WASHINGTON:
LATIN AMERICA and the Caribbean are on track to enjoy four straight years of economic growth, says the United Nations.
In a new report released August 3, the U.N.'s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said the region will grow 4.3 per cent in 2005 and as much as four per cent in 2006.
Should these forecasts prove accurate, ECLAC said, this would make four straight years of economic growth while achieving a total rise in per capita gross domestic product (GDP) of about 10 per cent for 2003-2006.
ECLAC said the region has been reaping the benefits of a worldwide "external environment" marked by global growth in GDP, an expansion of international trade, higher commodity prices, and low interest rates. At the same time, an upswing in demand is being driven by exports of goods and services. The continuation of the economic growth process is beginning to create opportunities for investment, said ECLAC.
For 2005, Argentina is leading regional growth with a 7.3 per cent increase over 2004, followed by Venezuela with seven per cent, Uruguay with 6.2 per cent, Chile with six per cent, Peru with 5.5 per cent, and Panama with 4.5 per cent, said ECLAC in its report called Economic Survey of Latin America and the Caribbean, 2004-2005.
"There is room for some optimism," since the region "is better prepared to face the challenges," ECLAC said. But the agency added that quicker growth is needed to deal with serious problems in the Latin America/Caribbean labour market.
Money transfers (remittances) sent by migrants, mostly in the United States, back to their home countries in Latin America and the Caribbean rose in 2004 by US$6.4 billion, or 18.3 per cent.
Taken from the Washington File - a product of the Bureau of International Information Programmes, U.S. Department of State.
