SECTOR: Economy
SONA YEAR: 2022
Have gross national income per capita of at least USD4,256
PROMISE STATUS - DATE: In progress as of 07/17/2023
- Data from the World Bank as of 2022 show that the Gross National Income (GNI) per capita is US$3,950, placing the Philippines as a lower middle-income economy. As of the first quarter of 2023, GNI per person is at US$986 at current prices. Given the year-on-year growth rates of GNI and the population, the BSP said the annual GNI per capita in 2023 is pegged at US$4,420.
- To reach “upper middle-income” status, the country’s GNI per capita must be between US$4,466 and US$13,845. GNI measures the total income that a country receives from its residents and businesses that are located inside or outside the country. GNI per capita is the value of GNI divided by the country’s population.
- In his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2022, Marcos said the Philippines remains “on track” to reach upper middle income status by 2023. But Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan and World Bank country director Ndiamé Dapo recently forecast that it is achievable by 2025. (Read VERA FILES FACT CHECK: Marcos’ claim that PH ‘remains on track’ to reach upper middle-income status by 2023 needs context)
- Sonny Africa, executive director of IBON Foundation, explained that GNI does not reflect “the reality of low family incomes and earnings, lack of secure and decent work, inadequate education, nutrition and health, poor housing, lack of clean water, sanitation and electricity, lack of assets, and pervasive vulnerability, exploitation and violence.”