Luzon accounted for the bulk of the Philippines’ domestic output in 2024, accounting for more than a third of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) for the year, data from the government’s Provincial Product Accounts released on Thursday showed.
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said in the PPA nine of the top 10 economies nationwide are highly urbanized cities and provinces in Luzon. Davao City in Mindanao was the sole exception.
This highlights the “centrality” of Luzon in the country’s economic activity, according to one economist, who stressed the need to diversify economic hubs into the Visayas and Mindanao.
The PPA showed the country’s economy reached P22.24 trillion in 2024, at constant 2018 prices.
Quezon City led the nation by generating P1.33 trillion, or 6 percent of the total GDP.
The top 10 economies
The country’s top five largest economies were Quezon City, which held a 6.0 percent share (P1.33 trillion); Makati City with 5.4 percent (P1.20 trillion); Laguna with 4.9 percent (P1.08 trillion); Manila City with 4.7 percent (P1.04 trillion); and Cavite with 3.7 percent (P822.15 billion).
Completing the top 10 were Batangas with a 3.1 percent share P688.62 billion), Bulacan with 3.04 percent (P675.52 billion), Taguig City with 2.95 percent (P6 56.31 billion), Cebu with 2.7 percent (P600.46 billion), and Davao City with 2.6 percent (P574.72 billion).
The PSA said four of the top 10 highly urbanized cities (HUCs) were part of the National Capital Region (NCR), three provinces came from Region IV-A (CALABARZON), and two from Region III (Central Luzon).
Cumulatively, these areas accounted for 36.49 percent of the Philippine economy’s output last year. Davao City remained the only economy outside the Luzon island group to rank in the top 10.
Fastest growing economies
In terms of growth relative to the country’s 5.7 percent expansion last year, Eastern Samar posted the fastest growth of 10.2 percent. The rest of the top five included Puerto Princesa City (9.8 percent), Batanes (9.57 percent), Dinagat Islands (9.56 percent) and Bataan (9.3 percent).
The remaining fastest growing economies in the top 10 were Bohol (8.82 percent), Iligan City (8.76 percent), Butuan City (8.72 percent), Camiguin (8.6 percent), and Marinduque (8.5 percent).
The PSA added that seven of the top 10 were provinces, and three were HUCs.
Luzon’s economic centrality
John Paolo Rivera, a research fellow at the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), said the numbers “reaffirm the economic centrality of Luzon.”
“This concentration underscores the urgency of strengthening regional economic development outside Luzon, especially in the Visayas and Mindanao,” he said.
Rivera said policymakers must use the PPA insights “to tailor region-specific investments, prioritize infrastructure that links growth corridors, and incentivize high-value industries in lagging areas to ensure more inclusive and spatially balanced growth.”
To maximize these gains, he said “corruption must be eliminated, not just reduced, so no leakages happen and both multiplier and accelerator effects drive growth.”
“Imagine that our economy is growing at least 5 percent, still one of the fastest in the Asean, even with corruption. What more if it were eliminated?” Rivera asked. “The regions would be prosperous, and we would be an Upper Middle-Income Country (UMIC).”
“Luzon’s contribution would be even larger if flooding is mitigated in areas like Bulacan, which have had issues with ghost flood control projects,” he said.
Ilocos Region output
The PSA also reported that in the Ilocos Region, Pangasinan continues to hold the largest share of the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP), contributing over half (53.2 percent) in 2024.
This is valued at P391.62 billion, compared with the region’s total domestic output of P735.62 billion. Pangasinan’s economy, however, recorded 4.4 percent growth in 2024, slower than the 6.3 percent rise posted the previous year.
The other major economies in the region are La Union (18.3 percent), Ilocos Norte (14.5 percent), and Ilocos Sur (14.0 percent).
