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The Philippine economy grew 5.4% in the first quarter of 2025, slower than the adjusted 5.9% growth in the same quarter of last year
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The main contributors to growth were wholesale and retail trade, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, financial and insurance activities, and manufacturing
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All major economic sectors, namely agriculture, forestry, and fishing; industry, and services, posted year-on-year improvements
The Philippine economy grew 5.4% in the first quarter of 2025, slower than the adjusted 5.9% growth in the same quarter of last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.
Still the first quarter gross domestic product is slightly faster than the 5.3% growth in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The main contributors to the first-quarter growth were wholesale and retail trade, and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, 6.4 percentage points; financial and insurance activities with 7.2 percentage points; and manufacturing with 4.1 percentage points.
All major economic sectors, namely agriculture, forestry, and fishing; industry, and services, posted year-on-year improvements during the period by 2.2%, 4.5%, and 6.3%, respectively.
Services had the highest contribution to total GDP in the first quarter with 3.9 percentage points, followed by industry with 1.3 percentage points, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing with 0.2 percentage points.
Of the 16 sectors, human health and social work activities posted the biggest growth of 11.1%, followed by transportation and storage with a 9.8% expansion and other services with 7.6% growth.
On the demand side, household final consumption expenditure grew year-on-year by 5.3%. Also posting expansions were government final consumption expenditure, 18.7%; gross capital formation, 4%; exports of goods and services, 6.2%; and imports of goods and services, 9.9%.
While the first quarter performance falls short of government expectations, “it reflects development from the broader global context of tempered economic activity amid persistent uncertainties,” Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement read by Department of Economy, Planning, and Development undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon during a press conference.
Balisacan noted that among Asian economies that have already released their first-quarter economic performance, the Philippines ranks second following Vietnam’s 6.9% growth and tied with China’s 5.4% while outpacing Indonesia’s 4.9%, Malaysia’s 4.4%, and Thailand’s forecasted growth of 2.9%.
“The first quarter’s performance reinforces the urgency of strategic policymaking, accelerated structural reforms toward economic diversification, and efficient and effective delivery of programs and projects as we near the midterm of the Marcos administration,” Balisacan said.
Earlier, the Development Budget Coordination Committee set growth assumptions for 2025 to 2028 to 6% to 8%, reflecting the anticipated impact of structural reforms and evolving domestic and global uncertainties.
