Since the late 1990s, with comparatively low and stable inflation, relative political stability and the deepening of local and regional financial markets, Caribbean governments have largely had easy access to financial resources. Increased access to international capital markets and deepening domestic financial markets encouraged international and domestic borrowing and led to a virtual doubling of average national public debt in the Region since the mid-1990s. This steady debt accumulation has placed Caribbean countries among the most highly indebted middle-income countries in the world. At the end of 2010,1/6th of the 10 most highly indebted countries were from the Caribbean, while four countries – St. Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica, Barbados and Grenada – ranked among the top five. All six countries had public debt levels in excess of 80 percent (%) of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).[...]