2  BIS central bankers’ speeches  Four countries in the Caribbean have accumulated exceptionally high public debt, averaging in excess of 90 per cent of GDP: Jamaica (143 per cent), St. Kitts & Nevis (145 per cent), Grenada (105 per cent), and Antigua & Barbuda (98 per cent).
The gravity of the Caribbean’s debt situation is generating debt restructuring or credit events in a few countries, and placing significant pressure on credit ratings. Already in 2012, three Caribbean countries have been downgraded by rating agencies.