PSA revises 2023 GDP growth to 5.5%

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) revised the country's 2023 gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate downwards to 5.5% from a previous estimate of 5.6%.

This revised 5.5% growth for 2023 is a slowdown compared to the 7.6% expansion in 2022, marking the weakest growth since the 9.5% contraction in 2020.

The fourth quarter of 2023 also saw its growth estimate revised to 5.5%, down from the preliminary 5.6%.

This quarterly growth was lower than the 6% in the third quarter of 2023 and significantly less than the 7.1% growth in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The PSA maintained the gross national income growth at 10.5% for 2023, with growth in the agriculture and industry sectors remaining unchanged, but the services sector's expansion was slightly lowered to 7.1%.

Economic managers had targeted a growth rate of 6% to 7% for 2023, but high inflation, high interest rates, and slower government spending in the first half weighed down the expansion.

The Development Budget Coordination Committee also revised its target growth range for 2024 and narrowed it for 2025.

The World Bank forecasts the Philippines to grow by 5.8% in 2024, while economists anticipate a growth of around 6% for the same year.