CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA)--The economy of Northern Mindanao sustained its growth momentum in 2022 posting 7.2 percent (%), higher than the previous year’s performance of 6.3%.

Dr. Janith Aves, officer-in-charge of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA)-X, said the growth translated to an increase of P62.5 billion in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the region.

Accordingly, Services posted the biggest contribution of 5.3 percentage points growing the fastest at 10.1%, followed by Industry at 6.6%. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing (AFF) also expanded by 0.5% contributing 0.2 percentage point.

"The economy of the region is predominantly Services-based sharing 54.5% of the economy of the region, followed by the Industry sharing 25.5%. Meanwhile, Agriculture, forestry, and fishing accounted for 20% of the region's GDP," Aves further said.

Compared with other regions of the country, Northern Mindanao ranked 3rd with the highest per capita Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP), next to the National Capital Region and Cordillera Administrative Region.

It was also the 7th biggest regional economy, accounting for 4.7% of the total Philippine economy. Moreover, the region was the 7th biggest contributor to the country's 7.6% growth rate.

Meanwhile, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)-X regional director Mylah Faye Aurora Cariño said the expansion of Northern Mindanao's economy in 2022 is a sign of the region’s further recovery from the pandemic, and its resilience amid external headwinds. 

"While this growth is lower than the national average, we consider it decent since we are coming from a high base in 2021 when the region returned to pre-pandemic level – a feat then shared by only three other regions. This robust growth is clearly a result of improved COVID-19 risk management and easing of mobility restrictions that boosted economic activities," she said.

PSA-X released its GRDP and Gross Regional Domestic Expenditure findings for 2022 in a news conference in Cagayan de Oro City, Thursday, April 27. 

The GRDP measures the economic performance of the region from the perspective of the producers of goods and services. It covers the value of goods and services produced in the region during the reference period while the GRDE measures the economic performance of the region from the perspective of the expenditures of residents of the region. 

Aside from the 2022 economic performance, PSA-X also presented the March 2023 inflation report for the region and updates on the 2020 Census of Population and Housing. (APB/PIA-10)