Barbados.

Fiscal anchor

Public debt to 60% of GDP by FY2035/36 (BERT 2026, reaffirmed under the 36-month precautionary SBA approved by the IMF Executive Board on 22 June 2026); primary surplus 4.1% of GDP target for FY2026/27 (Central Bank of Barbados, April 2026 outlook), tapering thereafter.

IMF programme status

Precautionary SBA approved by the IMF Executive Board 22 June 2026 (SDR 189m / US$257m, 200% of quota, 36 months); 2026 Article IV consultation concluded concurrently (PR 26/219)

Notes

Headline debt-to-GDP figure (94.6%, end-FY2025/26) is the Central Bank of Barbados published ratio, reported in its Review of the Barbados Economy January to March 2026 (29 April 2026) as a 2.7 percentage point fall over the financial year. This is an actual outturn, not a projection, and it is the figure the Bridgetown Brief cites. It replaces the 102.5% gross public sector figure from IMF Country Report 25/153 that this row previously led with: that number was both a year stale and roughly eight points above every current published series, which made this tracker disagree with its own Briefs. For reference the IMF WEO general government series projects 89.5% for 2026 and showed 94.2% for 2025. Note that the CBoB attributes part of the recent decline to a GDP rebasing rather than to repayment, so comparisons against pre-2025 figures (109.8% at end-2023, 103% during FY2024/25) cross a methodology break and overstate the underlying improvement. The headline primary balance figure 4.2% is the FY2025/26 outturn reported by IMF Press Release 26/151 (14 May 2026), against 4.0% reported by the Central Bank of Barbados, a definitional gap rather than a revision (Review of the Barbados Economy, January to March 2026, 29 April 2026) and from the 4.4% target previously cited in BERT 2026 and IMF Country Report 25/153; the government targets 4.1% in FY2026/27 per the CBoB April 2026 Outlook. Real GDP expanded 1.7% in Q1 2026 and 2026 growth is projected within a 2 to 3 percent range by the CBoB; the April 2026 WEO projected 2.5% for 2026, which the June 2026 Article IV staff projection revised down to 2.2%, while IMF Press Release 26/151 reports a 2025 outturn of 2.7% and characterises 2026 growth qualitatively as positive but at a more moderate rate. The IMF Article IV mission was in country from 4-14 May 2026 (led by Mission Chief Michael Perks) and concluded with a staff-level agreement on a 36-month precautionary Stand-By Arrangement of SDR 189 million (~US$260 million), to be considered by the IMF Executive Board in June 2026. On 22 June 2026 the IMF Executive Board approved the 36-month precautionary Stand-By Arrangement (SDR 189 million, US$257 million, 200% of quota) and concluded the 2026 Article IV consultation (Press Release 26/219); the approval reaffirmed strong fiscal performance with a primary surplus of 4.2% of GDP in FY2025/26, real GDP growth of 2.7% in 2025, public sector debt at 96.0% of GDP in FY2025/26 on a firm downward path, and the commitment to the 60%-of-GDP debt target by FY2035/36. The headline debt, primary balance, and growth figures in this row are unchanged from the May 2026 staff-level agreement; this refresh updates the programme status from staff-level agreement to Board-approved.