Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 3) — The Philippines remains a lower-middle income country, according to the World Bank’s (WB) updated classification of economies for fiscal year 2024.
The Washington-based lender’s data showed the Philippines’ gross national income (GNI) per capita — or the country’s final income for the year divided by the population — falls behind other Southeast Asian countries.
The country’s GNI per capita saw a continuous rise as it recovered from pandemic-stricken 2020, posting $3,950 for 2022 or nearly ₱218,000 per Filipino, according to the data.
It falls within the bank’s lower-middle income bracket of $1,136 and $4,465.
The country’s GNI per capita was $3,770 in 2019, $3,350 in 2020, and $3,550 in 2021.
The multilateral lender updates the income classification of countries each year on July 1, based on the GNI per capita of the previous calendar year. The latest classification is good until June 30 next year.
In Southeast Asia, nations with the same classification were Myanmar ($1,210), Cambodia ($1,700), Timor-Leste ($1,970), Laos ($2,360), and Vietnam ($4,010).
Indonesia ($4,580), Thailand ($7,230), and Malaysia ($11,780) are in the upper middle-income bracket.
Brunei ($31,410) and Singapore ($67,200) are high-income economies
The government is aiming to reach upper middle-income status by 2025, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expressing confidence that the Philippine Development Plan for 2023-2028 could help in achieving the goal.
To be classified under that status, a country must have a GNI per capita of between $4,466 and $13,845, the WB said.
In September last year, Marcos told the United Nations General Assembly that the country remained on track to reach the upper middle-income economy by 2023.
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