Laguna province, home to various export processing zones and high-end residential developments, emerged as the largest provincial economy in 2022, according to the Provincial Product Accounts (PPA) released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) Monday.
The PSA report, titled “2022 Economic Performance of the Provinces in the Philippines,” revealed that the 82 provinces contributed 56.1 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022. The National Capital Region (NCR) and other highly-urbanized cities accounted for the remaining GDP share.
“Laguna accounted for the largest share among the 82 provinces at 5.0 percent,” the PSA said in the maiden release of the PPA.
The PSA said that based on constant 2018 prices, Laguna’s provincial product reached P990.69 billion, contributing 5.0 percent to the country’s GDP with a size of P19.94 trillion in 2022.
“This was followed by Cavite, Batangas and Bulacan, with 3.7 percent, 3.1 percent and 3.0 percent shares, respectively,” the PSA said.
Cavite contributed P731.39 billion; Batangas, P615.81 billion; and Bulacan, P604.71 billion.
“Moreover, four of the provinces included in the top 10 are part of Region IV-A [Calabarzon], while four provinces are from Region III [Central Luzon]. The other two provinces included in the top 10 are from Region VII [Central Visayas] and Region I [Ilocos Region].
Pampanga in Central Luzon ranked fourth with P525.65 billion or 2.6 percent; followed by Cebu in Central Visayas with P388.11 billion or 1.9 percent; Pangasinan in Ilocos Region with P352.93 billion or 1.8 percent; Rizal in Calabarzon with P340.63 billion or 1.7 percent; Nueva Ecija in Central Luzon with P298.57 billion or 1.5 percent; and Bataan in Central Luzon with P256.89 billion or 1.3 percent.
The PSA noted that nearly all provinces in the Philippines experienced growth in 2022 compared to 2021.
Aklan registered the fastest growth of 22.5 percent in 2022, followed by Nueva Vizcaya, Davao Oriental, and Sorsogon, with 13.1 percent, 12.3 percent and 12.2 percent annual growths, respectively.
All the top 10 provinces in terms of annual growth rates also recorded growths faster than the national GDP growth rate of 7.6 percent.
Other rapidly growing provincial economies in 2022 were Batangas which expanded 11.5 percent’ Zambales, 11.3 percent; Romblon, 9.8 percent; Bulacan, 9.8 percent; Tarlac, 9.7 percent; and Kalinga, 9.3 percent.
The PSA said this was the first time it released the results of the provincial product accounts (PPA) of the 16 pilot regions outside the National Capital Region (NCR), covering 82 provinces and 17 highly urbanized cities (HUCs) from November to December 2023. The PPA is a mechanism to compile the GDP at the subnational level.
The PSA announced it would release the PPA for the NCR in 2024.
By 2025, the PPA is programmed to be institutionalized in all regions, which ensures annual compilation of PPA for all provinces and HUCs in the country,” it said.
