Digital sector contributed 9.4% to PH 2022 GDP

MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The digital sector contributed around 9.4% to the Philippine Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2022, amounting to PHP2.08 trillion (US$37.4 billion). 

According to the latest data released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), although the sector’s 2022 contribution was slightly lower than 2021’s 9.6%, it had exceeded the pre-pandemic level of PHP1.96 trillion(US$35.3 billion) in 2019. 

Nicholas Mapa, senior economist at ING Bank Manila Branch, said the digital economy’s growth was “quite healthy” in 2022.

“We can explain the lower contribution to the overall GDP figure to the fact that the real economy (activities outside the digital economy) grew at a much faster pace,” he said in an e-mail.

Meanwhile, China Baking Corp. Chief Economist Domini Velasquez said that the usage of digital technology is bound to increase as traditional and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) firms continue to increase their demand for technology. 

“The DICT’s (Department of Information and Communications Technology) thrust of improving e-governance in government transactions will also help drive the digital economy,” she added.