Caraga’s economy posted the fastest growth among the country’s 17 regions with an accelerated rate of 9.6 percent in 2011 from 7.4 percent in 2010.  The region’s impressive growth was fueled by the 9.7 percent expansion of its Service sector and the rebound of its Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry and Fishing Sector to a growth of 3.4 percent in 2011 from a decline of 9.6 percent in 2010. 

 

The top five fastest growing regions in 2011 also included Central Visayas with a 7.9 percent growth, Central Luzon with 7.5 percent, Western Visayas with 5.5 percent, and, Cagayan Valley with 5.4 percent. On the other hand, the economy of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) declined by 1.0 percent in 2011 from a growth of 2.3 percent in 2010.

 

For the period 2010-2011, five regional economies, out of the country’s 17 regions, posted accelerated growths. Cagayan Valley posted the biggest jump in growth with 6.5 percentage points as its economy bounced back from a decline of 1.1 percent in 2010 to a growth of 5.4 percent in 2011. Other regions which experienced accelerated growths were: Caraga, 7.4 percent to 9.6 percent; SOCCSKSARGEN, 2.0 percent to 4.0 percent; Western Visayas, 3.7 percent to 5.5 percent; and, MIMAROPA, 1.1 percent to 2.5 percent. Meanwhile, the growth rate of CALABARZON’s economy took the biggest dive by 8.5 percentage points from 11.1 percent in 2010 to 2.6 percent in 2011. 

 

NCR continued to have the largest share of the country’s total output with a 35.7 percent share in 2011, slightly lower than the 35.8 percent posted in 2010 and 2009. CALABARZON followed with a share of 17.4 percent and Central Luzon with 9.3 percent share. On the other hand, ARMM has the lowest share of 0.8 percent of the country’s GDP. 

 

NCR, likewise, contributed the largest at 1.3 percentage points to the national GDP growth of 3.9 percent in 2011, followed by Central Luzon with 0.7 percentage point and Central Visayas and CALABARZON which contributed 0.5 percentage point each. ARMM, on the other hand, had a negative contribution. 

 

The economies of all island groups posted slower growths in 2011 from their strong performances in 2010. 

 

Luzon’s economy (excluding NCR) slowed down to 3.9 percent in 2011 from a robust performance of 8.9 percent in 2010; Visayas decelerated to 5.9 percent from 7.3 percent and Mindanao’s economy turned in a lackluster performance of 3.2 percent from 4.7 percent.

 

The Luzon island group with seven regions (excluding NCR) contributed 37.5 percent of the country’s total domestic output – the largest among the island groups. The share, however, was just the same compared to the previous year. The Mindanao island group, composed of six regions accounted for 14.1 percent of the country’s economy – the same share in the previous year. Meanwhile, the Visayas island group, consisting of three regions, posted a share of 12.8 percent in 2011 which is 0.3 percentage point higher than its 12.5 percent share in 2010. 

 

NCR continued to record the highest per capita GRDP at Php175,064 in 2011 which is  1.9 percent higher than its per capita GRDP of PhP171,849 in 2010 and about three times the national per capita GDP of PhP62, 902. Besides NCR, only CALABARZON and CAR had higher real per capita GRDP than the national average at PhP79,283 and PhP74,359, respectively. Meanwhile, ARMM had the lowest per capita GRDP among the regions at PhP13,663. 

 

Fourteen of the 17 regions of the country turned in improved per capita GRDP with Caraga recording the highest increase at 8.1 percent. On the other hand, three regions recorded negative growths in per capita GRDP with ARMM dropping the most by 2.4 percent.

 

NCR posted the highest per capita index relative to the national average at 278.3 with CALABARZON a distant second at 126.0 and CAR, third at 118.2. All 14 other regions have indexes lower than the national average with ARMM at the bottom at 21.7. 

 

 

LINA V. CASTRO

Officer-in-Charge, Office of the Secretary General 

and Assistant Secretary General