Fueled by a massive consumer boom, the economy of the Philippines is predicted to be the second fastest growing one in the world this year, with strong economic growth set to continue for at least another four years.
Today’s economic outlook: sunny with a chance of growth
Emerging markets in Asia and Africa lead the world when it comes to economic growth at the moment, with the Philippines predicted to see its economy grow by 6.3% over the course of 2015, placing it second only to China, where the economy is set to grow by 7.0%.
Kenya is in third place with a predicted 6.0% growth, while India with 5.50% and Indonesia with 5.30% complete the top five of economic powerhouses for the year. In comparison, the USA and the UK are expected to grow 3.1% and 2.6% this year respectively, while the world as a whole is expected to grow 3.2%.
 
The strong economic growth in the Philippines is largely down to rising consumer spending, which by now accounts for around 70% of the economy, and the government has stated that the services, agriculture, construction and manufacturing sectors drove most of this growth. It also somewhat makes up for still lower than ideal levels of foreign investment. If concerns such as the 60 percent domestic and 40 percent foreign ownership rule, poorly maintained infrastructure on which to move goods, near-prohibitive power rates and extensive red tape for setting up businesses can be addressed, then the level of home grown and foreign investment would rise even further, resulting in more economic benefits.
Even with a lot of challenges still unresolved, the country is showing strong growth and its GDP is predicted to rise by around 6% every year until at least 2019, the longest such stretch since the 1950s post-war boom. It’s going to be more economic fun in the Philippines for some time to come.
