It, however, did miss the target set by the local economic authority.
On Wednesday, January 31, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) released the annual growth rate of the Philippines in its gross domestic product (GDP) for the year 2023.
As per NEDA chief Arsenio Balisacan, the country grew by a modest 5.6%, falling short of its earlier set target of between 6 to 7%.
That placed our neighboring country Vietnam ahead of the Philippines, as it recorded a 6.7% GDP growth rate in 2023.
PH’s 2023 record also lags behind the nation’s own GDP growth rate in 2022, which hit 7.6% and was the highest in Southeast Asia that year.
The GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2023 was also at 5.6%, the economic board noted.
For the current year, the GDP growth target has been set between 6.5% and 7.5%.