DAVAO CITY (PIA) -- Davao Region is the fifth fastest-growing economy among 17 regions in the country, based on the 2023 Region XI economic performance report presented by the Davao Region Statistical Services Office of the Philippine Statistics Authority. 

Davao Region posted a growth rate of 6.7 percent, with its economy valued at around P1.02 trillion.

Central Visayas posted the fastest growth at 7.3 percent in 2023. Western Visayas ranked second at 7.2 percent, followed by Ilocos Region at 7.1 percent. The Cordillera Administrative Region’s 6.9 percent growth rate was the fourth highest in the country. 

Undersecretary Claire Dennis S. Mapa, National Statistician and Civil Registrar-General, said that the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) measures the value of all the goods and services produced in the region, while the gross regional domestic expenditure (GRDE) presents the total expenditures of the residents along with their expenditures within the domestic territory, with other regions, and with the rest of the world. 

"Our goal for the GRDP and the GRDE is to provide our policymakers and stakeholders with a comprehensive picture of the regional economies, which will serve as an important tool for planning and policy formulation at the regional level," Mapa said. 

Davao region’s services sector had a major share of 60.9 percent, amounting to P620.08 billion followed by the industry sector at 24.6 percent, amounting to P250.94 billion, and agriculture, forestry, and fishing at 14.7 percent, equivalent to P147.18 billion to the regional economy. 

"The economy of Davao Region grew by 6.7 percent. With this growth, Davao Region became a trillion-peso economy, joining other big economies like the NCR, CALABARZON, Central Luzon, Central Visayas, and Western Visayas," RSSO-XI OIC Anthony B. Gales said in his presentation at a press conference held in Seda Hotel on April 25. 

"In 2023, the region’s economy was valued at P1.02 trillion, up from P954.23 billion in 2022, an estimated increase of P63.97 billion," he added. 

In his presentation on the gross regional domestic product (GRDP), Gales said that other services with 21.5 percent, accommodation and food service activities with 16.9 percent, and transportation and storage with 13.2 percent are among the top three industries with fastest growth from 2022 until 2023. 

When it comes to fastest growth by expenditure items, imports of services ranked first with 30.1 percent, followed by 22.8 percent from exports of services and construction with 10.6 percent.

The per capita GRDP of every Dabawenyo stood at P184,074, which significantly contributed to the regional economy with a 5.2 percent increase from the recorded P175, 042 in 2022, while the per capita household final consumption expenditure increased at 4.2 percent, valued at P118,353, higher than P113,632 in 2022. 

Davao Region is the sixth-biggest economy in the country with a 4.8 percent share of the national gross domestic product. (RVC/RGA/JBMJr/PIA 11).