The Philippine economy is expected to remain robust despite heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, the World Bank said.
In its Philippine Economic Update (PEU) released on Tuesday, the World Bank said Philippine economic growth is projected to grow at an average of 6 percent over 2024 to 2026 which will help sustain poverty reduction.
"The Philippines is expected to continue growing in a robust way, to continue being among the fastest growing countries in the region and we are expecting an average 6% growth over the next three years 2024-2026," World Bank lead economist Gonzalo Varela said in a separate briefing held at the World Bank office in Bonifacio Global City.
The World Bank projects Philippine economic growth to settle at 5.9 percent in 2024, slightly lower than the earlier 6 percent forecast.
Varela said the revision was due to the impact of adverse weather events that led to lower-than-expected growth in the third quarter of 2024.
"But over the term, strong growth is going to put the country in a better position to continue advancing on poverty reduction, supported mainly by improvements in household incomes and also by job creation," he said.
Philippine economic growth is expected to accelerate to 6.1 percent in 2025 and 6 percent in 2026.
The World Bank's report said the outlook will be anchored on improving conditions for private domestic demand such as easing inflation, more accommodative monetary policy, and the government’s commitment to sustained public investment.
According to the World Bank, robust growth is expected to boost poverty reduction due to improvements in household incomes, strong job creation, and continuing economic recovery.
"More jobs have been created as of recently. Now these jobs, the economic recovery and the government's continued social protection programs has meant that poverty rates have also declined," World Bank Senior Economist Jaffar Al-Rikabi said.
Poverty incidence based on the lower-middle-income country poverty line of $3.65 per day, 2017 PPP (purchasing power parity) is projected to decrease from 15.5 percent in 2023 to 13.6 percent to 11.3 percent by 2026.
