The Philippine Statistics Authority recently reported that Puerto Princesa had the fastest economic development among 33 highly urbanized cities (HUCs) in the country in 2023.
PSA said on February 7 that every city they tracked “posted annual growth in 2023, with three HUCs recording double-digit growth.”
The cities that experienced double-digit growth include Puerto Princesa, which recorded an increase of 10.6 percent, Iloilo City, which observed a 10.5 percent rise, and Bacolod, which noted a 10 percent growth.
Also included in the top 10 were the following: City of Lapu-Lapu, 9.4 percent; City of Baguio, 9.0 percent; City of Lucena, 8.9 percent, City of Parañaque, 8.7 percent, City of Cebu, 8.3 percent; City of Mandaue, 7.6 percent; and City of Olongapo, 7.5 percent.
The annual growth rate of all 10 of the HUCs in the list was higher than the 5.5% growth rate of the national gross domestic product (GDP).
In 2023, Quezon City and the City of Makati were the only HUCs to have GDPs of one trillion pesos or more.
In 2023, the total GDP of all HUCs was predicted to be ₱9.23 trillion, which is 43.8 percent of the national’s. Quezon City accounted for the highest percentage of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 6.0 percent, followed closely by the City of Makati, which contributed 5.6 percent.
Moreover, other HUCs, which composed the top 10 were the following: City of Manila, 4.7 percent; City of Taguig, 2.7 percent; City of Davao, 2.5 percent; City of Pasig, 2.3 percent; City of Parañaque, 1.63 percent; Pasay City, 1.60 percent; City of Cebu, 1.5 percent; and City of Mandaluyong, 1.4 percent.
Eight of these economies included in the top 10 are HUCs in the National Capital Region (NCR), while only two are from regions outside NCR. (Figure 2)
The City of Makati topped among all HUCs across the Philippines in terms of per capita GDP in 2023.
The estimated per capita GDP at the national level at the tie was ₱186,476. Among all the HUC economies in the Philippines, the City of Makati stands out with an estimated per capita GDP of ₱1.78 million, making it the sole economy to surpass a million-peso per capita GDP in 2023.
Pasay City and the City of San Juan came next, with respective records of ₱766,194 and ₱713,042.
The cities of Mandaluyong, Pasig, Taguig, Manila, Muntinlupa, Baguio, and Parañaque were among the top 10 HUCs in terms of GDP per capita.
In addition, just one HUC outside of the NCR made it into the top 10, while nine were HUCs in the NCR.
