PM Outlines Fiscal Outlook for 2026–27

With just two weeks left before the 2026–2027 fiscal year begins, Prime Minister John Briceño used today’s Special Sitting of the House to deliver a sweeping look at Belize’s economic health and the road ahead. Over an hour and forty minutes, the prime minister moved briskly through the nation’s wins and worries, from last year’s performance to the challenges shaping the new financial year. He tackled the big topics Belizeans feel every day: inflation, the cost of living, and the weight of both external and domestic debt. But P.M. Briceño also zeroed in on his administration’s development agenda, outlining plans across several key sectors for the coming year. Right at the top, he pointed to how government spent public dollars in 2025: just over one point six billion dollars, with education taking the biggest share, followed closely by national security.

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“Last year our economy grew by one point nine percent. This year, the projection is two-point three percent growth. The latest employment report by the SIB shows that a historic low of two percent, ninety-eight of every one hundred percent who sought work, found work. The Belize dollars remain firmly fixed to the US dollar at two to one, backed by one point one billion dollars in Central Bank reserves and seven hundred and thirty-seven point five million dollars in commercial bank external assets. The public debt as a percentage of GDP has been cut in half since 2020. Credit outstanding from the commercial banks to the private sector stood at two point eight billion dollars, reflecting growth in 2025 of seven-point six percent. And the commercial banks currently hold seven hundred and twenty point two million dollars in excess liquidity, available to the private sector to grow the economy and raise employment even higher. Finally, total government spending for fiscal year 2025/2026 ending on March thirty-first, will be at one point six eight billion dollars, representing twenty-four point one percent of the annual Gross Domestic Product.”

 

Belize Faces $4.5B Debt Challenge

Belize’s debt picture comes into sharper focus tonight, and we’re asking: how does the government plan to manage a multibillion-dollar bill? The country now carries just over four‑and‑a‑half billion dollars in public debt. Most of that, about sixty-four percent, is owed to lenders outside Belize. The rest sits with local banks and the Central Bank. But the Briceño administration insists it has a plan. The prime minister says his government will commit more than three hundred million dollars this year alone to pay down interest and principal. It’s a sizable chunk of money, one he argues is necessary to keep the country on a sustainable financial path.

 

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“At present, the public debt stands at four point six, seven, six billion dollars, which is approximately sixty-six point six percent of annual GDP. Of this total debt, two point nine eight four billion dollars, or about sixty-four, is external debt owed to creditors outside of Belize. A balance of one point six, nine, two billion dollars, or thirty-six percent, is debt being dominated in Belize dollars owed to local lenders and to the Central Bank. During fiscal year 2025-2026, government paid one hundred and thirty-one point eight million dollars in interest charges on the public debt. This means that government’s average borrowing rate is three point five percent. During the last budget year, one hundred and twenty-five million dollars was paid in amortization or principal payments. For the new budget year, government expects to pay one hundred and eighty-nine point one million dollars in interest and a hundred and forty million dollars in principal repayments.”

 

PM Reports Job Surge in 2025, but Cost of Living Still Bites

 

Prime Minister John Briceño says Belize’s job market surged in 2025, with employment and wage growth rising faster than inflation. In fact, he reports that ninety-eight percent of Belizeans looking for work were able to find a job. But even with those gains, the PM acknowledges what many families already feel, the cost of living is still squeezing household budgets across the country.

 

 

 

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“In 2025, Belizean households experienced a meaningful easing of price pressures. Inflation fell to one point one percent, down sharply from three-point three percent in 2024 and the near record high of six point three percent recorded in 2022, supported by lower fuel and communication costs and the continued normalization of international supply and freight conditions. Our labor market performed exceptionally well. Unemployment fell to a historic low, averaging two percent in 2025, down from two point six percent the year before, driven by job creation in service industries, particularly wholesale and retail trade, as well as in the tourism sector. More Belizeans entered the labor force, and wage growth outpaced inflation, strengthening real incomes and boosting purchasing power for families across the country. Even amid this good news, we recognize that structural challenges remain. We also recognize that while inflation has gone down, we still recognize and accept that the cost of living still remains a challenge for too many Belizeans.”

 

Public Spending Nears $2B in New Budget

 

The new fiscal year starts April first, and the Briceño administration is outlining how it plans to manage the country’s finances. Government expects to bring in just under one point eight billion dollars in revenue and grants, almost ten percent more than last year. But spending will top that, reaching almost two billion dollars. And one major cost driver, the prime minister notes, is public service wages, which continue to take a heavy bite out of the national budget.

 

 

 

Prime Minister John Briceño

“On the expenditure side, we proposed one point nine two billion dollars in total spending, of which one point two nine six billion dollars are recurrent in nature, and six hundred and six point eight million dollars represents capital investments. In this budget cycle, eighty-five point five million dollars in health expenditures are now reclassified from recurrent budget to the Capital II budget, while some twenty-one million dollars in education expenditure has also been reclassified. Both to better align with international government financial statistics classification. For this fiscal year, seven hundred and eighty million dollars is allotted to salaries and pensions, representing sixty percent of total recurrent spending. This total represents a net increase, year on year, of eighty-two million dollars or about eleven-point seven percent. At seven hundred and eight million dollars, wages account for almost eleven percent of GDP, one of the highest in the region and therefore something we have to keep under tight control.”

 

According to PM Briceño, over six hundred million dollars have been earmarked for capital investments, the highest in Belize’s history. Additionally, gross domestic product is forecasted at over seven billion dollars in output.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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