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The Philippine economy grew by 3% in the fourth quarter of 2025, bringing full year growth to 4.4%, below the government’s target range of 5.5-6.5% and slower than the 5.7% recorded in 2024
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The fourth quarter expansion is the weakest quarterly growth in 2025, following the revised 3.9% growth in the third quarter and lower than the 5.3% growth in the fourth quarter of 2024
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Lingering global economic uncertainties, adverse economic effects of weather- and climate-related disruptions, and the flood control projects corruption scandal affected GDP growth
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The government forecasts gross domestic product to grow by 5-6% in 2026 and 5.5-6.5% in 2027
The Philippine economy grew by 3% in the fourth quarter of 2025, bringing full year growth to 4.4%, below the government’s target range of 5.5-6.5% and slower than the 5.7% recorded in 2024.
The fourth quarter expansion is the weakest quarterly growth in 2025, following the revised 3.9% growth in the third quarter and lower than the 5.3% growth in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority.
The weak growth was the outcome of several factors that unfolded alongside lingering global economic uncertainties, such as the adverse economic effects of weather- and climate-related disruptions that led to unexpected class and work suspensions, and the flood control projects corruption scandal that weighed on business and consumer confidence, Department of Economy, Planning, and Development secretary Arsenio Balisacan said in a statement delivered at a press conference.
Domestic demand growth slowed to 0.7% in the fourth quarter, bringing full-year growth to 3.7%, down from 5.8% in 2024. Public and private construction as well as private consumption were particularly affected during this period.
The top contributors to the fourth quarter 2025 growth were wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, financial and insurance activities, public administration and defense, and compulsory social security.
For the whole year of 2025, the major industries that contributed the most to the annual growth were wholesale and retail trade, repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, financial and insurance activities, and manufacturing.
Among the major economic sectors, agriculture, forestry, and fishing (AFF), and services grew 1% and 5.2%, respectively, in the fourth quarter. The industry sector, on the other hand, posed a 0.9% decline.
For the full year of 2025, AFF, industry, and services posted growths of 3.1%, 1.5%, and 5.9%, respectively.
READ: PH economy grew 4% in Q3 2025, slowest in four years
Looking ahead, Balisacan said the government sees 2026 as “our rally point.”
“We are accelerating efforts to restore public trust through improvements in governance and public services—improvements that Filipinos can see and feel in their everyday lives,” he said.
Balisacan said the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) has decided to endorse a gross domestic product growth forecast of 5-6% for 2026 and 5.5-6.5% for 2027. This is lower than the 6% to 7% growth target announced by the DBCC in June last year.
