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PH’s debt-to-GDP ratio shrinks to 61% as of Q1
The amount of the country’s debt relative to the size of the economy has shrunk as of the first quarter of 2023, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Thursday.
For the January to March 2023 period, the Philippines’ debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio stood at 61%, down from 63.5% in the first quarter of 2022, Diokno said in a statement.
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The debt-to-GDP ratio represents the amount of the government’s debt stock relative to the size of the economy.
The running debt stock stood at a fresh record high of P13.856 trillion as of end-March this year, higher than the P13.752 trillion in February, and P13.698 trillion in January.
Broken down, P9.513 trillion came from domestic debt, including P156 million from direct loans, and P9.513 trillion from debt securities.
Meanwhile, the economy as measured by GDP—total value of goods and services produced in a specific period—grew slower at 6.4% in the first three months of 2023 as elevated inflation, which stood at 8.3% in the same period, dampened consumer spending.
This is also the economy’s slowest footing since the country graduated from the pan-