Jamaica debt ratio edges up as public debt reaches $2.4 trillion

Jamaica’s public debt burden has moved slightly higher, with the independent fiscal watchdog reporting an eight per cent rise in the country’s debt stock.

The Independent Fiscal Commission said in its latest report that debt for the specified public sector, covering central government and selected self-financing public bodies, reached $2.4 trillion at the end of March this year. That was $179.8 billion more than the figure recorded a year earlier.

The IFC serves as Jamaica’s non-partisan fiscal oversight agency, with responsibility for tracking, evaluating and reporting on whether the Government is meeting its fiscal rules.

In its 56-page review of economic performance for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, the commission said it used “preliminary data” at the end of March to “impute” the debt-to-GDP ratio at 65.6 per cent. The ratio was 62.5 per cent at the end of March last year.

The commission also pointed out that the latest estimate remains below the 68.9 per cent ratio the Government had projected in the Fiscal Policy Paper released in February this year. It attributed the difference to a debt stock that was lower than expected, along with stronger nominal GDP.

Before the fiscal rules were suspended following the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa last October, Jamaica had been moving towards a 60 per cent debt-to-GDP ratio by the close of the current fiscal year.

The IFC said that, with the suspension in place, the Government has not yet passed legislation setting a revised date for reaching the 60 per cent target.

“The IFC reiterates that robust fiscal consolidation efforts will be essential to returning the debt to a sustained downward path toward this ceiling,” the oversight body said.

The commission said that once the suspension ends, the Government is expected under the Financial Administration and Audit Act to set out those steps in the next Fiscal Policy Paper.