World Bank: Philippines to reach upper middle-income status by 2027

The World Bank projects the Philippines will achieve upper middle-income economy status by 2027, a year later than the current administration's target of 2026.

World Bank Lead Economist for the Philippines, Gonzalo Varela, stated that the country would likely take a couple more years to surpass the upper middle-income threshold due to the ongoing tariff war impacting the local economy.

The World Bank trimmed its gross domestic product growth forecast for the Philippines to 5.3 percent in 2025 from 6.1 percent previously, and projects 5.4 percent growth for 2026.

This projected growth in 2025 falls short of the Marcos administration's target of 6 percent to 8 percent.

Currently, the Philippines is classified as a lower middle-income country with a gross national income (GNI) per capita of $4,230 in 2023.

Lower middle-income economies have a GNI per capita between $1,146 and $4,515, while upper middle-income economies range from $4,516 to $14,005.