In 1960, the resource-rich Philippines had a higher per capita gross-domestic product than China, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea or Thailand. But decades of economic mismanagement reduced it to the poorest of these six East Asian economies by 2003.
Since President Benigno Aquino III took office in 2010, the Philippine economy has grown strongly, especially compared to some of its neighbors.
The economy has boomed.
But there is also much unfinished business.
Rapid growth has meant new opportunities for the elite, but the gap between rich and poor remains among the largest in Asia.
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The decades since World War II have shown the dangers of bad leadership in the Philippines. Will history repeat itself?
Trefor Moss and Patrick Barta
Andrew James, David Chan Tik Wai and MinJung Kim
Warangkana Chomchuen
Thomas Di Fonzo and Warangkana Chomchuen
Source: www.graphics.wsj.com
| GDP*, 2014 | 6.1% y-o-y growth | |
| GDP*, 2015 | 5.8% y-o-y growth | |
| GDP Per Capita, 2015f | $3,256 | |
| Exports**, 2014 | $62,102 million | |
| Exports**, 2015 | $58.648 million | |
| FDI Inflows, 2014 | $5.7B (revised) | |
| FDI Inflows, 2015 | $5.7B (preliminary) | |
| Poverty Rate, % of Pop, 1st sem 2014 | 25.8% | |
| Population, 2016 | 102.2 million | |
| Income Classification (WB) | Lower Middle Income | |
| *in constant 2000 prices | ||
| **in current prices |
