MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine economy grew at an average of 5.6 percent in 2024, a tad faster than the 5.5 percent growth recorded in 2023.
But that pace of expansion fell short of the Marcos administration’s growth target of 6 to 6.5 percent for last year.
The average growth in 2024 also fell below consensus. An Inquirer survey of economists last week yielded a median estimate of 5.8 percent for the full-year growth.
In the fourth quarter, the economy grew by 5.2, unchanged from the third quarter.
As it is, analysts had said the economy would have posted more solid growth in the final three months of 2024 if not for the onslaught of typhoons late last year, which restrained the typical surge in economic activities during the holiday season.
“We experienced multiple setbacks,” Socioeconomic Planning Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon told a press conference.