Economy Overview
Bermuda's economy entered its seventh straight year of recession in 2015. Unemployment is 9%, public debt is growing and exceeds $2.3 billion, the government pension fund faces a $2.4 billion shortfall, and the economy has not attracted significant amounts of new foreign investment. Bermuda's FY 2015-16 budget proposal projects a 12% larger deficit than FY14/15. The government announced it would have to borrow $125 million in 2015 to meet current operating expenses. Still, Bermuda enjoys the fourth highest per capita income in the world, about 70% higher than that of the US. Tourism, which derives over 80% of its visitors from the US, accounts for 5.2% of GDP but a much larger share of employment. Tourism has struggled in the wake of the global recession of 2008. International business, which consists primarily of reinsurance and other financial services, is the real bedrock of Bermuda's economy, consistently accounting for about 85% of the island's GDP. Even this sector, however, has lost roughly 5000 high-paying expatriate jobs since 2008, weighing heavily on household consumption and retail sales. Bermuda must import almost everything. Agriculture and industry are limited due to the small size of the island.
Agriculture Products
bananas, vegetables, citrus, flowers; dairy products, honey
Industries
international business, tourism, light manufacturing
Industrial Production Growth Rate
0.7% (2014 est.)
Labor Force
33,490 (2014 est.)
Labor Force by Occupation
Agriculture: 2%
Industry: 15%
Services: 83% (2013 est.)
Unemployment Rate
7% (2013)
Population Below Poverty Line
11% (2008 est.)
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Lowest 10%: NA%
Highest 10%: NA%
Budget
Revenues: $867.8 million
Expenditures: $1.104 billion (2014 est.)
Public Debt
43% of GDP (FY14/15)
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Stock of Narrow Money
$3.422 billion (31 December 2013)
Stock of Broad Money
$25.1 billion (31 December 2013)
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
$1.535 billion (31 December 2010 est.)
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
Debt External
$1.4 billion (2012 est.)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment at Home
$2.664 billion (2013 est.)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad
$NA (2013 est.)
Exchange Rates
1 (2012 est.)
