A few days ago, the Philippines announced its gross domestic
product (GDP) growth during the second quarter to be at 5.9 percent. The BBC
covered this piece of news and so did the Financial Times, CNBC, and The Wall
Street Journal.
How important is this piece of information that
international news agencies are writing about it? The fact that the GDP growth
of the country is right behind China’s 7.6 percent makes it newsworthy but
before we all start celebrating, one must note that the country’s economy is
ranked at no. 32 out of 35 based on its size.
In 2011,
the Philippine economy’s size was equivalent to USD 225 billion but if one
compares it to its neighbors Thailand and Indonesia with USD 345 billion and
USD 846 billion respectively, there is a need for the Philippines to reach a
growth rate of 6 percent and maintain that growth rate for it to improve its
ranking in terms of economy size.
Photo: Better Philippines
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