respectively), while Latin America is categorised as “emerging” (32.3 and 48.2, respectively) (Figure 2.3). Over 60% of projects in the Caribbean PPP pipeline remain at the concept stage and fewer than 20% advance to implementation. This limited progress largely reflects capacity constraints within governments, particularly for taking projects through the rigours of the business case and implementation stages (WB/CDB/IDB, 2017[26]). The ONE Caribbean Project Preparation Coordination Mechanism (PPCM) could provide an impulse to the needed first steps (Box 2.2).
A persistent constraint across the Caribbean is the limited capacity to translate development priorities into well-prepared, bankable projects that can secure financing and move to implementation at scale. This “project preparation gap” is especially binding for complex infrastructure and PPP transactions, where weak upstream preparation, fragmented coordination and insufficient feasibility work increase transaction costs and deter investor participation.
To close this gap, and learning from experiences from more than 19 project preparation facilities, the IDB Group’s flagship regional programme, ONE Caribbean, established a Project Preparation Coordination Mechanism (PPCM) which brings together expertise from IDB, IDB Invest and IDB Lab, and builds long term partnerships with key regional partners, including CaribExport and investment promotion agencies, to provide a well-co-ordinated and enhanced project preparation offer to catalyse investment into the region. Eligible projects can be public, private or PPP, but must respond to country priorities and demonstrate the potential for regional impact or replicability. Flexible support is provided for both upstream activities – creating an enabling environment for project implementation, including strengthening regulatory, institutional and infrastructure planning frameworks to support efficient and sustainable public and private investment; and downstream project feasibility and structuring – supporting technical, commercial, environmental, fiscal and social assessments, including developing financial models, technical designs and legal documentation for procurement. A streamlined application process has enabled more than 30 projects to be assessed for support in its first 9 months of operation (IDB, 2025[27]).
Major related challenges are the integration of PPPs into public investment planning processes, how PPPs are considered as a contracting modality and how projects are selected, prepared and structured to ensure operational and financial viability. These challenges affect the chances of success of PPP projects. Collecting information on the performance of the contract during its lifecycle – and after the agreement and partnership have concluded – provides valuable lessons that can improve how future projects are prepared and avoid repeating past mistakes. Experiences working in the promotion of PPPs in the Caribbean highlight several lessons for governments and private sector participants wishing to set the stage for future partnerships and transactions:
Strong regulatory and institutional foundations are a core enabler for investment. Clear legal frameworks and capable institutions foster investor confidence, mitigate risk and ensure effective fiscal oversight. Government teams with legal, financial and engineering expertise are vital to adequately structure, tender and execute projects. These capabilities help reduce transaction risks and support long-term project viability. When internal capacity is limited, early involvement of experienced advisers can bridge gaps and align project design with market expectations and international best practices. Sustained political commitment is also critical to project success.
Project design shapes market interest. Embedding fair and balanced risk allocation in projects, particularly for events that qualify as force majeure, financial equilibrium and termination procedures helps attract investors and ensure project stability. Phasing infrastructure investments to match demand can limit financial exposure and increase adaptability. In the Caribbean, where several countries may pursue similar infrastructure projects, aligning investments with regional demand helps avoid overcapacity and improves project sustainability. Moreover, allocating project risks ex ante is often challenging even under favourable conditions and becomes particularly difficult in small markets.
Private partner capabilities drive performance. The success of PPPs depends heavily on the technical skills, operational track record and financial strength of the private sponsor. Competent sponsors can design and deliver projects effectively, meet service standards and apply proven practices from other contexts. Financially resilient partners are better equipped to manage risks and maintain consistent service over time. In some Caribbean countries, the size of the market limits the number of investors that can compete for the project and know-how from the private sector is sometimes lacking.
Development finance institutions (DFIs) can play a catalytic role. Multilateral involvement – such as the financing and mobilisation efforts of IDB Invest – can play a significant role in project financing by extending loan tenors, mitigating risk and increasing lender participation. For instance, through its financing of the Rio Cobre Water Plant PPP in Jamaica in 2024, IDB Invest mobilised financing from Proparco, Sagicor Bank Jamaica Limited and the Development Bank of Jamaica. The financing has a repayment period of up to 20 years, terms previously unavailable in the local market.
Disaster-related risks and requirements must be fully accounted for and considered. As noted above, the Caribbean faces outsized risks with respect to the implications of disasters for infrastructure. In this context, the IDB developed a toolkit to guide countries in structuring climate-resilient PPPs (see Box 2.3. IDB’s resilient public-private partnership toolkit). The toolkit provides a comprehensive approach to environmental sustainability and climate resilience for infrastructure in the context of PPPs. Experience to date suggests that following such an approach can improve the prospects for private participation, as well as the quality, efficiency and resilience of resulting physical capital.
Citizen participation in PPPs can help strengthen transparency, accountability and social inclusion, thereby enhancing the credibility of projects. By integrating diverse perspectives, participatory processes support more informed and inclusive decision making, increase social acceptance and reduce the risk of public opposition. Effective engagement also helps identify local needs, enabling better targeted and more sustainable outcomes (OECD et al., 2023[28]). To ensure participation produces a tangible impact rather than remaining a procedural formality, it is crucial to build citizens’ capacity for meaningful involvement (ECLAC, 2020[29]). Given the long-term nature of infrastructure projects, regular consultations with private sector stakeholders throughout the investment cycle can prevent disruptions and mitigate conflict. Additionally, incorporating comprehensive environmental impact assessments in the planning stages of PPPs is essential to address potential tensions between infrastructure development and long-term sustainability objectives (OECD, 2008[30]).
Performance evaluation and ex-post impact assessment are critical. Systematic monitoring and evaluation after project completion are essential to assess whether PPPs deliver the expected economic, social and environmental outcomes. Robust ex-post assessments help strengthen accountability, inform improvements in future PPP design and policy frameworks, promote greater transparency and allow governments to adjust contracts or operational arrangements where necessary.
In the face of challenges posed by disasters and climate change, as well as by growing interest in an expanded role for the private sector in delivering infrastructure, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) developed a practical toolkit to guide countries in structuring climate-resilient public-private partnerships (PPPs). The toolkit provides a comprehensive approach to environmental sustainability and climate resilience for infrastructure developed under PPP arrangements. The first version, initially developed in partnership with the Development Bank of Jamaica, considers the Caribbean context and related needs. It was later expanded to incorporate a broader geographic and multi‑sectoral perspective.
The toolkit structures the integration of climate resilience into PPP projects in four phases: i) preparation, when projects undergo an initial climate and natural disaster risk screening, including climate and resilience targets and indicators; ii) structuring, which involves deeper vulnerability assessments and the incorporation of resilience into the business case, as well as the integration of resilience into cost estimates and the development of a financial and economic feasibility analysis (including a fiscal and environmental impact assessment); iii) transaction, when resilience requirements are incorporated into tender documents and contracts, and climate financing options are explored; and iv) contract management, which ensures ongoing monitoring, adaptation and enforcement of resilience measures throughout the project lifecycle.
Beyond project-level practical steps, the toolkit calls for integrating climate criteria into PPP policies, updating project evaluation frameworks and developing climate-risk screening tools and data platforms. This broader policy approach to climate resilience was instrumental in enabling Jamaica – supported by the IDB – to incorporate climate change requirements into its PPP legal framework. This reform is part of the country’s broader strategy to address climate risks to physical infrastructure, the financial system, and fiscal and external positions. The strategy has been reinforced by collaborative efforts between the IDB and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). The RSF provided USD 764 million to Jamaica to strengthen physical and fiscal resilience to climate change, advance decarbonisation of the economy and manage transition risks.
The toolkit is being applied to the first pilot project, a PPP wastewater treatment plant expansion in Jamaica. The approach is fully consistent with the IMF’s RSF-supported programme, which aims to catalyse climate finance by introducing systematic, coherent and scalable approaches for adaptation and mitigation needs (Donadi et al., 2024[31]).
Institutional and statistical capacities
The capacity of Caribbean countries to build resilience depends strongly on the effectiveness of their public institutions, with data and statistical systems playing a central and enabling role. Robust data and statistical systems are a critical enabler of effective institutional frameworks, supporting the attraction of quality investment while promoting resilience, including through the development of effective early warning systems. This is particularly important in the Caribbean region where statistical capacity remains limited.
Perceived levels of government effectiveness vary widely across Caribbean countries. Most perform above the LAC average, although they continue to lag behind OECD Member countries (Figure 2.4). The effectiveness of public institutions reflects a range of interconnected factors. This section focuses on an area where Caribbean countries exhibit notable challenges and opportunities: strengthening data quality and comparability for evidence-based policymaking.
Note: The government effectiveness indicator relies exclusively on perception data from surveys of firms and households, and experts’ assessments. It reflects the quality of public services, quality of the civil service and degree of its independence from political pressures, quality of policy formulation and implementation, and credibility of the government's commitment to such policies. The y-axis shows the country's ranking among all countries with available data for the indicator, with 0 corresponding to lowest ranking and 100 to highest. The ranking of countries should be interpreted cautiously as the 90% confidence intervals are broad.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on World Bank (2023[32]), World Development Indicators, https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators.
Well-developed national statistical systems (NSS) are essential for strengthening public institutions and supporting evidence-based policymaking, as well as to support a more resilient development model. Caribbean countries have made progress in enhancing their statistical capacities in recent years: the region’s overall Statistical Performance Indicator (SPI) score increased by 29% – from 43.1 in 2016 to 55.6 in 2022. However, this remains below the global average (68.8) and significantly below Latin America (74.4) and the OECD (89.7) (Figure 2.5). Progress is also uneven across the region, with only half of Caribbean countries with available data implementing a national statistical plan in 2025 (Belize, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines).
Better data systems and real‑time analytics are foundational. Governments can develop integrated hazard and exposure databases, infrastructure asset registries and performance dashboards to improve sighting of hazards, design standards and maintenance. Real‑time monitoring and early‑warning capabilities strengthen emergency response, shorten downtime and support evidence‑based decisions about when to keep, retrofit or relocate critical assets.
Further improvements in data quality can be achieved through the production of more comprehensive and accurate survey, census, administrative and geospatial data, as well as by promoting data contributions from the private sector and citizens (World Bank, 2021[33]). International organisations have supported important partnerships to improve data quality in the region. For example, IDB Compete Caribbean programme is completing the second set of enterprise surveys using World Bank Enterprise Survey methodologies in early 2026, while performing poverty assessments based on household surveys in Suriname. Trinidad and Tobago’s and Barbados’ statistics agencies are being developed and used for policymaking with assistance from the IDB. The IDB is working with various Caribbean countries, starting with The Bahamas National Statistics Institute, to develop a Nowcasting Framework for data producers and spearheading various initiatives to use administrative and unstructured data to measure economic activity in the region.
Note: The Latin American average considers 17 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. The Caribbean average considers 15 countries:
Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. The OECD average includes all OECD Member countries. The SPI monitors progress of NSS and identifies areas for further improvement among five different components: i) data use; ii) data services; iii) data products; iv) data sources and v) data infrastructure.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on World Bank (2025[34]), Statistical Performance Indicators, https://datanalytics.worldbank.org/SPI/.
In addition, stronger legal frameworks, more robust institutional arrangements, harmonised statistical standards and enhanced statistical literacy among data producers and users can help build more resilient and effective data ecosystems (World Bank, 2021[33]). The Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21) strengthens statistical systems by putting data at the centre of decision making for inclusive and sustainable development (Box 2.4).
The Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21) strengthens statistical systems by putting data at the centre of decision making for inclusive and sustainable development. It supports national statistical systems (NSS) in innovation, capacity development, financing and data use, positioning them as key actors in evidence-based policy. PARIS21 prioritises countries in fragile contexts; low- and middle-income settings; least developed countries; and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), including the Caribbean. In the past three years, PARIS21 has worked with countries such as Belize, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, while also providing support at the regional level.
Data strategic planning adapted to the Caribbean context
PARIS21 has supported countries in developing National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS). These national plans co‑ordinate statistical activities to respond to policymaking and global reporting needs and help mobilise financing for statistics.
PARIS21 recognises the unique challenges of Caribbean NSS – where systems are small and staff often cover multiple roles. Consequently, it tailors its support to make strategies realistic and achievable. While NSDS in larger countries may cover 15‑20 sectors, in the Caribbean they prioritise key areas to maximise limited capacity (Table 2.2).
Mobilising sustainable investment for data and statistics
PARIS21 promotes the inclusion of costed action plans and endorsement of the NSDS at the highest political level to ensure sustainable domestic and external resource mobilisation. A well-costed and officially endorsed NSDS becomes a powerful tool for national statistical offices (NSOs) to secure funding and co‑ordinate national efforts in data and statistics. In Belize, for example, the Cabinet endorsed the NSDS, raising the visibility of statistics at the highest level. This recognition has helped mobilise both internal resources and support from development partners for its implementation.
Mainstreaming climate change data into policy and action
Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing Caribbean countries. NSOs are increasingly called upon to provide the data needed for effective action. Yet, having data is not enough – their impact depends on the ability to use them. To address this, PARIS21 delivers training programmes that build the skills of policymakers, civil society and other data users to communicate climate statistics through storytelling and visualisation, turning information into actionable insights at national and subnational levels. In Jamaica, the training programme resulted in using data to promote waste management, mangroves protection and Nature-based Solutions.
Knowledge sharing and partnerships
PARIS21 works closely with regional and international partners, including the Caribbean Development Bank, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN-ECLAC) to align support, reduce duplication and mobilise funding to strengthen NSS across the Caribbean. Recognising that stakeholders from the region cannot always attend regional and global events, PARIS21 creates opportunities to ensure their voices are heard. For example, at the annual UN Statistical Commission, PARIS21 chairs a SIDS roundtable, providing a dedicated space for Caribbean representatives to exchange experiences and explore solutions to shared challenges (PARIS21, 2025[35]).
A strong statistical system depends on human capital, and institutional and organisational support. Skilled statisticians, data managers and analysts are essential to produce timely, reliable and policy-relevant data that support evidence-based decision making. Strengthening capacity within national statistical offices and across NSS – from leadership and strategic planning to technical competencies and data governance – enables countries to meet growing data demands, monitor progress towards development goals and design effective policies. Enhancing the skills of individuals working in statistical systems is a core pillar of statistical capacity development. High turnover and insufficient pay relative to other options means that it is difficult to maintain core technical teams in the various departments. Robust capacity building also requires legal, institutional and organisational support, sometimes external. This enables qualified professionals to apply international standards and best practices in data production and dissemination (Patiño, Cázarez and Kang, 2025[36]).
The specific challenges facing Caribbean NSS should be considered to enhance the effective use of data for policymaking. National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) provides a co‑ordinated national framework for statistical production, aligned with policy priorities and global reporting requirements, and supports efforts to mobilise financing for statistics. Given the small size of statistical offices and the need for staff to cover multiple functions, Caribbean NSS must prioritise key areas to maximise limited capacity. The main priorities for data production and use in current NSDS in the Caribbean are education, health, agriculture, economic and social development, and environment/climate change, underscoring a strong focus on human development and climate resilience (Table 2.2). For example, Grenada’s NSDS focuses on nine sectors, including agriculture, health, education, tourism and – for the first time – climate change, reflecting the growing demand for such data in highly vulnerable countries.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on PARIS21 (2025[35]), Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century, https://www.paris21.org/.
Caribbean countries have been applying new data technologies to increase resilience. Belize, and Saint Kitts and Nevis, have piloted the Emergency Resources Mapping Project to strengthen disaster resilience through open data and participatory mapping in 2024 and 2025, respectively. In Belize, for example, the project developed an open, geo-referenced database of key emergency resources in five cities, including the capital. It also trained 30 volunteers that could support future emergency mapping. Finally, it helped enhance Belize’s National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) capacity to integrate OpenStreetMap (OSM) data into planning, mitigation and EWS (HOTOSM, 2025[37]). The Pegasus Caribbean Project equips communities in Jamaica and Saint Lucia with geospatial tools and training to enhance disaster preparedness, strengthen resilience and support evidence-based risk management across the Caribbean (HOTOSM, 2025[37]). Moreover, the Open Data for Resilience and Risk Management Initiative in the Caribbean has helped Saint Lucia’s NEMO and its national Central Statistics Office to capture strategic data. This helps better protect the needs of populations clustered in low-lying coastal areas and aims to create an OSM community. Similarly, it is helping local communities in Dominica to use mapping tools to address local challenges. For its part, Jamaica is using open mapping tools to analyse solid waste accumulation and its effect on urban flooding and harbour pollution (HOTOSM, 2025[37]).
Regional integration and international partnerships
Regional integration has long been a cornerstone of the Caribbean’s development strategy, generating a dense institutional ecosystem that supports collective action. The region benefits from well-established mechanisms, such as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Association of Caribbean States. These complement organisations like the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Caribbean Export Development Agency that provide development co-operation and financing (Figure 2.6). All Caribbean states also participate in the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the region’s principal platform for political dialogue. Some countries engage in additional arrangements, such as the Central American Integration System (SICA). Despite this extensive architecture, considerable potential remains to deepen co‑operation, strengthen institutional coherence and better leverage regional mechanisms to mobilise resources and attract quality investment aligned with the Caribbean’s development priorities.
Note: Dashed borders indicate co-operation and/or financing organisations, while continued borders indicate integration blocs. ACS=Association of Caribbean States; CARICOM=Caribbean Community; CDB=Caribbean Development Bank; CEDA=Caribbean Export Development Agency; CELAC=Community of Latin American and Caribbean States; SICA=Central American Integration System.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on OECD/IDB (2024[1]), Caribbean Development Dynamics 2025, https://doi.org/10.1787/a8e79405-en.
Building an enabling environment for investment in resilience is both a country-specific and a regional challenge. Climate adaptation in the Caribbean relates to conservation efforts and preservation of shared natural capital, as well as commonalities in the risk map. As such, it calls for greater co‑ordination, including with international organisations. This is especially true when it comes to vulnerabilities to natural disasters. For these reasons, regional integration and international partnerships can help build climate-resilient societies in the Caribbean, for example, by supporting resilient infrastructure, EWS, PPPs, and institutional and statistical capabilities.
Regional and international co-operation can also play a key role to promote resilient infrastructure. The Caribbean Regional Resilience Building Facility, for example, supports countries through evidence-based analysis, capacity building and co-financing for resilient investments. Strengthening institutional awareness and technical capacity across planners, designers and operators ensures that resilience commitments translate into long-term implementation (OECD, 2024[8]; Cont et al., 2025[15]).
Regional co-operation on disaster risk management in the Caribbean is essential, particularly in early warning, preparedness and post-disaster recovery. The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) co-ordinates emergency response across CARICOM, generating economies of scale and providing more efficient logistics and operational support than individual countries could achieve alone. Its comprehensive approach covers all phases of the disaster management cycle. This includes development of a regional information system to strengthen risk awareness, preparedness and evidence-based decision making (Al-Hassan et al., 2020[38]). Complementing this, the Caribbean Tourism Organization, with IDB support, has introduced a regional monitoring and evaluation system for disaster risk management and climate adaptation in the tourism sector. The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility provides an additional regional public good by offering innovative parametric insurance to help countries manage the fiscal impacts of disasters (Chapter 3).
International partnerships can accelerate capability building on EWS. The Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) Caribbean Project is strengthening regional and national hydrometeorological services, multi‑hazard impact‑based warning capacity and service delivery for decision making. The CREWS has strategic partnerships with the CDB, the Caribbean Meteorological Organization, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF). In this way, it is strengthening resilience in the region through the fully grant-financed Climate Information and Early Warning System project in Belize, and Trinidad and Tobago for USD 27 million (CDB, 2025[39]).
More broadly, the CREWS Global Initiative provides a multilateral funding platform for technology transfer, specialised training and operational financing. This enables countries to generate and communicate impact‑based, multi‑hazard, gender‑informed warnings that protect lives, livelihoods and assets. It takes a people‑centred approach, prioritising vulnerable groups, such as women, children and older persons. To that end, it ensures alerts reach vulnerable groups early, safely and in formats they can act upon. Such an inclusive approach improves both equity and effectiveness.
International co-operation and deeper regional integration can also play a catalytic role in expanding the use of PPPs to attract quality investment in the Caribbean. Development finance institutions (DFIs) can provide technical assistance, facilitate knowledge exchange and support multi-country project development, reducing transaction costs and improving the quality and credibility of PPP pipelines. Cross-border co-operation also helps attract a broader set of investors by offering more predictable rules, larger project opportunities and strengthened risk mitigation mechanisms (Mooney et al., 2025[5]).
International partnerships can help strengthen institutions in the Caribbean, particularly in statistical capacity. Collaboration across borders allows countries to pool expertise, share methodologies and benefit from economies of scale in data production and innovation, given the region’s small size. Regional bodies, such as CARICOM or OECS, as well as international organisations, such as the IMF’s Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC), ECLAC, and PARIS21, provide important platforms for harmonising standards, supporting peer learning and co‑ordinating technical assistance to reinforce NSS. Development partners could strengthen the capacities of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre, OECS and other bodies on these issues.
Regional and inter-regional data hubs could enhance a range of areas that can enhance decision making in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Regional data hubs could also act as a filter between development partners, requiring data directly from SIDS, and reduce duplication of data infrastructure (Gasparini, Masters and Carswell, 2021[40]). Data hubs need to consider issues of what data will be used, how they will be collected and their quality, ownership and governance across the region. The establishment of the inter-regional platform, the SIDS Global Data Hub, is already being discussed (Kaur and Tennant, 2024[41]).
Renewed international partnerships can help Caribbean countries attract investments and harness opportunities to access vast financial resources to foster resilience in three strategic ways. First, they can develop new finance instruments, such as Global Sustainability Standards Board bonds, blended financing or debt swaps – see Chapter 3. Two, they can provide greater access to global climate-related funds, such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Adaptation Fund, the Climate Investment Fund and the Global Environment Facility. Third, it can mobilise the private sector through, for example, the renewed EU-LAC partnership.
As an illustrative, recent example, the EU-LAC Global Gateway Investment Agenda (GGIA) can have important impacts in mobilising resources and increasing resilience in the Caribbean. The GGIA allocated EUR 45 billion to finance 51 projects in LAC (39 in the Caribbean) in five areas: digital, climate and energy, transport, health, and education and research.
Different Caribbean-specific initiatives were launched in the 4th CELAC-EU Summit in Santa Marta, Colombia in November 2025. The EU and Caribbean countries, for example, launched “Stormwatch”, an advanced partnership aimed at strengthening resilience to extreme weather events. This initiative focuses on enhancing weather forecasting and climate services for disaster risk management. Through Copernicus, the EU’s Earth observation programme, Caribbean countries gain access to satellite data, meteorological infrastructure – including the Destination Earth platform – and EU supercomputing capacity. This support improves tropical cyclone modelling, EWS and long-term climate planning. Moreover, a new Copernicus Competence Centre at the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology will be created through a planned investment of EUR 1.5 million (European Commission, 2025[42]).
A second example relates to sargassum management. Following the EU–Caribbean Global Gateway Sargassum Conference in October 2025, the EU will continue to support Grenada, the Dominican Republic and Mexico in transforming 660 000 metric tonnes of sargassum into innovative solutions and green jobs. Team Europe has identified over EUR 300 million in potential loans and EUR 60 million in potential grants to support sargassum-related investments across the region. Open and innovative expressions of interest are being used to mobilise private companies and investors, and to promote concrete, scalable solutions (European Commission, 2025[42]).
Caribbean countries need to prioritise both resilience and sustainability. Resilience is crucial due to the high exposure of Caribbean countries to extreme weather events and the sensitivity of their economies to them. For its part, sustainability harnesses the region’s unique natural assets and development opportunities, while ensuring the development model remains viable. Sustainability is essential not only because several of the region’s most promising sectors depend directly on well-managed natural resources. Long-term prosperity also requires economic models that preserve rather than deplete the environmental assets on which the region’s competitiveness ultimately rests.
This section highlights key sectors where targeted investments can unlock the development potential of the region, fostering sustainability. Targeted investments in these sectors could unlock their development potential while advancing sustainability, noting that most are at a nascent stage and current investment level remains modest. These sectors include the blue and circular economies, sustainable transport, sustainable tourism and creative industries, sustainable agriculture and food systems, energy transition, and digital transformation and artificial intelligence (AI).
The blue economy
The blue economy is expanding rapidly, with Caribbean and other SIDS among the most reliant on marine resources worldwide. On average, per capita ocean-related exports from SIDS are ten times higher than the global average. They are service-related, mainly linked to tourism (Figure 2.7). Since 1995, driven largely by developing countries, the ocean economy has grown 2.5 times, outpacing the nearly twofold expansion of the world economy (UNCTAD, 2025[43]). Global trade in ocean-based goods and services reached a record USD 2.2 trillion in 2023. While tourism (33%) and shipping (22%) remain the largest ocean sectors, high-tech and manufacturing industries are gaining prominence (16%). These emerging segments include pharmaceuticals, marine sports, clean energy technologies and electrical equipment (UNCTAD, 2025[43]). For instance, the Bahamas has developed a cosmetic industry that uses anti-inflammatory elements from a local soft coral, creating products now worth USD 3‑4 million annually (Failler and Phan, 2020[44]).
The Caribbean is well-positioned to harness the potential of the blue economy, owing to its exceptional marine biodiversity and the central role of ocean-based industries, such as tourism and fisheries. The region contains nearly 10% of the world’s coral reefs and is home to about 45% of global fish species and 25% of coral species (OECD/IDB, 2024[1]). The Caribbean Sea, while covering less than 1% of the world’s ocean area, generates 14‑27% of the global ocean economy and contributes 18% of Caribbean GDP (IDB, 2025[45]).
USD per capita
Note: The indicator calculates the value of ocean economy exports per person in a given year for a given country/region/economic group. For instance, if a country’s ocean economy exports are USD 660 million in 2020 and its population is 66 million, its ocean economy exports per capita are USD 10.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on UNCTAD (2024[46]), Environment and Related Trade, Trade in Ocean Goods and Services, https://unctadstat.unctad.org/datacentre/.
The economic significance of the blue economy is evident at the national level, where data are available. For example, marine ecosystems contribute USD 25 billion annually in The Bahamas and USD 11 billion in Belize (Failler and Phan, 2020[44]). The region’s exclusive economic zone is nearly 4.5 times larger than its land mass, with over 70% of the population living along the coast and depending on the sea as their main source of income (CDB, 2019[47]). By transitioning to a blue economy, countries can harness coastal and marine resources sustainably to support food security, reduce poverty and respond to climate change impacts (OECD/IDB, 2024[1]). The blue economy offers significant potential for sustainable fisheries, marine transport, coastal tourism, offshore renewable energy and biotechnology. Notably, high-value segments, such as marine biotechnology and modernised aquaculture, represent a largely untapped opportunity for the region, building on its rich biodiversity to develop new products and supply local markets like tourism (OECD, 2022[48]).
Despite its importance, the sector remains underfinanced and fragmented. Increased investment is needed in sustainable fisheries management, marine spatial planning, port infrastructure and blue finance instruments (such as blue bonds and debt-for-nature swaps). Strengthening regional co‑operation frameworks and regulatory coherence is also essential to scale the blue economy while safeguarding marine ecosystems (OECD/IDB, 2024[1]).
Better data are key to harnessing the blue economy’s potential, especially those that go beyond environmental aspects to include social indicators (IDB, 2025[45]). A range of indicators, principles and guidance has emerged over the last few years to support the blue economy, prioritising environmental impact. However, less attention has been paid to what should be measured to ensure positive outcomes from the blue economy for all members of society. For example, better policies for the blue economy can be informed by indicators on employment and working conditions in a blue economy, community benefit and cultural preservation, diversity and inclusion, and governance (IDB, 2025[45]).
Financing and conservation tools can enhance the blue economy’s infrastructure and capabilities. Grants, loans and investments can all support development and conservation of marine and coastal resources. The Caribbean Biodiversity Fund and the Caribbean Blue Economy Financing (BLUEfin), for example, finance conservation efforts and sustainable development (CBF, 2023[49]; CBD, 2024[50]). Table 2.3 presents key blue economy experiences in the region.
Strengthening regional co‑operation frameworks and regulatory coherence is also essential to scale the blue economy while safeguarding marine ecosystems. The ocean economy is expanding rapidly, with SIDS among the most reliant on marine resources worldwide.
Sustainable fisheries
Although the region is a net importer of fish and seafood, fisheries remain an important blue economy activity in the Caribbean. The fisheries sector employed over 350 000 people in 2019 and generated more than USD 500 million in revenue in the region (Vignati, 2021[57]). In 2022, fisheries in Belize, Guyana, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago produced enough to meet domestic consumption, which includes demand from the tourism sector (Figure 2.8). Belize is a notable outlier, surpassing the combined production of the entire Caribbean region by 32% (FAO, 2025[58]). In contrast, countries such as Jamaica and the Dominican Republic consume over four times more than their local production.
A primary barrier to developing the sector is the depletion of marine resources in the Caribbean, driven by overfishing, pollution and climate change (Patil et al., 2016[59]). Approximately 55% of commercially exploited fish stocks in the Caribbean Sea are overexploited or collapsed. This is due mainly to illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing by foreign vessels, which undermines local efforts to manage and protect fisheries. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) classified the region as the most overexploited in the world (Vignati, 2021[57]). Addressing these challenges requires robust maritime surveillance and enforcement. These would be significantly bolstered by expanding marine protected areas (MPAs), which cover only about 5% of Caribbean territorial waters (World Bank, 2025[24]) (Figure 2.10, Panel B).
Promoting sustainable fisheries is crucial to restoring ocean productivity, preventing further degradation and creating a foundation for long-term economic growth and community development. Iceland’s Ocean Cluster 100% Fish Programme, detailed in Box 2.5, could inspire Caribbean countries to transform their seafood industry by maximising the value of each catch and moving towards a zero-waste approach, making the sector more sustainable.
Note: Total production is the total amount of fish and seafood produced annually in capture fisheries and aquaculture. Consumption is calculated as per capita fish and seafood consumption multiplied by population.
Source: Authors’ calculation based on FAO (2025[58]), Fisheries and Aquaculture, https://www.fao.org/fishery/statistics-query/en/home.
The 100% Fish Programme has pioneered a transformative approach to the seafood industry in Iceland by maximising the value of each catch and striving for zero waste. The initiative, driven by the Iceland Ocean Cluster (IOC) founded in 2011, fosters cross-sectoral collaboration to commercialise the parts of a fish that were often discarded, such as heads, skins and scales. By 2023, the programme achieved a utilisation rate of approximately 90% for each fish processed. This addresses a significant global issue, where approximately 10 million metric tonnes of commercially caught fish are wasted annually. When fish waste is dumped at sea, it disrupts marine food systems; when dumped in landfills, decomposition releases toxic emissions.
The programme has positive economic and environmental outcomes. It has created new value chains for by-products, ranging from pet treats and fish leather to omega-3 oils and medical products. The programme has dramatically increased the revenue from a single Atlantic cod from approximately USD 12 to USD 5 000.
This scalable model has gained international traction. Following the IOC’s implementation in Iceland, other countries – including the United States, Portugal, Namibia and South Korea – have catalysed similar initiatives. The case illustrates how systemic innovation can simultaneously generate economic value, benefit multiple stakeholders and advance circular economy principles within the blue economy (IOC, 2025[60]).
Aquaculture could present an opportunity for the region, so long as it is developed in a sustainable, resilient and well-regulated manner. To meet growing seafood demand, estimates indicate that global aquaculture production will need to double by 2050 if capture fisheries do not improve (Patil et al., 2016[59]). Aquaculture can be a source of food security, export diversification and rural livelihoods. However, without strong governance, environmental safeguards and adequate technical capacity, aquaculture could generate risks, such as habitat degradation. Despite its potential, aquaculture in the Caribbean represented less than 3% of the region’s fish production in 2022, compared to around 25% in Latin America (and the OECD) (Figure 2.9). While LAC began developing the sector around 1985, production in the Caribbean stagnated and then declined after 2005 in contrast to continual growth in Latin America. This divergence highlights a significant untapped potential for aquaculture to drive economic growth, create jobs and contribute to the preservation of wild marine ecosystems in the Caribbean.
Note: Total fish production is the total amount of fish and seafood produced annually in capture fisheries and aquaculture.
Source: Authors’ calculations based on FAO (2025[58]), Fisheries and Aquaculture, https://www.fao.org/fishery/statistics-query/en/home.
Nature-based Solutions
NbS involve protecting, sustainably managing and restoring natural or modified ecosystems to address societal challenges effectively and adaptively. These measures, which are inspired and supported by natural processes, aim to simultaneously deliver human well-being and biodiversity benefits. The core principle of NbS is the strategic use of ecosystem services, such as flood mitigation by wetlands or water filtration by forests, to solve problems like climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and resource scarcity. Unlike single-purpose grey infrastructure, NbS are multifunctional. This represents a fundamental shift that positions healthy ecosystems as both a conservation priority and a form of critical resilient infrastructure (OECD, 2024[8]).
The global potential of this approach is significant. NbS could generate USD 10 trillion in business opportunities and create 395 million jobs globally by 2030 (Kemper and Pathak, 2021[61]). Their effectiveness is also demonstrated in specific contexts; for instance, coastal ecosystems like mangroves and coral reefs can reduce wave energy by 97%, protecting coastal communities from storm surges (Storlazzi et al., 2025[62]).
The case of sargassum illustrates how NbS could help transform a challenge into development opportunities in the Caribbean. Sargassum, a brown macroalgae that has proliferated in the Caribbean since the first major influx in 2011, has become a significant environmental and economic challenge for coastal communities (Debue et al., 2025[63]). Recurrent strandings disrupt tourism through restricted beach access, elevated clean-up requirements and temporary business closures. Estimated reductions in tourist arrival growth range from 1.1 to 9.0 percentage points for up to eight months following major events (Louime et al., 2024[64]). The financial burden is considerable, with removal costs during the 2018 regional influx estimated at USD 120 million (FAO, 2025[65]). Decomposition exacerbates ecological and infrastructural damage: oxygen depletion creates hypoxic conditions detrimental to marine life, while hydrogen sulfide emissions pose health risks and corrode critical coastal infrastructure, such as desalination plants and power facilities (Sargassum Information Hub, 2025[66]). Box 2.6 presents initiatives that aim to transform sargassum, while supporting ecosystem regeneration and creating new economic opportunities.
Transforming sargassum from waste into valuable resources presents significant opportunities for the Caribbean. Rich in nutrients, sargassum can be processed into biofertilisers for agriculture, reducing reliance on synthetic fertilisers. It can also be used to produce bioplastics and serve as a source of bioenergy, such as biogas or bioethanol, and other by-products, such as cosmetics, electricity and biomass (Freites, 2025[67]). Supportive policies are key to unlock the potential of sargassum. These include incentives for research and innovation, co‑ordinated shoreline management using early warning systems (EWS) and the promotion of public-private partnerships or regional investment funds. Several Caribbean initiatives are already advancing to achieve this goal in different aspects: developing integrated management projects (the Dominican Republic), multi-stakeholder strategies (Grenada), technical innovations like deriving bio-compressed natural gas (bio-CNG) from sargassum (Barbados) and using technology to map marine ecosystems to inform decision making.
Integrated sargassum management project (the Dominican Republic)
Launched in 2023 by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and funded with USD 10 million, this four-year initiative strengthens local capacity for sustainable sargassum management with modified processing machinery, research and EWS. The project benefits an estimated 10 000 residents of local communities depending on tourism and fishing, 20 municipal authorities and 10 non-governmental organisations. At the same, it supports 50 small and medium-sized enterprises in adopting circular economy models. Indirect benefits extend to nearly 1 million annual tourists visiting less-affected areas and 5 000 fishers through healthier marine ecosystems and cleaner coastal areas (Dominican Republic, 2023[68]).
Bio-compressed natural gas (bio-CNG) derived from sargassum (Barbados)
Researchers at the University of the West Indies have developed the world’s first vehicle powered by an innovative bio-CNG fuel derived from sargassum, rum distillery wastewater and sheep excrement. This sustainable fuel can power vehicles with only a simple conversion, thereby addressing national environmental challenges and creating new energy solutions. By 2024, the project advanced from lab-scale testing to successful vehicle trials and patent filings, establishing a path for commercial expansion (UWI, 2024[69]).
Multi-stakeholder strategy to develop sargassum value chain (Grenada)
In December 2024, Grenada launched a call to process 10 000 metric tonnes of sargassum by 2026. It received over 30 proposals, shortlisting 13 of them by April 2025 through a joint government-EU panel (Global Gateway Forum, 2025[70]). To institutionalise this effort, the government created a dedicated Ministry of the Blue Economy and Marine Affairs in March 2025, which will co‑lead the initiative. A subsequent Task Force is now engaging investment partners to secure the necessary financing for the project (Now Grenada, 2025[71]).
In the Caribbean, the value of NbS is already evident. Coral reefs alone contribute an estimated USD 7.9 billion annually to the regional economy from over 11 million visitors (UNESCO, 2021[72]; World Bank, 2025[73]). This reef-associated tourism accounts for 23% of all tourism spending and is equivalent to more than 10% of the region’s GDP (UNESCO, 2021[72]). By enhancing biodiversity, NbS contribute to the health of these vital ecosystems, which underpins long-term resilience to climate shocks. They also support climate adaptation by reducing flood risks, stabilising shorelines and maintaining water quality. Furthermore, NbS generate important economic co‑benefits through tourism and fisheries, while also lowering disaster recovery costs. Mainstreaming NbS into national adaptation strategies, therefore, offers a cost-effective, inclusive and sustainable pathway to strengthen resilience across sectors (Babpna, 2021[74]).
Table 2.4 presents the application of a project finance for permanence3 model to finance conservation in Belize; ecosystem restoration actions focused on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; and support for nature-based enterprises in the Dominican Republic (watershed, land and biodiversity management) and biodiversity conservation in Jamaica. Box 2.7 shows mangrove plantation experiences in Viet Nam.
In 1994, faced with severe coastal erosion and disaster risks, northern Viet Nam implemented a Nature-based Solution approach for the large-scale restoration of mangrove forests. Supported by a long-term investment of USD 9 million over 17 years, the project successfully revived 9 000 hectares of mangrove ecosystems. This natural infrastructure served as a first line of defence, significantly reducing damage to engineered dikes during typhoons and saving an estimated of USD 15 million in disaster losses for surrounding communities. Beyond protection, the restored ecosystems delivered significant economic benefits, increasing local aquaculture revenues by over 200%. The initiative also produced considerable environmental value, with the mangroves sequestering carbon valued at nearly USD 218 million. The project benefitted 350 000 residents and indirectly protected millions, showing that investment in ecosystem restoration can help build climate resilience and stimulate local economies (IFRC, 2018[80]).
Sustainable tourism and creative industries
Sustainable tourism
The tourism sector is a cornerstone of the Caribbean economy, accounting for 25.4% of regional GDP between 2015‑2019 and representing 71% of the region’s total services exports in 2023 (OECD/IDB, 2024[1]). Furthermore, for every USD 100 increase in tourism spending, GDP is estimated to rise by USD 35‑54 in the short term and by USD 155‑160 in the long term (Ram, Ramrattan and Frederick, 2019[81]).
Sustainable tourism is relevant both for its economic benefits and as a climate-resilience and environmental-protection priority. Over the next decade, tourism is projected to expand at an average annual rate of 5.8%, more than twice the expected growth of the wider economy at 2.74% (WTTC, 2022[82]). In this context, Caribbean countries could strengthen their development model by promoting sustainable tourism. A sustainable approach to the sector aims to minimise environmental impacts, while preserving natural and cultural resources. It also maximises socio‑economic benefits as sustainable tourism tends to attract higher-spending visitors and generate greater value added for local economies (OECD, 2022[48]). The region’s distinctive natural assets, combined with growing efforts towards environmental stewardship, position the Caribbean to emerge as a destination for sustainable tourism. This, in turn, will enhance the sector’s long-term resilience and competitiveness. Regardless of whether the tourism is advertised as eco‑tourism, some Caribbean countries have a long way to go in setting up the necessary infrastructure for the treatment of waste and recycling. Nonetheless, they can promote reuse and reduce of waste by tourists and residents, for example, through a hotel-based recycling programme.
Safeguarding the natural assets that tourism depends on is critical. Environmental conservation and the sustainable management of natural assets are key to the long-term sustainability of the tourism sector. Actions to pursue these goals include designating new terrestrial protected areas, extending marine protected areas (MPAs) and investing in building resilience. This could target habitat restoration, for example, to rebuild mangroves and coral reefs (OECD, 2025[83]).
Note: Protected areas are defined as geographically defined spaces managed for the long-term conservation of nature (IUCN). Panel A shows the share of a country's total land area designated as a protected area, such as national parks and nature reserves. Panel B shows the share of a country's territorial waters designated as a marine protected area to conserve the underwater environment.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on World Bank (2025[24]), World Development Indicators, https://datatopics.worldbank.org/world-development-indicators/.
Caribbean countries have made significant progress in protecting terrestrial areas, reaching 19% of total land in 2024, surpassing both global (16.4%) and OECD (16.9%) averages (Figure 2.10, Panel A). Nonetheless, only 3.7% of territorial waters were considered MPAs in 2024 in the Caribbean, below global (14%), Latin American (16%) and OECD (24%) averages (Figure 2.10, Panel B). Although MPAs have doubled since 2014, only four countries have made significant advancements (Belize, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, and Saint Kitts and Nevis).
For MPAs to have an effective impact, investment is needed in monitoring, enforcement and institutional capacity. This requires a proactive strategy for financial resilience. Belize, for example, developed the Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, one of the region's largest MPAs. The community-based Sarteneja Alliance for Conservation and Development achieved financial sustainability for the sanctuary by combining donor partnerships with internal revenue streams, including equipment leasing, a tourism development centre and technical services. These streams cover 10‑20% of its annual budget.
Table 2.5 presents initiatives in Caribbean countries that aim to foster sustainable practices in the tourism sector: Eco-Tourism Development Programmes in Dominica; Integrated Collaborative Approaches for Sustainable Tourism (ICOAST) in Trinidad and Tobago; NbS for sustainable tourism in Saint Lucia; and the Caribbean Blue Tourism Initiative in Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago. Moreover, Box 2.8 presents examples of the positive impacts of nature-based tourism initiatives in Fiji, Madagascar and Lao PDR.
Nature-based tourism, centred on natural attractions, such as protected areas, national parks and marine reserves, offers significant development opportunities for Caribbean economies with rich natural assets and limited diversification. Investments in the protection and sustainable management of natural areas can stimulate tourism and have multiplier effects in local economies. In protected areas, such as the Mamanuca Islands (Fiji), each dollar spent by tourists increased local income by USD 1.83, while in the Nosy Tanikely National Park (Madagascar), it generated an additional USD 2.48. In Fiji, this shift was driven by the expansion of protected areas, strengthened management capacity and the introduction of concession policies to promote tourism within these areas. Multiplier effects also rely on strong linkages between tourism and domestic supply chains, including agriculture, manufacturing and services. Together, these supported broader economic activity.
Nature-based tourism can also foster inclusive growth. In Fiji, tourism has created over 8 000 jobs, employing around 13% of the local population. Meanwhile, in Lao PDR, integrated trekking initiatives have benefitted more than 20 ethnic groups. In Madagascar, 56% of tourism revenue reached poor households, illustrating the sector’s capacity to improve living standards and promote rural development. These examples highlight how well-managed, nature-based tourism can contribute to poverty reduction, strengthen community resilience and support sustainable economic transformation (World Bank, 2024[88]).
Promoting investments in tourism that foster sustainable business models like eco-tourism and cultural tourism can help create jobs, increase value retention within local communities and diversify tourism offer (Ram, Ramrattan and Frederick, 2019[81]). To institutionalise these practices, a range of instruments can be deployed, including eco-certification programmes, comprehensive destination management plans, supportive zoning policies, sustainable tourism training for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and targeted infrastructure support for community-based initiatives. Eco-tourism holds long-term potential in Suriname and Guyana, where approximately 75% of the territory lies within the Amazon and rich biodiversity offers strong prospects for nature-based tourism. However, limited infrastructure outside urban centres constrains the sector’s development. The island of Tobago provides a different situation. Although it is an established destination for visitors from Trinidad and benefits from well-designed programmes, strong competition from other Caribbean islands has prevented a critical mass of tourists and slowed its sectoral development.
Creative industries
The creative industries4 are estimated to contribute 5% of the Caribbean’s GDP, employing 3% of the region’s labour force on average (OECD/IDB, 2024[1]). However, these figures fail to capture the varied levels of development across the region’s creative sectors. The Caribbean has a vibrant cultural legacy and diaspora reach. Creative industries are a key outlet for youth employment and global soft power. These sectors are low-carbon, scalable and digitally adaptable. In Jamaica, for instance, the sectors of Film, Animation and Music contributed 6.18% to GDP in 2019 (Do Business Jamaica, 2021[89]).
Guyana stands out in terms of the share of creative services in total trade in services (Figure 2.11). The Cultural and Creative Industries Grant initiative has supported local culture development and enhanced new creative industry services (GYD 80 million, approximately USD 380 000, in four years). The programme benefitted 65 projects, strengthening infrastructures, providing training and fostering community tourism development (UNESCO, 2024[90]). Regarding the share of cultural goods5 exports in all goods, Saint Lucia is the Caribbean’s best-performing country with a copyright contribution to GDP reaching 10% (UNESCO, 2024[90]). Some countries have already established niches within the creative economy, such as pottery and ceramics in Antigua and Barbuda, crafts related to spices in Grenada and “learn a craft” tours in Saint Lucia (OECD, 2022[48]). The Carnival in Trinidad (Trinidad and Tobago), for example, has both cultural and economic relevance, generating an estimated USD 6.6 million in 2024 and enhancing socio‑cultural identity (Central Statistical Office of Trinidad and Tobago, 2025[91]).
Note: Data for The Bahamas, Dominica and the Dominican Republic correspond to 2023.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on UNCTADstat (2025[92]), International Trade in Creative Services: Estimates for Individual Economies (Analytical), https://unctadstat.unctad.org/datacentre/dataviewer/US.CreativeServ_Indiv_Tot.
Direct assistance programmes to the creative sector could have positive impacts. This type of programme has shown promising results in Saint Kitts and Nevis, which adopted a cash rebate programme that partially refunds any film-related expenses incurred in the country. Soon after this policy was announced, Saint Kitts and Nevis garnered a deal with a boutique film and television company to produce five films in the country (SKNIS, 2021[94]). A targeted approach to support local SMEs involved in creative activities could help strengthen the sector by offering loans with favourable rates or government subsidies. The creative sector can also take advantage of the EU-funded Creative Caribbean project, which offers grants and other initiatives (CARICOM, 2022[95]).
Table 2.6 presents different experiences linked to creative industries in the region. The Creative Caribbean project provided direct grants to arts practitioners in 15 Caribbean countries and individual countries are also advancing their own initiatives in the sector. The Cultural Information System (CIS) in Antigua and Barbuda aims to enable effective PPPs and support data-driven policies to benefit the sector. The Cultural Industries Development Fund in Barbados offers three distinct grants covering technical assistance (up to USD 5 000), product development (up to USD 30 000) and project execution (up to USD 30 000). In Guyana, the above-mentioned Cultural and Creative Industries Grant supports local culture and emerging creative industries. Finally, Trinidad and Tobago launched the “CreativeTT” agency, which focuses on business development and export promotion of the music, film and fashion sectors. Box 2.9 presents how Mauritius has used mobile applications in cultural sites and a virtual platform to promote creative industries.
The Government of Mauritius has defined a combination of programmes and incentives to support the expansion and growth of businesses, including a focus on creative industries, which represent 3.5% of GDP (EDB Mauritius, 2025[102]). Government financial incentives support development of the local creative sector: artists and cultural producers can access grants for film production, participation in international events and other creative activities through several funding windows. Key instruments include the National Art Fund and the Film Assistance Scheme, both managed by the Ministry of Arts and Cultural Heritage; a film grant for independent filmmakers under the National Resilience Fund; the Film Rebate Scheme and the SME Refund Scheme. Together, these programmes aim to strengthen creative capacity, stimulate local content production and enhance the international visibility of Mauritian artists. Moreover, the Mauritius Expo Virtual Platform, launched in 2023, promotes locally manufactured products and services by increasing the visibility of Mauritian enterprises and connecting them to global markets; it already hosts over 205 exhibitors and has registered visitors from 59 countries. These initiatives form a cohesive strategy to integrate technology and sustainability into the promotion of the nation's cultural and economic assets (Mauritius Expo, 2022[103]).
Energy transition
The energy transition involves the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind and geothermal. For the Caribbean, this shift is particularly relevant given the region’s heavy dependence on imported fossil fuels. About 80% of the petroleum consumed in the region is imported, compared to a global average of 21% (World Bank, 2025[104]). Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname and Guyana, which produce their own oil, are the exception. In 2024, on average, 86.8% of energy in the Caribbean was produced from oil and natural gas and only 12% came from renewables (Figure 2.12). This reliance on fossil fuels creates a significant fiscal burden and exposes Caribbean economies to volatile energy prices. As most of the countries are energy importers, the region experiences some of the world’s highest electricity costs, with average price for a kilowatt hour in the Caribbean at USD 0.26, surpassing the EU (USD 0.21 kWh) and the United States (USD 0.18 kWh) (OECD/IDB, 2024[1]). These high energy prices translate into elevated operating costs for key sectors like tourism, where electricity can account for up to 20% of operational expenses (Goldwyn, Tiah and Mowla, 2023[105]).
Total energy supply
Note: Energy supply is expressed as shares of total energy supply (TES), based on the energy balance methodology. Oil includes crude oil and petroleum products. Natural gas and coal refer to their respective primary energy sources. Biofuels and waste comprise biomass-based sources, including firewood, bagasse, charcoal, ethanol, biodiesel, biogas and other biomass. Hydro–solar–wind includes hydropower, solar and wind energy (geothermal where applicable). Data for Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines correspond to 2023. The Latin America average includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on OLADE (2024[106]), Energy Balance Matrix. Latin America and the Caribbean Energy Information System, https://sielac.olade.org/WebForms/Reportes/ReporteBalanceEnergetico.aspx?or=600&ss=2&v=1; UNSD (2024[107]), Energy Statistics Data Portal. Energy balances, year 2021, https://unstats.un.org/unsd/energystats/dataPortal/.
There is great untapped potential for growth in renewables in the Caribbean (OECD/IDB, 2024[1]). With over 300 days of sun each year, the Caribbean could generate a potential 1 900 kWh/m2 annually, double the capacity of Germany (CDB, 2022[108]; Goldwyn, Tiah and Mowla, 2023[105]). The Caribbean basin is estimated to have up to 751 GW of wind power (World Bank, 2020[109]). As a volcanic region, the Eastern Caribbean could also generate up to 6.29 GW of geothermal energy (Goldwyn, Tiah and Mowla, 2023[105]). Moreover, CARICOM countries could generate USD 16 billion in net economic benefits by 2040 through the energy transition (ECLAC, 2021[110]).
Investing in the energy transition in the Caribbean offers multiple economic, social and environmental co‑benefits. Expanding renewable energy reduces dependence on imported fossil fuels; lowers costs for households and firms; helps protect economies from external price shocks and strengthens competitiveness and resilience of local industries. Growth in the renewable sector can also create green jobs in manufacturing, construction and maintenance, particularly when supported by targeted training and reskilling programmes (CAF, 2025[111]). Environmentally, renewables, especially when paired with storage or decentralised systems, such as microgrids, can enhance infrastructure resilience and help maintain power during and after climate-related disasters. In so doing, they mitigate the recurrent disruptions caused by tropical storms (CAF, 2025[111]). Off-grid renewable energy solutions may be the most viable option for small and dispersed population centres in many Caribbean countries. The declining cost of solar technologies creates new opportunities to deploy renewable energy at scale; however, realising this potential will require adjustments to electricity market regulations, as well as reforms in power generation and distribution systems. Box 2.10 shows the positive effects of using renewables, such as hybrid solar and hydropower mini‑grids, to extend access to electricity in remote areas in Vanuatu.
Energy transition in the Caribbean faces different barriers. The region’s small and fragmented energy grids, for example, lack economies of scale, limiting the viability of large-scale projects. Meanwhile, underdeveloped regulatory frameworks hinder project development and lead to long permitting processes. Moreover, high upfront costs for projects and a lack of local supply chains undermine bankability, often deterring investments in the sector (Cont et al., 2025[15]). Table 2.7 presents some experiences that aim to overcome these obstacles. These include solar energy and battery storage initiatives in Antigua and Barbuda; a sustainable energy investment programme in Barbados; innovative financing models to overcome high upfront costs to adopt renewable energy systems in Barbados, Belize and Jamaica; and an investment in a geothermal power plant in Dominica.
Confronting significant energy access challenges, with approximately 39% of its rural population lacking electricity, Vanuatu is advancing its 2030 goal of 100% rural electrification through renewable energy. A key initiative is the Barrier Removal for Achieving the National Energy Road Map Targets of Vanuatu (BRANTV) project, implemented by Vanuatu’s Department of Energy, with support from the United Nations Development Programme and the Global Environment Facility. The project focuses on deploying distributed renewable energy systems, such as a hybrid solar and hydropower mini-grid that now provides reliable energy to 100 households, two schools, a clinic and local businesses in Pentecost Island. These efforts have extended electricity access to over 50 000 people across 37 communities and directly fostered local economic activities. At the Marae fishing community, for instance, solar energy is powering and refrigerating entire fish markets. This project shows how targeted investment in renewable energy can support Small Island Developing States and other small developing states to build a resilient national energy system. Ultimately, this will advance their energy transition, stimulate inclusive economic growth and strengthen overall resilience (UNDP, 2024[118]).
Sustainable transport
Sustainable transport can be defined as the shift towards low-carbon, efficient and accessible mobility systems and should be a key component of the Caribbean’s sustainable development agenda. The region’s transport sector contributes significantly to economic development but depends heavily on imported fossil fuels. Transport accounts for approximately 30% of all fuel consumed in the Caribbean, the equivalent to nearly 10% of the region’s GDP (OECD/IDB, 2024[1]). Apart from a major fiscal expenditure, this reliance on fossil fuels also renders the sector responsible for over 30% of the region’s energy-related emissions (Merlo, 2023[119]).
The Caribbean also has a great need to improve connectivity. For instance, the region scored an average of just 10.8 on the Liner Shipping Connectivity Index in 2021, compared to the OECD (51.4) and other SIDS (13.6), where 100 is the maximum score (Figure 2.13). In fact, 37 of the world’s 50 least connected countries are SIDS (UNCTAD, 2024[120]).
Shifting to sustainable transport offers a pathway for the Caribbean to address connectivity needs while yielding multiple benefits. Economically, like the energy transition, the shift to sustainable transport could reduce fiscal constraints through lower fuel imports, enhance energy security and improve competitiveness of local industries through more efficient logistics and better integration into global value chains. From a social perspective, transitioning to safer, cleaner modes of transportation could improve road security while improving air quality (World Bank, 2025[121]). Furthermore, by prioritising affordable and reliable public transit, walking and cycling, sustainable transport systems foster greater social inclusion and provide disadvantaged communities with better access to jobs, education and essential services (Alves, Mjahed and Moody, 2023[122]).
Note: The Liner Shipping Connectivity Index, developed by UNCTAD, assesses the extent to which countries are connected to global maritime shipping networks. It is based on five indicators: the number of ships, total container-carrying capacity, size of the largest vessel, number of services and number of shipping companies calling at a country’s ports. Each component is normalised using 2004 data and the composite index is scaled so that the highest-scoring country in 2004 has a value of 100.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on UNCTADstat (2025[123]), Liner Shipping Connectivity Index, https://unctadstat.unctad.org/datacentre/reportInfo/US.LSCI.
Advancing sustainable transport requires significant investment in infrastructure. By 2030, sustainable transport will need more than USD 3 billion in new investments and USD 4 billion for its maintenance in the seven countries with data available (The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago) (Mooney et al., 2025[5]). These costs encompass critical upgrades, such as modernising public bus fleets, expanding electric vehicle charging networks and constructing safe cycling pathways. Furthermore, achieving this requires efforts to overcome technical and regulatory barriers, including to build institutional capacity, adapt policy frameworks to new technologies and ensure their integration with the power grid. A comprehensive co‑ordinated strategy at the national level and further co‑ordination at the regional level are essential to de‑risk investments and unlock both public and private capital for sustainable transport (Mooney et al., 2025[5]).
A regional approach to transport planning and financing mechanisms could improve connectivity and reduce costs. Transport could be the backbone of the Caribbean countries’ integration and economic performance, given the region’s geography. However, due to the low volume of people that need transport, it is difficult to attract private sector operators. Partnerships with multilateral development banks and private investors could help bridge financing gaps and promote sustainable mobility solutions. Investment in low-carbon and resilient transport infrastructure, such as inter‑island ferry networks, electric public transport fleets and climate-proofed roads, could improve resilience.
Table 2.8 presents sustainable transport policy experiences in the Caribbean, while Box 2.11 presents how Pacific SIDS are promoting sustainable marine transport.
Pacific Small Island Developing States are pioneering innovative solutions to reduce their reliance on imported diesel for marine transport, a critical step for both energy security and climate resilience. The Republic of Marshall Islands is exploring cutting-edge technological options through a partnership with the Republic of Korea. This collaboration focuses on developing next-generation vessels, including wing ships, and harnessing ocean thermal energy to generate electricity and produce hydrogen-based electro-fuels for powering boats.
Other Pacific nations are demonstrating the immediate viability of renewable energy integration. In Samoa and Vanuatu, a pilot project launched in 2019 has equipped vessels with solar systems to power onboard needs like lighting, refrigeration and water pumps. This approach has proven highly effective, reducing vessel operating costs by up to 32% annually. The initiative, part of the EU-funded and International Maritime Organization (IMO)-implemented Maritime Technology Co‑operation Centre, provides a scalable model for decarbonising essential maritime services across SIDS (IRENA, 2024[129]).
Sustainable agriculture and food systems
While most Caribbean economies are dominated by services, agriculture retains significant untapped potential. Historically a core economic activity, agriculture could be revitalised by expanding the use of renewable energy and modern production techniques. Strengthening local food production would enhance food security and improve diets and nutrition, which remain key challenges across the region. Sustainable aquaculture and fisheries management could further support this objective. High food import and transport costs continue to raise prices for households, restaurants and the tourism sector, undermining competitiveness and profitability. Expanding local production could help mitigate these pressures.
Sustainable agriculture can be defined along the three dimensions of sustainable development: environmental health, profitability, and social and economic equity (OECD/FAO, 2023[130]). Moving beyond traditional farming, it integrates environmentally friendly techniques, such as organic farming, agroforestry and the use of local crops. It also embraces broader strategies like farm diversification, natural resources conservation and farmer capacity building through training (Kamakaula, 2024[131]). Ultimately, this system relies on an integrated network where growers, distributors, consumers and waste managers play an essential role in advancing sustainability across the entire food chain.
Sustainable agriculture offers a strategic pathway to address regional challenges in the Caribbean. The region remains critically dependent on food imports: 80‑90% of all food consumed is imported, mostly from outside the region (85.4% of total food imports) (OECD/IDB, 2024[1]; FAO, 2025[132]). The agricultural and fisheries sectors face increasing pressures. Climate stress and productivity challenges increasingly hinder farming. A recent example is Hurricane Melissa, which ravaged the western part of Jamaica known as the bread basket of the country. Crops were not only damaged, debris and runoff from the storm contaminated the soil, reducing its readiness for the next planting season (IBRD/World Bank, 2025[20]). Meanwhile, the annual fish catch in the region has declined by over 25% since 1990 due to degradation and overfishing. In the case of Suriname, institutional weaknesses have worsened the overfishing problem. These intersecting factors have contributed to worsening food insecurity in the region, affecting 37% of the population, on average, and increasing obesity by about 10% since 2000 (FAO, 2019[133]; OECD/IDB, 2024[1]).
Investing in sustainable agriculture in the Caribbean is essential to bolster resilience and well-being. Sustainable agriculture, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is an integrated approach that ensures food production systems are economically viable, socially inclusive and environmentally resilient. Caribbean countries have been advancing on these fronts, although with mixed results. By 2023, only Grenada and Dominica had achieved productive and sustainable agricultural systems6 (Figure 2.14). This achievement is driven by targeted partnerships – Grenada’s government has been working with the FAO on two projects since 2023 to scale up digital agriculture and innovation, and Dominica is partnering with the UNDP on a project to enhance climate-resilient agriculture and sustainable agro-processing (FAO, 2023[134]; UNDP, 2025[135]). Moreover, Jamaica, Suriname, Saint Lucia, the Dominican Republic, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines were “close to achieving this goal”, while remaining countries were “at a moderate distance” or “far from it”.
Subsidies and incentives for climate-smart agriculture, investments in cold-chain and storage infrastructure, strengthened research and extension services, and support for co‑operatives and local food networks are among the key initiatives that could help scale up sustainable farming across the Caribbean. Furthermore, technological upgrades in irrigation and agro-processing, coupled with efforts to organise smallholder farmers, could specifically enhance productivity and strengthen crucial linkages to the tourism sector (OECD, 2022[48]).
Note: In this index, countries are classified into five categories based on their average score for productive and sustainable agriculture: a score from 1 to less than 1.5 indicates the country is “very far from achieving” this goal (no Caribbean country ranked in this category); 1.5 to less than 2.5 is “far from achieving” it; 2.5 to less than 3.5 is “at a moderate distance”; 3.5 to less than 4.5 is “close to achieving” it and a score from 4.5 to 5 means it has already “achieved” productive and sustainable agriculture.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on FAO (2025[136]), Proxy Progress Towards Productive and Sustainable Agriculture, https://www.fao.org/sustainable-development-goals-data-portal/data/indicators/indicator-241-proxy-progress-towards-productive-and-sustainable-agriculture/en.
The adoption of sustainable agriculture offers multi-faceted benefits for Caribbean farming communities. Economically, value-added activities, such as processing fruits into jams or juices, can help farmers increase income – an especially important opportunity given the region’s typically small farm sizes and limited economies of scale (Muhie, 2022[137]). Such processing also helps reduce post-harvest losses, which remain high in many islands due to constraints in cold-chain infrastructure. Environmentally, practices such as organic fertilisation, crop rotation and agroforestry help conserve soil, reduce water contamination and protect biodiversity. Meanwhile, climate-smart approaches, including hurricane-resistant crops, drought-tolerant varieties and resilient farming systems, are increasingly essential in the face of climate risks (Piñero, 2020[138]; Siebrecht, 2020[139]). Reduced reliance on hazardous pesticides also supports better consumer health (HLPE, 2019[140]). These positive effects can be further magnified by building producers’ skills and innovative capacity with targeted training (El Chami, Daccache and El Moujabber, 2020[141]; Akanmu, 2023[142]). Table 2.9 presents experiences in the Caribbean addressing food security (Barbados); applying sustainable harvest practices (Belize); building a regional digital platform using digital technologies for agriculture innovation (Grenada) and a regional project to provide climate-smart agricultural knowledge. Box 2.12 shows resilient agriculture initiatives in Pacific SIDS, particularly in Fiji, Samoa and the Solomon Islands, that could inform sectoral policies in Caribbean countries.
Pacific SIDS are advancing sustainable agriculture through a comprehensive approach that includes diversifying plantations, promoting local crop varieties and training farming communities in modern techniques, such as seed technology, organic certification and agroecological pesticides.
This transition is actively supported by the Pacific Community’s Land Resources Division, an institution established to help countries translate scientific research into practical solutions for land, agriculture and forestry. It pursues these goals through targeted capacity building, technical assistance and biological assets, such as the genetic resources from the Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees.
Key 2023 initiatives and training programmes included conserving genetic resources, managing forests and plantations, and fostering organic farming and certification. To promote genetic resources conservation, for example, Fiji introduced a new sweet potato variety to local markets. It also facilitated the processing of import permits to support safety duplication of their crops. For its part, Samoa continued the conservation of more than 2 400 varieties of crops and trees. With respect to management of forestry and plantations, Fiji developed 4.6 ha of plantations, totalling 799 ha since 2019. It also continued research on traditional knowledge for coconut plantations. Finally, to foster organic farming and certification, the Solomon Islands offered capacity building on complying with pesticide registration requirements and evaluating agroecology performance. Meanwhile, Fiji launched five new organic products and fertilisers approved by Pacific Organic Standards (Land Resources Division, 2025[147]).
The circular economy
Advancing the circular economy is especially relevant for the Caribbean’s service-based economies. By extending the lifespan of materials, reducing waste by design and improving resource efficiency, circular economy models support innovation and more sustainable business practices. This approach also helps align economic activity with environmental stewardship and social well-being (Circle Economy, 2023[148]). In the Caribbean, circular economy strategies hold significant potential to foster more sustainable tourism, generate quality formal employment, add value to local supply chains, create jobs and foster innovation if well-implemented (CEC, 2022[149]; OECD, 2023[150]).
A circular approach to waste management could be relevant for the Caribbean given its relatively high waste generation and limited territorial space. The Caribbean produces an average of 0.32 metric tonnes of municipal solid waste per capita. This exceeds the global average of 0.28 metric tonnes, although below the Latin American (0.35) and OECD (0.54) averages (Figure 2.15). Nearly half of this waste (44%) is organic, followed by plastics (15%).
Recycling infrastructure is limited in the region and waste management relies heavily on landfill despite considerable variation across countries, with some showing values above the OECD average and others below the global average. For example, The Bahamas and other small Caribbean countries face significant cost barriers to implementing mandatory recycling programmes as transporting those recyclables abroad for processing is too expensive. Moreover, approximately 320 000 metric tonnes of uncollected plastic waste litter coastlines annually, posing a direct threat to biodiversity, public health and the blue economy (UN, 2025[151]). Box 2.13 presents different ways in which Colombia, France and Ireland are reducing food waste.
Note: The chart shows the breakdown of total waste generated per nationality per year, by waste type. The category "Other" aggregates materials such as rubber, leather, wood and green waste.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on World Bank (2025[152]), What a Waste Global Database, https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/search/dataset/0039597.
Financial institutions and governments have a pivotal role in accelerating the circular transition by developing supportive regulations, incentives and policies. Instruments like green bonds and long-term credit can help reduce waste and pollution, while capacity-building programmes nurture new circular businesses. The development of supportive financial mechanisms is crucial. Leveraging environmental, social and governance funding can attract investments in circular economy projects. Such financial models have proven successful in enhancing corporate profitability and reputation, as well as reducing the cost of debt and financing for circular initiatives. The public sector can also use green principles to buy goods, services and works incorporating circular economy principles into the procurement process. Tools include encouraging circular business models, promoting circular construction, incorporating secondary materials, and encouraging repair and re-use. Incorporating lifecycle thinking and resource efficiency can significantly reduce waste and environmental impact (OECD et al., 2022[153]). There are also profit opportunities from exporting recycling of some metals and cardboard if well-conceived.
Gathering quality, comparable data and developing robust metrics are essential for measuring progress in the circular transition and promoting circular models (Kirchherr, Reike and Hekkert, 2017[154]; Potting et al., 2018[155]). Key actors like multilateral development banks and private financiers are starting to support the creation of a circular ecosystem in the region (UNEP, 2023[156]). Suriname, the Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago are the Caribbean members of the Latin American and the Caribbean Circular Economy Coalition, which aims to create a shared vision of circular development among all sectors of society in LAC (UNEP, 2023[156]). To build on this, fostering partnerships across supply chains, and between public and private sectors, can spark innovation, facilitate expertise exchange and add value for circular entrepreneurs. For example, such collaboration could be a gateway for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to global markets (Supriadi et al., 2025[157]). Table 2.10 presents initiatives linked to transforming fish waste into valuable resources in Barbados, the creation of national centres to recover, recycle and reclaim harmful ozone-depleting refrigerants in Jamaica and a waste re-use project to recover coral reefs in Trinidad and Tobago.
Digital tools to avoid food loss in Colombia
Colombia’s 2019 law on food loss and waste, which promotes food donation as a tool for food security, provided the policy foundation for the creation of a circular business model in Colombia that helps companies in the food sector manage surplus food through a digital platform. Firms upload lists of excess products, which are analysed by artificial intelligence and matched with people in need, automating donations and providing real-time data on environmental and social impacts. Since its creation, the initiative has rescued more than 46 000 metric tonnes of food, saving over USD 40 million in management costs. It has also delivered 104 million meals to around 900 non-profit organisations and mitigated 110 metric tonnes of carbon emissions, while saving 23 billion litres of water. Two factors were central to this success: an enabling regulatory environment and access to catalytic, patient capital (UNEP, 2023[162]; EatCloud, 2025[163]).
Preventing food waste actions in France
France has introduced a comprehensive legal framework to prevent food waste and promote circular economy practices (Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, 2020[164]). A series of laws adopted between 2015 and 2020 prohibit supermarkets from destroying or discarding unsold food and require large food retailers (over 400 m²) to establish donation agreements with food aid organisations (ADEME, 2019[165]). The 2020 Anti-Waste Law for a Circular Economy further strengthened enforcement and extended bans to non-food products. As a result, food collected by charities and food banks rose from 36 000 metric tonnes in 2015 to 46 000 metric tonnes in 2017 (Poingt, 2018[166]).
Food waste prevention in Ireland
Ireland has developed consumer-focused initiatives to reduce food waste, led by the country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The national food waste prevention programme is delivered through the Circular Economy Programme (EPA, 2025[167]). The StopFoodWaste programme targets households and businesses through awareness-raising on food purchasing and waste habits. The Food Waste Charter engages major grocery retailers – covering around 70% of the market – to measure and reduce their food waste. There are plans to expand to hotels, catering services and canteens, using standardised EPA measurement methodologies (Food Waste Charter, 2023[168]). A third EPA initiative supports progress towards national and EU food waste targets for 2030. It aims to improve data collection and evidence to guide policy action, ensuring that reductions in food waste are measurable and sustained (EPA, 2025[169]).
Digital transformation and artificial intelligence
Promoting digital transformation is a powerful catalyst for inclusive economic growth in the Caribbean, with the potential to significantly close infrastructure gaps with OECD Member economies (Chapter 1). For most Caribbean economies, this could yield cumulative GDP increases alongside transformative improvements in productivity. Closing infrastructure gaps could generate, on average, a 7.7% increase in GDP and a 9.5% rise in productivity over six years for countries with available data (Figure 2.16). This transformation also opens strategic diversification pathways into digital services, an area which, by avoiding the region's high transport costs, offers a distinct competitive advantage (OECD, 2022[48]).
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on García Zaballos and López-Rivas (2012[170]), Socioeconomic Impact of Broadband in Latin American and Caribbean Countries; García Zaballos et al. (2021[171]), Informe anual del índice de desarrollo de la banda ancha.
Digital infrastructure is critical for enabling productivity in the 21st century, particularly in the Caribbean where transport and logistics are a challenge. Bringing digital infrastructure up to OECD levels, as well as the possible costs and readiness for scaling up such investments, can bring important economic benefits to Caribbean countries. Figure 2.17 uses data on digital infrastructure from countries across the world, including in Latin America and the OECD, to show that all Caribbean countries present important negative gaps relative to the OECD average. In some cases, these gaps are strikingly large, reaching or nearing double digits when measured in percentage points. In terms of mobile broadband, Caribbean countries are about average, compared to Latin America (orange line), although they are around 60 percentage points below OECD levels, on average, in The Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Barbados, and between 60 and 90 percentage points below in Trinidad and Tobago, Belize and Haiti (Figure 2.17, left axis).
Source: Authors' elaboration based on (Zaballos et al., 2021[172]), Development of National Broadband Plans in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Digital infrastructure can have net economic benefits in Caribbean countries.7 A 10-percentage point change in digital infrastructure is associated with 3.2% increase in GDP and a 2.6% increase in productivity, mostly due to multiplier effects (Rosenblatt et al., 2022[173]). Results and related implications for many Caribbean economies are striking. The cumulative positive impact on growth of investing in digital infrastructure in three of the six analysed economies could be between 1.5 and 4.5 times the associated costs (e.g. 1.5 in Barbados, 1.6 in Trinidad and Tobago, and 4.5 in Jamaica) (Figure 2.18). In two of these three cases, the estimated cost of closing digital infrastructure gaps is relatively small – under 1 percentage point of GDP in each case. Jamaica had the highest cost of closing the infrastructure gap (1.7% of GDP) and largest return on investment (7.8% of GDP). For Guyana, Suriname and the Bahamas, while the costs vary, the estimated benefits are also potentially significant. In the Bahamas, for example, the yield in terms of cumulative GDP benefits over time could be as much as 1.4 times the investment costs.
Note: “Gap” refers to the cost of closing the estimated digital infrastructure gap relative to OECD economies. Figures expressed in percentage points are as of the end-2024 GDP. The multiplier is defined as the estimated GDP growth impact of closing these gaps relative to their costs.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on Caribbean Economics Quarterly January 2022 (IDB), based on data from Zaballos and Lopez-Rivas (2012[174]); Zaballos et. al. (2021[172]); and IMF World Economic Outlook (2021[175]).
Specific government actions, including updating regulatory frameworks for issues such as “rights of ways”, spectrum allocation and universal service funds are crucial for creating an enabling environment. Equally important is the need to establish a close relationship between digital agendas and national connectivity plans. The IDB Broadband Index measures the country’s readiness in terms of policies and strategic regulations to take advantage of such investments. Figure 2.19 shows that Barbados and The Bahamas, score relatively high on this Index. Indeed, they are not far from Sweden, the country with the highest score in the sample. While there are caveats, this simple estimate provides a ballpark measure of the economic net benefits of digital infrastructure.
Overall score (ranking over 65 countries in parenthesis)
Note: Index for 65 countries (including OECD and IDB 26 borrowing countries), where the maximum possible score is 8. The value for each country represents its ranking among the 65 analysed countries.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on (Zaballos et al., 2024[176]).
Scaling up digital investment can help close financing and technology gaps by developing broadband networks, data centres and other critical infrastructure. It also facilitates access to advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, cloud computing and fintech, while fostering knowledge transfer and skill development (UNCTAD, 2025[177]). In turn, these dynamics can stimulate the emergence of new service industries, reduce dependence on traditional sectors, promote economic diversification and strengthen regional integration into global markets, ultimately supporting sustainable growth (ECLAC, 2025[178]).
In an increasingly digitalised global economy, investment in reliable information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure is a key driver of development. Maximising these benefits depends on broad mobile and broadband coverage, high-quality ICT infrastructure and affordable access for households and firms.
Caribbean countries are accelerating investment in modern telecommunications infrastructure, including fibre-optic networks and emerging 5G technology. OECS members have advanced fibre-optic infrastructure upgrades that expand network capacity and coverage (Table 2.11). Barbados is pursuing a broader digital transformation agenda, supported by a recent USD 40 million investment from the IDB to reduce the digital divide. Jamaica has also strengthened high-speed connectivity through nationwide fibre deployment. It has also established a Universal Service Fund to expand bandwidth access and public Wi‑Fi services across the island.
Broadband access remains uneven across the Caribbean. On average, the region records a similar number of mobile subscriptions per 100 inhabitants as Latin America overall. However, it continues to lag behind OECD Member economies. Saint Kitts and Nevis is the only country with subscription levels comparable to the OECD. Suriname and The Bahamas show high rates of active mobile-broadband connections per 100 inhabitants, while Barbados performs strongly in fixed-broadband uptake. By contrast, Haiti, Guyana, Belize, and Antigua and Barbuda continue to face significant gaps in access to ICT services.
The quality of ICT infrastructure also varies widely across the Caribbean. Average transmission speeds remain below those of LAC and significantly below the OECD, while latency levels are nearly 60% higher than the OECD average. Service quality remains a particular challenge in Suriname, Antigua and Barbuda, Haiti, Belize, the Bahamas and Jamaica.
High mobile and broadband costs remain the main barrier to fully harnessing digital technologies in the Caribbean. These costs are similar to those in LAC but well above OECD levels (Figure 2.20). This affordability gap disproportionately affects lower-income households, widening digital divides within and across countries. Only The Bahamas, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago are on track to achieve the Broadband Commission’s target of keeping broadband costs below 2% of GDP per capita by 2025, underscoring the scale of the affordability challenge facing the region.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on ITU (2025[179]), Global Connectivity Report 2025, https://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-d/opb/ind/D-IND-ICT_MDD.GCR-2025-4-PDF-E.pdf.
Digital technologies and connectivity are a cross-sectoral enabler of development, especially in tourism-dependent economies like many Caribbean countries. Tourism requires digital connectivity for reservation systems and hotel back-office links. Business tourism and remote workers require fast Internet connections. This is even more important in archipelago economies where inter‑regional transport is a challenge.
Artificial intelligence in the Caribbean
AI tools have become widely accessible in recent years, with their uptake accelerating rapidly. Policymakers and stakeholders worldwide, including in the Caribbean, are exploring how to harness these technologies to support sustainable development while managing their associated risks. Caribbean countries are less AI-prepared than Latin American or OECD Member countries. The AI‑readiness level for Caribbean countries (38.74), on average, lags behind Latin American (46.16) and OECD averages (70.16) in the 2024 Government AI Readiness Index (GAIRA) (Figure 2.21, Panel A). From the 14 Caribbean countries included in the GAIRA, the Dominican Republic (ranked 73 of 188 countries) and The Bahamas (99) were the better positioned. All other countries were ranked more than 100, with Haiti among the least advanced in AI readiness, ranking 184. In the latest edition, the United States (87.03) and Singapore (84.25) ranked as the top performers in overall AI readiness. Regarding scores by category, Caribbean countries, on average, tend to rank better in data and infrastructure (56.29), followed by government (31.37) and the technology sector (28.58) (Figure 2.21, Panel B).
Attitudes towards AI adoption in the region are low among citizens and firms. More than 90% spend nothing or very little on AI, although they agreed or were neutral in considering AI as critical to their survival. Adoption is low even among the large digital leaders in the region, with only 12% of businesses in the Caribbean using AI (INCUS, 2025[180]).
Note: In Panel A, the ranking comprises 188 countries. In Panel B, each pillar is scored 0-100 points. No data were available for Dominica.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on Nettel et al. (2024[181]), Government Readiness Index, https://oxfordinsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2024-Government-AI-Readiness-Index.pdf.
AI is making its first steps in the region. To date, no Caribbean state has enacted national legislation or regulations specifically addressing AI. However, Barbados (in 2019) and Jamaica (in 2020) enacted laws that developed frameworks for data protection, an essential foundation for AI adoption in the public sector. The Dominican Republic has expressed explicit interest in developing a national AI approach. For its part, Trinidad and Tobago created a new Ministry of Public Administration and Artificial Intelligence in 2025 and launched the National Artificial Intelligence Assessment Initiative in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (OECD/CAF, 2022[182]).
Ethical considerations are central to the design of public policies governing the use of AI. Nine major ethical challenges warrant particular attention: i) unemployment, reflecting concerns about job displacement due to automation; ii) inequality, as AI may exacerbate divides in income and opportunities; iii) impacts on human behaviour and interaction, raising questions about how technology shapes social norms; iv) errors in intelligent systems or “artificial stupidity”; v) algorithmic bias, leading to discriminatory or unjust outcomes; vi) security risks, including threats to cybersecurity and data protection; vii) unintended consequences, sometimes described as the “evil genie” problem; viii) loss of human control over increasingly complex systems, often linked to debates on technological singularity; and ix) treatment of autonomous systems, including emerging discussions on “robot rights”. These issues highlight the need for robust governance frameworks that promote responsible and trustworthy AI (World Economic Forum, 2024[183]).
AI uptake also depends fundamentally on the availability of strong basic and intermediate digital skills. Limited digital skills remain a major constraint to AI readiness in several Caribbean countries, reinforcing digital divides and limiting the potential productivity and service-delivery gains from emerging technologies. For example, computer science8 education content in school curricula is not yet widespread in the region (Johnson, 2025[184]) (Figure 2.22). In 2024, only the Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago had included computer science education as a mandatory subject at the middle or secondary school level. Guyana, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines had introduced it in some schools or districts, while The Bahamas, Barbados, Haiti and Jamaica announced plans for its expansion or introduction. For the remaining countries, no evidence of computational schooling was found.
Note: The heatmap classifies the status of computer science education in Caribbean countries based on data from the Computing Around the World study. “Computing” refers to curricula that incorporate programming and algorithms in their work and related material. Categories are defined as: mandatory as a standalone subject; partial provision in some schools or regions; integration as a cross-curricular component; announced government plans or pilot activities; and no evidence of formal computing education found.
Source: Authors’ elaboration based on Johnson (2025[184]), Two-Thirds of Countries Worldwide Offer Some Form of Computing in the School Curriculum, https://computingeducationresearch.org/computing-education-around-the-world-data/.
Table 2.11 presents initiatives in Caribbean countries that aim to advance digital transformation and AI adoption. Barbados created the National MSME Development Policy (NMDP). The Dominican Republic created Digital Agenda 2030. Trinidad and Tobago developed the National Digital Transformation Plan (NDTP) and created the Ministry of Public Administration and Artificial Intelligence. There are also regional initiatives, such as the OECS’s Caribbean Digital Transformation Project and UNESCO’s Caribbean AI Policy Roadmap.
Other relevant experiences in the region include Barbados’ adoption of a new grid code with digitalised interconnection and operational requirements, initiatives to expand e‑governance and adopt regional best practices in transparency and accountability, and improved digitisation for effective EWS and monitoring of agricultural water/heat levels. Moreover, Jamaica’s plans to expand capabilities in sectors such as Business Process Outsourcing and Special Economic Zones will require improved connectivity. These opportunities are expanding (given time-zone and language affinities with North America).
This chapter highlights the importance of guiding investment efforts in the Caribbean towards resilience and sustainability as two fundamental policy objectives. Caribbean countries can design and implement public investment projects, engaging the private sector to improve their growth potential in a sustainable and inclusive fashion. Mainstreaming climate mitigation and adaptation policies as cross‑cutting issues across government levels and agencies is key. Integrated approaches would allow the green transition to fully consider social development priorities in the green transition, while helping to reduce multi‑dimensional inequalities.9 The key policy messages below present actionable priorities to help create institutional and financial conditions for resilient and sustainable investment projects that improve citizens’ safety and well-being (Box 2.14).
Invest in resilient development
Prioritise investments in climate-resilient infrastructure to safeguard populations and support economic stability. Well-designed resilient assets can substantially reduce GDP losses by limiting damage to capital during natural disasters.
Invest heavily in early warning systems and civil protection mechanisms to prevent, prepare for and reduce the economic, environmental and social impacts of extreme climate-related events.
Promote PPPs to catalyse new sources of private expertise and finance for critical public infrastructure, while addressing key challenges related to PPPs, such as performance and impact evaluation, project preparation and sustainability, and risk management and contract monitoring. Taking advantage of initiatives such as the ONE Caribbean Project Preparation Coordination Mechanism (PPCM) could provide an impulse to the needed first steps.
Strengthen regional and international partnerships to attract investments and mobilise resources that align the international financing agenda with regional and national priorities.
Direct investment towards strategic sectors of opportunity
Foster the structural transformation of the region’s productive sectors to support a more sustainable growth model, generate quality employment, enhance well-being and better respond to climate-related challenges.
Promote opportunities to drive innovation, resilience and inclusive development across the region by investing in strategic sectors, including the energy transition, blue and circular economies, sustainable tourism and transport, Nature-based Solutions, creative industries and digital transformation.
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← 1. This estimation includes The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
← 2. The Infrascope index (https://infrascope.eiu.com/about) is a benchmarking tool that evaluates the capacity of countries to identify, select, prepare, structure and execute PPP projects so as to help determine a country’s capacity to implement sustainable and efficient PPPs in key sectors, including transport, energy, water and sanitation, solid waste management and social infrastructure. The index aims to help policymakers identify challenges to private sector participation in infrastructure that, if overcome, could encourage greater use and availability of PPPs and support the broader development agenda.
← 3. PFP is defined as an approach or single initiative that secures important policy changes and all funding necessary to meet specific conservation goals of a programme over a defined, long-term timeframe with the ultimate aim of achieving the ecological, social, political, organisational and financial sustainability of that programme (WWF, 2021[192]).
← 4. Creative industries include music, film, literature, fashion and digital content rooted in cultural expression and intellectual property.
← 5. Cultural goods are products that contain artistic or creative value. They are created, produced or shared in cultural and creative sectors, such as design, craft, film, music, books, performing arts, architecture, museums and heritage. Their value comes from their cultural or artistic content, often protected by intellectual property, and they help generate jobs and innovation (OECD, 2023[193]).
← 6. Productive and resilient agriculture is defined by FAO as “Resilient agricultural practices that increase productivity and production, that help maintain ecosystems, that strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change, extreme weather, drought, flooding and other disasters and that progressively improve land and soil quality” (FAO, 2025[136]).
← 7. Estimated broadband gap information is used to calculate the economic net benefits of digital infrastructure. The cost of installing digital infrastructure to fill the gap (in USD terms) is estimated for each Caribbean country by adding the cost of closing the gaps, which is the sum of the cost of investing in fixed broadband and mobile broadband. The cost of fixed broadband is based on an estimate of the required capital expenditure per person (from past projects), controlling for savings on cost per person from higher population density. The cost of mobile broadband is estimated as the mobile broadband investment requirement per person, multiplied by the population (see (Rosenblatt et al., 2022[173]) for methodology). To calculate the benefits of closing the digital infrastructure investment gap, the econometric model developed by (Zaballos and López-Rivas, 2012[174]) was applied.
← 8. Computer science is the study of computers and their algorithmic processes. It spans multiple domains, including artificial intelligence, computer systems and networks, security, databases, human-computer interaction, vision and graphics, numerical analysis, programming languages, software engineering and computational theory. For early education, key foundational concepts include algorithms (ordered sequences of commands) and control structures (instructions that shape algorithmic behaviour, such as loops or conditional statements.
← 9. The IDB Strategy+ is a commitment to address the region’s vulnerabilities and unlock its potential to foster transformative social and economic progress while addressing climate change. It sets the Group’s strategic direction through 2030, with biodiversity, natural capital and climate change being its main areas of focus.