Philippine economy exceeds expectations with above-target 2021 growth

• Jan 27, 2022

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine economy grew beyond the government’s expectations last year, with growth in the fourth quarter surprising on the upside despite the onslaught of Typhoon “Odette” and a prolonged pandemic.

Gross domestic product, the sum of all products and services created in an economy, grew 5.6% year-on-year in 2021, a dramatic turnaround from the historic 9.6% collapse recorded in 2020, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported Thursday.

“The door to our full recovery is now open,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua said in a press conference.

Last year’s performance exceeded the government’s revised target of 5-5.5% growth. During the final quarter of 2021, the economy surprisingly expanded 7.7% year-on-year, faster than downwardly revised 6.9% expansion posted in the preceding quarter despite the Philippines — which is still battling a prolonged pandemic — having experienced crisis after crisis when Odette smashed the country days before Christmas day.

“Consumption bounced back sharply after Covid daily case count slid under a thousand, right ahead of the holiday break,” Nicholas Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank in Manila, said.

This is a developing story.

Source: https://www.philstar.com/business/2022/01/27/2156714/philippine-economy-exceeds-expectations-above-target-2021-growth