SunStar
SunStar File Photo January 28, 2021 THE Philippines’ gross domestic product (GDP) has declined by 8.3 percent in the last quarter of 2020, bringing the annual growth rate down by 9.5 percent, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021.
This is worse than the 7.3 percent contraction in 1984-1985, when political unrest led to a recession and the 0.5 percent decline in 1998 due to the Asian financial crisis.
However, the PSA said the country’s GDP posted a quarter-on-quarter growth of 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter, after shrinking by 11.5 percent in the third quarter and by 16.9 percent in the second quarter.
The -16.9 percent growth in the second quarter was the lowest recorded quarterly growth starting the 1981 series.