CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA) — All provinces and highly urbanized cities (HUCs) in Northern Mindanao recorded positive economic growth in 2023, marking a year of expansion across the region.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the region’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 5.3 percent (%) in 2023, increasing from P935.27 billion in 2022 to P984.75 billion. This growth reflects a steady economic performance despite a slight decline from the previous year’s 7.2% increase. Among the provinces and HUCs, five areas outperformed the regional average. Camiguin led with an 11% growth, followed by Misamis Occidental (6.7%), Misamis Oriental (6.3%), Cagayan de Oro City (5.8%), and Iligan City (5.7%).
While Bukidnon remains an agriculture-based economy, other provinces and cities in the region are primarily services-driven. Cagayan de Oro City, with a 76.1% share of services, is the largest contributor to the region’s services sector, followed by Misamis Occidental, Camiguin, and Iligan City.
The region’s industrial sector also showed robust performance, expanding by 3.8%. Misamis Occidental led industrial growth at 9.7%, followed by Lanao del Norte and Camiguin. Meanwhile, the agriculture, forestry, and fishing (AFF) sector grew by 0.3%, with Camiguin achieving the highest growth in this sector at 12.6%.
Overall, the region’s per capita GDP for 2023 was at P190,097, with Cagayan de Oro City (P358,879), Iligan City (P226,286), and Misamis Occidental (P199,106) surpassing the regional average.
On the national level, Camiguin ranked as the second-fastest-growing economy. Bukidnon emerged as the top provincial contributor to the national AFF sector, contributing 7.1%. Camiguin achieved the fourth rank among provinces in the country for the fastest growth in AFF and ranked fourth in growth rate among provinces and HUCs in Services. Lanao del Norte came in fifth as the fastest-growing in Services.
For per capita GDP, Misamis Occidental ranked fifth, Misamis Oriental ranked eighth, and Bukidnon earned the tenth spot among the 82 provinces nationwide.
The result of the 2023 economic performance of the provinces and HUCs was announced by the PSA-10 in a regional dissemination forum on 2023 Provincial Product Accounts (PPA) held in this city on December 17, 2024. This marks the fourth year of compiling and disseminating the PPAs which began in 2021, initially covering only the provinces and HUCs of a few regions.
PSA-10 Regional Director Janith Aves explained that the PPA is a mechanism used to compile the GDP at the sub-regional level using a production approach.
“Through the PPA, the GDP of the provinces and highly urbanized cities are compiled, which can be used by economic planners, policymakers, and other stakeholders in assessing the performance of local economies, policy formulation and monitoring, and impact analysis, among others, for evidence-based decision-making,” she said.
Representatives of the Regional Statistics Committee member agencies, academe, and media attended the dissemination forum. (APB/PIA-10)
