Data Sources
CaribEcon uses a combination of comparable international datasets and primary national sources. For regional macroeconomic comparison, the dataset relies primarily on IMF World Economic Outlook series for macroeconomic estimates and forecasts, and World Bank World Development Indicators for cross-country development, labour, and FDI-related data.
UNCTAD is retained in the source framing where applicable for investment and capital-flow context. National sources are used where they provide stronger country-specific detail, including central banks, national statistical offices, ministries of finance, budget documents, treasury reports, and official releases.
Publications are indexed from the IMF, World Bank, Caribbean Development Bank, ECLAC, and regional institutions where available. News and deals are sourced from curated Caribbean outlets, company announcements, official releases, and linked public source material.
Country Coverage
The current dataset covers 16 Caribbean economies. Coverage may vary by indicator because not every economy reports every metric on the same schedule or through the same institutional channel.
Indicator Definitions
Indicator labels are standardized for the interface, while source notes and units preserve important country-level differences. The main public-facing indicators use the following working definitions.
Actuals, Estimates, And Forecasts
Values are labelled by status. Actual indicates historical reported data. Estimate or est indicates a source-provided estimate where final reported data may not yet be available. Forecast, projection, or f indicates a forward-looking projection from source datasets such as IMF WEO.
Estimates and forecasts are not official outcomes. They may be revised as source institutions publish new vintages, national accounts are updated, or economic conditions change.
Missing Data Treatment
Missing data is not treated as zero. Where no reliable official or comparable source value is available, the dataset records a blank value and may attach a source note explaining the gap.
Countries may be excluded from specific charts when no comparable value is available. Some views use latest available data rather than forcing every country into the same year. Any derived values, interpolation, or fallback logic should be labelled in the source notes when used.
Offshore Financial Centres
Offshore financial centres such as the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands can distort regional FDI comparisons because reported flows may reflect financial intermediation rather than domestic real-economy investment.
Where the site provides an exclusion toggle or filtered comparison, that treatment is intended to improve interpretability. The excluded economies are not wrong; they are separated because they behave differently in capital-flow data.
Update Frequency
Data updates depend on source release schedules. Macroeconomic indicators may update annually, quarterly, or monthly depending on the metric, country, and source institution. Comparable international datasets are refreshed when new source releases become available.
News feeds are designed as a more frequent rolling archive when the pipeline is active. Deals and publications remain editorial-in-the-loop, so additions depend on source discovery, validation, and curation.
Limitations
- Caribbean data can be fragmented across institutions and release formats.
- Some countries have reporting lags or incomplete public time series.
- Definitions may vary slightly across comparable and primary sources.
- Small economies can show volatile percentage changes from one year to the next.
- Forecasts are sensitive to shocks such as commodity prices, tourism cycles, natural disasters, fiscal policy, and external financing conditions.
- CaribEcon is a research and educational tool, not an official statistical source or investment advice.
Corrections
If users notice a source mismatch, labelling issue, or data inconsistency, they can contact the project maintainer or submit a correction through the project repository or existing public project channel.