IMF Staff Country Reports

Belize: 2024 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; and Staff Report

Publication Date:

May 15, 2024

Electronic Access:

Free Download. Use the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this PDF file

Summary:

The 2024 Article IV Consultation with Belize highlights that real gross domestic product growth and inflation moderated in 2023. Belize’s key policy priorities include raising the primary balance with revenue mobilization and expenditure rationalization to lower public debt to a level that provides sufficient buffers, increasing expenditure in priority areas, adopting growth enhancing structural reforms, and building resilience to climate change and related disasters. These policies would boost growth and make it more inclusive. Boosting medium-term growth requires increasing female labor force participation, enhancing access to affordable credit for small and medium size enterprises, reducing crime, improving the business climate, and adopting a disaster resilience strategy that strengthens structural, financial, and post-disaster resilience and is based on a multi-year macro-fiscal framework. Keeping vulnerable financial institutions under enhanced supervision and requesting recapitalization when needed is important to maintain financial stability. Strengthening the currency peg requires increasing international reserves by reducing public debt, implementing structural reforms and limiting government financing by the Central Bank.

Series:

Country Report No. 2024/124

Subject:

Anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) Crime Economic sectors Fiscal policy Fiscal stance International organization Monetary policy Public debt Public sector Revenue administration

Frequency:

regular