Belize’s Economy Slows to 0.8% Growth in Second Quarter

Today, the Statistical Institute of Belize (SIB) held its second press conference of the year, sharing updates on the country’s economy, consumer confidence, prices, and trade. According to the SIB, Belize’s second-quarter 2025 GDP shows the economy grew 0.8 percent when compared to the same period last night. Agriculture drove the gains, thanks to strong performances from sugarcane, bananas, citrus, and livestock. The main areas dragging the numbers down included wholesale and retail trade, transport services, and public administration. Here is SIB’s Jacqueline Sabal with the statistics.

 

Jacqueline Sabal, Manager, Economic Statistics Department, SIB

“Goods and services produced in the second quarter totaled 1.375 billion, an increase of 10.7 million or 0.8% when compared to the second quarter of 2024. As we look at the industry contribution to the 0.8% further quarter two, note that the primary drivers of economic growth were mainly agriculture and manufacturing. We also saw notable growth in construction as the industry with the most negative impact was wholesale and retail trade. However, we can also observe negative contributions from electricity, taxes, public administration, and other service activities.”