MANILA, Philippines: The Philippine economy expanded but at a slower pace by 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Wednesday.
The result, however, was down from the previous quarter of 6.0 percent and 7.1 percent in the same quarter of the previous year. It was also lower than the 5.7 percent median forecast in a Manila Times poll of economists.
This brought the full-year 2023 growth to 5.6 percent, markedly down from the 7.6 percent growth in 2022 and below the government’s target range of 6.0 to 7.0 percent.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan mentioned that while growth is lower than the target, the country still maintains a strong position as one of the top-performing economies in Asia.
In comparison to other countries that have reported their fourth quarter 2023 real gross domestic product (GDP) growth figures, the Philippines trails behind Vietnam (6.7 percent) but outperformed China (5.2 percent) and Malaysia (3.4 percent).
PSA reported that the key drivers of the annual growth in the fourth quarter of 2023 were F=financial and insurance activities (11.8 percent), wholesale and retail trade, including repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (5.2 percent), and Construction (8.5 percent).
Meanwhile, for the full-year 2023, the top contributors to the annual growth were wholesale and retail trade, including repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles (5.5 percent), Financial and insurance activities (8.9 percent), and Construction (8.8 percent).
In the fourth quarter of last year, key economic sectors, namely Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing (AFF), Industry, and Services, showed year-on-year growth rates of 1.4 percent, 3.2 percent, and 7.4 percent, respectively.
Similarly, for the entire year of 2023, AFF, Industry, and Services recorded growth rates of 1.2 percent, 3.6 percent, and 7.2 percent, respectively.
On the demand side, in the fourth quarter of 2023, household final consumption expenditure (HFCE) increased by 5.3 percent year-on-year.
Gross capital formation and imports of goods and services both saw annual growth rates of 11.2 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, Government final consumption expenditure (GFCE) and Exports of goods and services experienced annual declines of 1.8 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively.
The Gross National Income (GNI) grew by 11.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, bringing the full-year 2023 growth to 10.5 percent.
Similarly, Net Primary Income (NPl) from the Rest of the World increased by 97.7 percent year-on-year during the fourth quarter of 2023 and by 96.6 percent for the entire year of 2023.