Dennis Gaviola

Article (news)

Ha Long Bay, Vietnam

Kaxandra Salonga

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17555158850631755515884593.jpeg" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Ha Long Bay, Vietnam" style="width:960px"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Ha Long Bay, Vietnam</span></span></span></div><p>MANILA —  The Philippines’ GDP per capita has been overtaken by Vietnam, a gap that National Economic and Development Authority Secretary Arsenio Balisacan attributed to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>During the House budget hearing Monday, Akbayan Party-list Rep. Chel Diokno asked why Vietnam has surpassed the Philippines.</p><p>“The Philippines has always been ahead in terms of the GDP per capita in so far as Vietnam is concerned. But in 2024 Vietnam surpassed us. And now they are a little bit higher than we are,” Diokno said.</p><p>According to the World Bank, Vietnam&#x27;s GDP was $476.39 billion in 2024. Meanwhile, the Philippines&#x27; GDP in 2024 was $462 billion. Vietnam is also aiming for a growth rate of 8.3 to 8.5 percent this year, after growing 7.1 percent last year. The Philippines meanwhile is aiming for a growth rate of 5.5 to 6.5 percent this year.  </p><p>Balisacan replied that the pandemic caused a bigger contraction in the Philippine economy compared to Vietnam. </p><p>“First, Vietnam over the last decade has been growing faster than the Philippines. Second, during the 2020 pandemic, our economy contracted by almost 10 percent. Whereas Vietnam contracted only a little. That particular year separated us from Vietnam, we lost three years essentially of growth as a result of the pandemic,” he said.</p><p>During the pandemic, the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte implemented what has been described as one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world. News outlets like Nikkei and Bloomberg ranked the Philippines as among the lowest in terms of COVID recovery and resilience. Nikkei even said that the Philippines could recover later than other countries from the pandemic, as it ranked 120th out of 121 countries in its index. </p><div style="line-height:1"><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/09/05/21/philippines-lags-in-covid-recovery-resilience-rankings" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Philippines ranks near bottom on Nikkei, Bloomberg lists in COVID recovery, resilience</strong></a></div><div style="line-height:1"><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/09/30/21/palace-bloomberg-covid-survey-covers-only-53-countries" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>PH worst place to be? Bloomberg ranking considered only 53 countries, says Palace</strong></a></div><div style="line-height:1"><a class="fr-green" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/business/12/16/20/strong-virus-response-helps-vietnams-economy-weather-pandemic" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Strong virus response helps Vietnam&#x27;s economy weather pandemic</strong></a></div><p>Balisacan added that the impact of the pandemic on health, education, and small and medium enterprises widened the gap. </p><p>“Even our small and medium enterprises, they were hit very hard by the pandemic. Many closed and were not able to recover. That made a lot of difference,” Balisacan said.</p><p>Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said the country’s archipelagic geography also contributes to its lag behind Vietnam’s economy.</p><p>“Vietnam is land-locked with China. So when China grew, they used Vietnam as a transhipment point to export to the United States,” he said.</p>

<p>During the House budget hearing Monday,a congressman asked why Vietnam has surpassed the Philippines in terms of gross domestic product.</p>

During the House budget hearing Monday,a congressman asked why Vietnam has surpassed the Philippines in terms of gross domestic product.

Philippine GDP lags Vietnam's due to effects of pandemic: DEPDev

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Philippine GDP lags Vietnam's due to effects of pandemic: DEPDev

Kaxandra Salonga,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 18, 2025 07:18 PM PHT

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Updated August 19, 2025 02:26 PM PHT

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